"Ugh, how much further?!" Kefka whined as he trudged alongside a few soldiers in the light armour uniform. The soldiers either slowed down or sped up just to keep away from the lunatic. Kuja and Rikke sympathised with those that were stuck beside him.
"Be quiet you impertinent clown, it's not far away now." Kuja replied with a roll of his eyes. Hadvar and Sigmund marched without complaint beside Rikke and Kuja who followed Tullius. Tullius and Garland each had a horse that led the forces towards the Eastmarch Imperial Camp. Hadvar wasn't too pleased about being close to Kuja again, but at least he wasn't being harassed by the mage and Sigmund was just happy to have some distance between himself and Kefka.
"General, I hope you don't mind if two other people assist us in claiming Windhelm and crushing the Stormcloaks." Garland said. Kuja raised an eyebrow and turned to Rikke.
"Did you know?" She mouthed. He shook his head and they listened in for information.
"Oh, who?" The general inquired.
"Ancano from the Thalmor and Mercer Frey, master of the Thieves Guild." Garland replied. Tullius looked at Garland with confusion.
"I'm curious as to why you chose them." Tullius said.
"Ancano is a very promising mage and it's wise to have the support of Thieves Guild. I'm sure that you are aware that the Stormcloaks have an alliance with the Dark Brotherhood?" Garland asked in reply. Kuja had a feeling that Sephiroth would choose to help the opposite side because Cloud was working with them. Rikke noticed Tullius' surprise at Garland's question.
"No... I'm not." Tullius replied unsurely, feeling quite confused and a little flustered that he realised that Garland was beginning to undermine his leadership. Rikke knew that Tullius was beginning to see why she questioned Garland's morals and Kuja was wondering if he should tell the Legate the truth.
Tullius stopped his horse and raised his hand to halt the army behind him.
"What is it?" Rikke questioned.
"Another horse is approaching." Tullius answered. It wasn't long before Shadowmere bounded down the road and halted before the army. Lightning gripped the reigns tightly as she and Sephiroth turned their heads towards the mass of soldiers.
"I knew it." Lightning muttered. Tullius went to tell his archers to shoot them down, but Garland gave a command quicker than he could open his mouth.
"Sigmund, knock them down."
The nord walked forward and Lightning made Shadowmere step backward.
"Fus... Ro Dah!" Sigmund Shouted just as the rose haired soldier went to urge the steed onward. The sheer force of his Voice threw the two warriors and the horse into the air and sent them tumbling onto the ground. Rikke, Hadvar and Sigmund went to draw their weapons and Tullius ordered them not to as the demonic steed rolled himself up onto his feet. Lightning mounted Shadowmere and took hold of the reigns again as Sephiroth unfurled his wing and he followed Lightning from above the trees down the road towards Windhelm.
"Why did you stop us from attacking them?" Kuja asked.
"Let them believe they have a chance against us." Tullius replied.
"They won't know what hit them." Garland added.
"Onward men. Tonight, we defeat the rebellion once and for all." Tullius announced and they continued on towards the camp.
Sephiroth flew ahead of her as Shadowmere's hooves clapped against the stone bridge. A priestess of Mara dashed to the closest side of the bridge to allow her to pass by before she resumed her path to the Temple of Talos. He opened an iron door and let her gallop through the gates before he flew after her towards the Palace of the Kings. Once again, his flight capabilities proved to be quicker than the horse's pace because he reached the door before she did. People jumped out of the way with a yelp or a screech as she bounded through the snowy town. He pushed a heavy wrought iron door out of her way and he followed her inside. She halted the demonic equine before the stone throne and Sephiroth landed next to her. Galmar and Ulfric stood there wide-eyed at the two warriors. He folded his wing away as Lightning dismounted. Ralof and Terra wandered over to find out what had made the l'Cie decide that dismounting outside and running in would be too time consuming.
"What are you thinking riding in here like a madwoman?!" Ulfric demanded.
"The Legion are heading in this direction, no doubt to mount an assault on Windhelm." She replied, almost breathless. Galmar believed her, but Ulfric didn't look convinced.
"They are?" Ralof questioned.
"Yes, we saw them on the way back from Falkreath." Lightning answered and crossed her arms. Sephiroth gave her an unamused glare and she returned it as soon as she noticed it.
"Why were you there? I told you to go to Solitude." Ulfric said.
"It was a trap. There were no Thalmor present and my... target... was a fake. And we went to Falkreath because the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary was under attack. It's now in ruins. They killed almost everyone." Sephiroth replied darkly.
"And now they're coming to destroy us." Lightning added. Terra clutched her hands to her chest and Ralof sighed.
"Ulfric, we have to do something." Galmar said.
"We have to act. There are people that need protecting." Ralof added and gestured towards the doors.
"If they're as close as she says, we have to start fortifying the city now." Terra pleaded.
"How many soldiers were present?" Ulfric asked.
"Around two hundred." Sephiroth replied.
"And the Dragonborn." Lightning added. The Jarl glared at him with uncertainty.
