Just outside of the King's tent, Roy and Ike sat by a fire as their artillery ceased fire momentarily. Startled, Roy's head shot up, looking around his surroundings in the darkness of the night. He turned to Ike, who seemed unmoved and tired. "Why did we stop firing?" Roy asked.
Shrugging, Ike turned a log in the flames with a nearby stick, "That's beyond my knowledge right now, Roy… and my care."
Roy shook his head, looking back at the fire. Just as he got comfortable again, King Marth exited the tent with Lucina and Lucario at his sides. The King looked at the catapults just ahead of the fire and announced, "We launch an attack at the main gate tomorrow at noon. Until then, we're going to double our artillery output."
"If you haven't noticed, Your Grace, the artillery isn't firing anymore," Ike commented, not looking at the King, "It doesn't look like we're "doubling" our output right now."
"We need to give the machines a break," Lucina quickly responded, sounding as tired as Ike, "If we don't, they'll break before our scheduled time to attack."
"All I hear is excuses," Ike said back, his voice playful now, "This is unacceptable."
"We can spare fifteen minutes," Marth interjected slightly annoyed, "And, if you wouldn't mind, drop the sarcastic tone; now isn't the time for it."
"It's always a good time for sarcasm, Your Grace," Ike said with a chuckle.
Around the camp, it was very relaxed and cool; the calm before the storm, Roy had commented in their latest Small Council meeting. Just as Marth's eyes became heavy, he heard a battle cry and a collision. Quickly, Marth jumped out of the bed inside his tent and grabbed his sword. After he quickly slipped into his armor, the King charged out of his tent, seeing several orange-clad Sarasa attacking their camp. He could not think about what was happening for long: a Sarasa charged him with a greatsword. Marth dodged the slash and countered, killing the soldier easily. As the body hit the ground, Marth turned and saw Lucina and Ike fighting back-to-back against at least ten Sarasa soldiers. However, before he could go over and help, he heard an explosion behind him. The King turned around and saw Roy walking away from a fire, with plenty of fallen Sarasa around it. Roy had his sword ready to attack when he got to the King.
"What the hell happened?" Marth asked.
Panting, Roy began, "Shulk's battalion at the West Gate faltered momentarily… They were overrun, Your Majesty. From what I heard, they have it back in control over there, but they saw hundreds escaped the city…"
An arrow flew right by Roy and Marth's ear, nailing one of their soldiers behind them. Roy and Marth ducked upon hearing the whistle of the arrow. They both rose and began scanning the area around them, looking for a kill.
"No more time to talk," Marth said before he charged a group of Sarasa.
In the madness of their brawl, Lucina and Ike were separated. For Lucina, she was entirely surrounded by Sarasa, who charged her at the same time. She charged back, breaking their line by running into a soldier and stabbing them with the blade up her sleeve. Lucina tossed her kill to the ground and ran. A few steps later, she turned and backed into a small area between a tent and a tree. Luckily for her, the Sarasa were too high on their own adrenaline to realize that the area she was now in was so small that they could only take her on one, or two, at a time. With the odds now balanced, Lucina began tearing through them with ease.
Marth smacked the swing of a mace away from his body and punched the Sarasa soldier in the face. The soldier staggered back and fell onto a knee, rattled by the sucker punch. Taking his blade in both hands, the King raised it and stabbed down multiple times. As he stopped, Ike ran up behind him and slashed two soldiers with his long blade. King Marth turned and saw Roy absorb a blow from a mace, then one from an axe. He fell flat onto his face, getting kicked and stomped on by the any surrounding Sarasa soldier not preoccupied by one of Marth's men. The King just watched as he stabbed a Sarasa in the stomach without laying his eyes on his kill.
"Go!" Ike shouted, kicking a Sarasa down a small decline, "I can take care of myself!"
Quickly, Marth ran over to Roy, who curled his knees into his stomach, trying to relieve some pain. The blow of a mace to his back caused Roy to sprawl out again, making himself more vulnerable. As King Marth ran over to Roy, he saw Lucario push a Sarasa back and slash his throat with a small blade. When Lucario saw the King running towards five or so Sarasa, he joined him. The two cut down the first couple soldiers, who did not even notice him. A Sarasa turned and wildly swung in the direction of Marth. Lucario caught the swing and countered, stabbing the Sarasa in the gut. The King let out a cry as his sword tore threw another soldier's chest. Quickly, the King kicked the soldier off his sword and swung, connecting with the remaining soldier's arm. Marth was able to land another strike, swinging the opposite direction, and slashed his sword up, knocking the soldier in the chin. The soldier flew back as Roy weakly rose to a knee, panting and holding his side. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and tried to stand up. When he failed, Lucario ran over and helped him.
"Are you okay?" Marth asked, running his sweaty and bloody hand threw his hair.
Roy coughed and put his arm around Lucario's shoulders, "Never better… You know, I had everything under control—"
"You would've gotten killed, so stop trying to act tough," Marth warned, studying the chaos in the camp. For the most part, things seemed to have calmed down. Then, he saw Ike, who still fought like a warrior against a great number of Sarasa. Without another word, Marth ran over to help him as Lucario took Roy to safety.
Lucina passed Lucario and Roy with Ness at her side. She stopped as Lucario and Roy slowly ran by; it looked like Roy had been bloodied pretty good, so Lucina assumed that there were more Sarasa in the direction in which the other two came. She looked at Ness and nodded her head forward. They ran as fast as possible and saw Ike and Marth fighting on top of a slight incline. They were not restricted to one area, however; they kept moving, attacking a circling enemy. Just before Lucina could charge in, they heard an arrow blow by their heads. Ike saw the arrow as well, heading straight for Marth. Instinctively, Ike jumped and tackled Marth; the arrow pierced his waist, causing him to yell out in pain.
The King slowly turned his head and saw Ike's face on his shoulder; he seemed to be in shock from the arrow. However, he grunted and yelled, standing back up and swinging his sword wildly. His swing powered through the shield of a Sarasa, shattering it along with the soldier's arm. Ike swung like a mad man again, hitting a few more soldiers. He threw a punch, knocking the soldier, whose arm he just broke, to the ground. Ike prepared to lung and stab the soldier in the chest; however, another arrow ripped through the air, tearing into Ike's stomach. The wounded warrior fell his knees; his vision faded, and his breathing became quick. It sounded like he was not able to take any air in at all, just making the sounds. King Marth rose with his sword, but Ike pushed him over, making him fall back onto the ground. Slowly, Ike rose again with all his strength and kept fighting; he caught the blade of an axe with his sword and punched the soldier in the gut. The soldier doubled over, allowing Ike to stab him in the back. He withdrew his blade once again and prepared to counter a nearing Sarasa. Ike brought his sword up to deflect the Sarasa's swing, but a third arrow pierced Ike's armor, striking him in the chest. Then, almost immediately after the third, a fourth arrow struck him in the abdomen.
As Ike fell onto his back, King Marth rose and finished the remaining Sarasa. About one hundred yards across from him, he saw Lucina and Ness, a trail of Sarasa behind them, confront the archer. They cut him down easily and turned back to their King, who bent to a knee in front of Ike. Both Lucina and Ness ran towards the incline as fast as they could.
Marth knelt and held Ike as he lay on the ground wounded. The more Ike tried to breath, it seemed, the less air he was able to capture. In a panic, Marth reached for the arrows in Ike's body and tugged at one of them, trying to take it out. However, it was too far in; the more King Marth jerked the arrow, the more Ike winced and grunted in pain. Sweat streamed from Ike's forehead and down his face as he jerked around in pain, "Stop! For the love of God, stop! It's too late, Your Grace…"
"It's not too late, Ike," Marth said, letting go of the arrow. He turned around and saw Lucina and Ness, standing over both of them. Horrified, Lucina put her hands over her mouth as her eyes became teary. Ness turned around, but he heard Ike's faint voice behind him.