"Can we trust him?" Ulfric inquired.
"Yes. He has his reasons for helping us." Lightning replied. The Jarl sat back in his throne and balanced his chin on his fist. Sephiroth turned to Terra and she placed her hands behind her back.
"Do you have a healing hands spellbook?" Sephiroth questioned. Terra raised her eyebrow curiously and he crossed his arms.
"You're going to need all the help you can get. This isn't going to be an easy fight." Sephiroth added.
"Come with me, Wuunferth will know where he hides them." Terra replied and went to lead him up to the wizard's quarters. Ralof stared at the horse with unease.
"Sephiroth? What do we do with the horse?" Ralof asked. The assassin turned around and crossed his arms.
"Just have him escorted out to the main road. He knows his way back." Sephiroth replied.
"By himself?" Ralof questioned.
"He's a demon horse. He'll be fine." Sephiroth answered and followed Terra up to the wizard's quarters.
Ralof walked up to Lightning and stood beside her as Galmar looked to Ulfric for his thoughts on the news. The Jarl shifted in his seat and placed his chin back on his knuckles.
"What should we do?" Galmar asked.
"We defend our city and crush those Imperial dogs." Ulfric replied.
"Do you have a plan?" Ralof questioned. The leader of the rebellion thought for a moment and shook his head.
"Not at this moment, no." Ulfric replied.
"We need to do something." Lightning said. It didn't take Galmar long to begin to weave a plan together in his head. Ulfric leaned forward in his throne as he noticed the pensive look on his friend's face.
"What is it, Galmar?" He asked.
"I have an idea. Lightning and Ralof, I need you two go find the wooden fences and put them up. If you can get Sephiroth to help, that would be highly appreciated. I want them at the edge of the bridge and at the gates. I also want them through the residential areas and I want the main entrance to the outside courtyard completely cut off with rock and set up the fences around the docks. I'll tell the guards on duty to make the citizens aware and muster our forces in front of the palace and we'll go from there." The general replied.
"Yes general." The two soldiers said in unison and beat their fist against their chest before Ralof headed to get the fencing and Lightning went to go fetch the other two warriors.
Wuunferth watched Sephiroth devour page after page of the spellbook with curiosity as Terra went through her collection of alchemy ingredients and began to create potions and poisons that may prove themselves useful.
"Why are you staring?" Sephiroth asked and flipped the page without even lifting his eyes up from the text in front of him.
"He'll tell you in a moment..." Terra said whilst she didn't look up from her work.
"I've... never seen eyes like yours... Are you part Kahjiit?"
"And there you go."
"No, I am not part Kahjiit." Sephiroth replied and flipped another page. The court wizard stepped closer and stared at the warrior's bright green eyes and his cat-like pupils.
"Then how do they look like that?"
"Terra?"
"Yeah?" She asked as she poured a dark substance into a bottle and prepared to create another potion.
"Does he know what science is?"
"Nope."
By this point the wizard was extremely confused. Not only was he not receiving an answer to the question he asked, but they were talking about him as if he wasn't present at all. Sephiroth tapped the cover of the book as he tried to find a way to explain the appearance of his eyes without having to explain things that the wizard didn't know.
"How to explain it... It's due to... calculated magic." Sephiroth replied with a nod and Terra's shoulders shuddered with amusement as she finished up another potion.
"And how was this magic conducted?" Wuunferth asked. Sephiroth shrugged and flipped another page.
"I was never allowed to read my file." He replied. The green haired mage turned around and laughed at Wuunferth's confusion. She had never seen him so frazzled and it pleased her. Just as Lightning came in through the door, Sephiroth closed over the book and put it back on the shelf.
"That was quick." He commented.
"I only need to know the basics." He replied and walked over to his wife.
"Good, you're done. Ralof and I need your help to fortify the city." Lightning said.
"Then let's not waste time." Sephiroth replied and they headed down to meet Ralof who was practically crumbling under the weight of the many sharpened wooden pieces he was carrying. Sephiroth took the wood from the nord. Lightning picked up the hammers and Ralof held the bucket of thick iron nails.
"Where are these going?" Sephiroth asked. Ralof was impressed that he wasn't faltering from under the weight of the wood.
"I'll show you." She replied and led them to the entrance of the residential area.
Cloud, Ancano and Mercer stood at different places in the Imperial Camp. Cloud could see that living together had severely strained what little tolerance they had for each other. Ancano sat in the main tent with Cloud and another soldier who were debating what road would lead them to Windhelm quicker. Mercer stood with the Imperial quartermaster and the master thief questioned how strong his weapons and armour were. The high elf crossed his arms and rolled his eyes as the two soldiers continued to debate.
"Finally." He muttered and stood up as the soldiers arrived at the encampment. He marched up to Garland as the hulking knight dismounted his horse.
"I cannot believe you let us wait in that skeever hole for so long! Sharing a house with that... that... barbarian was disastrous! His snoring was disruptive to my sleep patterns, his drinking habits are repulsive and all he could talk about was women and gold! I have never experienced such utter disgust because a person before in my life! This better be worth it!" Ancano complained. Hadvar and Sigmund overheard Ancano's whinging and tried not to laugh. Mercer laughed at the whiny high elf and wandered over.