"There's no point trying to find me help…" his weak voice muttered, "I'm done for…"
"No, you're not," King Marth said sternly, "Stop saying that! I will not let you die, Ike; I need you when we take Smashville—"
"You're in good company already, Your Grace," Ike muttered, "Make me one promise… When you take back the Realm, and sit on your Rightful Throne, remember me."
"I won't have to remember you," Marth said. He looked at Lucina, who knelt beside him in shock and sadness, "We won't have to remember you… Because you will be there with us…"
"I would've followed you anywhere," Ike said, his breath fading with his vision, "my brother… My Captain… My King…"
Ike stopped breathing and moving. Marth let go of him and just looked at his face, his eyes staring into nothing. He stood up slowly as Ness took his spot, putting one hand on Ike's shoulder and whispering into his ear, "Oh Great Fairy, cast your magic onto this man, your servant. Bring him back from the darkness and shadows of death…" When Ike did not wake up immediately, Ness started again, sounding more and more desperate, "Oh Great Fairy, cast your magic onto this man, your servant. Bring him back from the darkness and shadows of death…"
Inside of the city the following morning, Robin sat at the bottom of the Senate, directly across from Princess Daisy. The room, as usual, was full of Senators, who sat along the half-bowl. Since the so-called Siege of Sarasaville began, Robin grew tired of all the Senate and Strategy meetings they had because, well, none of them worked; the one counter attack that was actually successful in leaving the city ended with a force of four hundred getting slaughtered, while only fifty of Marth's own were killed.
"We have to surrender the city," a Senator's voice rang out, "We have no options left!"
"Before you respond with a rallying cry, Your Majesty, I wish to speak!" Lilah shouted, standing up from her seat. She walked down the steps and cleared her throat. Lilah began, "They've shelled the hell of the city for days; in those days, we've lost five hundred soldiers, half of which died trying to get out of the city. That was before last night; we've almost lost nearly thousand troops in three days. That does not even include the damages to the walls; all our towers are destroyed, the gates are so worn down that they might as well be destroyed, and did I mention that three hundred civilians have been killed in the crossfire?"
"You still do not get it," Princess Daisy sighed with great frustration, "We are the Realm of Smash's last hope of retribution. The destruction of Sarasaville is, more than likely, inevitable at this point; if we die, we die fighting for our people! For Mario!"
"That's it…" Lilah muttered. Robin must have been one of a few Senators who heard her, because everyone else discussed possible talking points for the meeting quietly. Lilah grabbed Princess Daisy's shoulder. Daisy turned around shrugged Lilah's hand off her shoulder.
"Take your hand off me, Senator!" Daisy warned.
"You've left the Senate no choice," Lilah snapped back. She grabbed Daisy again, but once more, Daisy threw her hand off her shoulder.
"What has gotten into you, Lilah?" Princess Daisy asked angrily, completely oblivious.
Lilah backed off and put her left hand behind her back. She looked around the Senate and shouted, "Now! What the hell are you all waiting for!? NOW!"
Suddenly, Robin saw an older Senator come behind Daisy with a knife in his hand. He quickly stabbed her in the side, causing her to scream in pain. Quickly, she turned and punched that Senator in the face. With her back to Lilah, Lilah and two others charged her and turned her around. They each plunged their knives into Daisy multiple times as seven other Senators ran down the stairs with their own blades. Standing up, Robin looked on in shock; the Senators pulled and pushed Daisy, who seemed to be helplessly flailing back and forth like a rag doll now. Every Senator got their chance at her, each one getting in a stab wherever they could land one. Robin was horrified, but he did not stop the murder. Why would he? The Senate was helping King Marth's war effort…
A minute later, most of the Senators had sprinted out of the building wildly, proclaiming the Princess to be dead and the war over. From his area in the Senate, Robin watched a lifeless Daisy lay on the ground, a pool quickly surrounding her. Robin looked on at her face and chest; although her face was covered by red, and her beautiful orange dress as well, he could tell that she was still breathing. He heard Lilah walked up next to him and put the knife that she used in his hand.
"Go on, Senator Ramsay," Lilah whispered, "There's new blood in Sarasaland now."
Robin brought his hand up and looked at the blade. He spun it in his hand, then looked at the crimson Flower Princess, who weakly turned her head in his direction. He walked towards the Flower Princess slowly, then knelt down. He could only hear Daisy's whimpers and rough breathing becoming weaker. He clinched the knife in his right hand and looked away from the Flower Princess. Reluctantly, Robin swung his fist down, into the chest of the Princess to provide the coup de grace. Daisy's head shot up, quickly. She did not say anything audible initially, however. Before it was over, she muttered, "Lauren…"
Marth prepared his front line, making sure his men were ready for attack. They lined up across the field, facing Sarasaville's main city gate. Roy and Lucina approached Marth, who sorrowfully looked back at the camp. When he heard their footsteps, the King turned around and asked, "What is it?"
"We haven't addressed about what happened last night," Roy grunted, putting his hand over his abdomen in attempt to suppress the pain he felt, "It is something that you need to address to your men, My King."
"There's nothing to address, Roy," Marth sighed, "Ike fought, and he died. It's war; those things happen in war."
Frowning, Lucina said, "Your Grace, Ike was your closest friend and protector; as your friend and Hand, I think that we shouldn't attack today. You'll do something that'll get you killed; we all need time to mourn."
Marth shook his head and spiked his sword into the ground, trying to release some emotion, "He took those arrows to save me. That first arrow was meant to kill me, probably tear through my neck. But, he tackled me and took the arrow to the side. The other three arrows fired at him? That archer thought that he was hitting me; I tried to get up and help him, but he pushed me down. He didn't want the archer to realize that I wasn't the one getting killed… Now, he's gone…"
"Shell the city for today and tomorrow," Roy recommended as Marth looked down, "We do need to attack the city, but…"
"But what?" Marth asked.
Roy shrugged and sighed, looking at the city's gate, "Emotion clouds all of our better judgement; believe me, I want to charge those gates and slaughter every Sarasa soldier in there for Ike, but that's stupid; I'll do something to feed my hunger for vengeance, but that action may get me killed, or thousands of our soldiers killed."
"We attack at sunrise the day after tomorrow then," Lucina nodded, "I'll get the men at ease—"
Suddenly, the King looked up and saw something peculiar on top of the city's main gate. His eyes became wide and his jaw almost hit the floor, "There's no need for that."
Confused, Lucina turned and followed Marth's pointed finger. She saw a white flag over the main gate, waving in the wind. About ten seconds later, the gate opened. Lucina, Marth and Roy hopped onto some horses and rode quickly for the gate. On their way to the gate, no Sarasa troops even approached the gate. They arrived at the gate a minute later, seeing that there was a crowd of civilians by the gate. Between the crowd was a clear lane that lead further into the city, through the destroyed market and towards the Parliamentary Buildings and Castle. At the castle's gates, they saw Robin waiting in white robes.
On foot, Marth, Lucina and Roy approached Robin. The crowd was not hostile but silent in awe. Lucina looked at the crowd curiously; it seemed that the crowd watched the three of them walk as if they were seeing Gods among men. When they reached Robin, Marth greeted him with a hug. Not expecting a hug, and one of such genuine care, Robin lightly wrapped his arms around his King. When Marth let go, he said, "I'm glad that you're okay, Robin."
"I don't know if I'm okay," Robin sighed, "I should tell you that the only reason that they surrounded the city was because of the mutiny of the Senate…"
"Mutiny?" Lucina asked. Her confusion grew even more when Robin told them of the so-called mutiny, "I thought you said that they would impeach the Princess, not have a mutiny against her."
Marth looked over the crowd, which now included several Senators in the front. Robin looked over and saw Lilah, still with dry blood on her hands. She was the first one to kneel in the presence of the King. When she knelt, all the Senators followed. And, after the Senators, the entire crowd bent the knee to Marth.