"You weren't exactly a ray of sunshine yourself. I had to listen to him bitching about the Thalmor, the College of Winterhold and the house the entire time. All he'd do is complain, complain, complain. And if he wasn't complaining about the place, it would be about the food or about me. It was bloody annoying." The breton replied and crossed his arms. The two of them eyed each other as Tullius disembarked off his own horse.
"It will be worth it, trust me." Garland said and then followed the general into the tent where Cloud and the other soldier were.
Just as Rikke went to follow Tullius in, Kuja grabbed her wrist.
"We need to talk." He said and led her away to a spot where no one could hear them talk. He decided it was time to tell her.
"What is it?" Rikke questioned.
"Garland would skin me alive if he found out that I had told you this, but your suspicions about him were correct. He isn't loyal to the Empire." Kuja answered and Rikke's face lit up.
"I knew it! I knew there was something wrong with him!" She exclaimed without raising her voice to try and keep everyone else unaware of her findings. After a period of silence, she crossed her arms and eyed Kuja suspiciously.
"I don't get it. If you're sided with him, why are you telling me this?" She asked.
"Because Garland is pushing me away. Don't you get it? Mercer is Tifa's replacement and Ancano is mine." Kuja replied. She thought about it and then began to laugh.
"Well, the Ancano theory would make sense. He is a mage, like you. He also acts like a spoilt child, like you." She said with a laugh. He gave her an unamused glare and she patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry, he's worse. Did you not hear him complain about Frey before?" She added and Kuja smiled.
"Anyways, back to topic, what's Garland's plan?" She questioned.
"Once Ulfric is disposed of, Garland plans to turn on Tullius and destroy the Legion. What I don't understand is he has a member of the Thalmor with him, and yet their other target is the Aldmeri Dominion." Kuja answered.
"Then we need to tell the general."
"We can't. Garland won't let him out of his sight. And Tullius isn't the one we need to worry for. It's Sigmund we need to look out for."
The Legate crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow.
"Sigmund? The dragonborn? Why?" She asked.
"Because Garland is going to use Sigmund to kill Alduin. Once his power is unleashed, he will summon Chaos and take over Skyrim." Kuja replied and her face fell.
"Oh, that's not good. What do we do now?" Rikke questioned.
"We need to protect Sigmund from Garland, that's what." Kuja answered and placed his hands on his hips.
"I'll get him and we can discuss this with him." Rikke said.
"Good. I'll wait here." Kuja replied and the Legate walked over towards were the two nords were standing and talking, which was near the quartermaster away from the main tent where Kefka and the others spoke with the general.
"Sigmund, we need to talk." She commanded.
"I hope you don't mind if I come as well, Legate." Hadvar said.
"Come on." She replied and led the two nords towards the silver haired mage.
"Hello Hadvar." Kuja said with a small smirk. Sigmund nudged his friend as the brunette gulped. The look the dragonborn gave his friend said that he was going to make sure that Hadvar was left alone. Kuja saw this and rolled his eyes. Rikke was confused as to why everyone was acting so strange.
"Don't worry, I got bored of chasing you. You don't put up much of a fight. Besides, I have revived an old love of mine; politics. I forgot how much fun it is." He replied with a shrug and Hadvar released a sigh.
"What was it you wanted to talk about, Legate?" Sigmund questioned.
"Your safety." She answered.
"Garland plans to use you to destroy Alduin and use his escaping power to summon Chaos. And, without Cosmos to balance him, Garland will use Chaos as a pawn to capture Skyrim and then all of Tamriel. And once Chaos is summoned, you will have exhausted your usefulness to him and he will kill you." Kuja explained. This took Sigmund a while to try and let the information sink in.
"I was going to ask about the dragons, but more than likely Paarthurnax will take over from his brother's role. They will be mostly peaceful under his rule." Sigmund said and Hadvar nodded, seeing where Sigmund was coming from.
"Who?" Rikke asked.
"Paarthurnax, the leader of the Greybeards and Alduin's little brother. He's as wise as he is strong." Hadvar replied.
"Not if Chaos destroys him. Chaos is a dragon as well, but different to how you know them. I don't even know if Shinryu follows Chaos wherever he goes or not, but he's another dragon and he sort of resembles Alduin, but with gold and white scales. If both of them are present, not even Cosmos can help us." Kuja added with a shake of his head.
"This is worse than I thought." Rikke commented and crossed her arms.
"Then, what do we do?" Sigmund asked.
"As soon as they enter the Palace of the Kings, you need to leave and go into hiding. You can choose whether to tell us or not, but as long as you get out." Rikke replied.
"Where to is up to you. I don't suggest Helgen, the recently destroyed Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary or the College of Winterhold as hiding places." Kuja added.
"What about the Throat of the World? Only you and the Greybeards can get up there." Hadvar suggested.
"I don't want to put them in danger... That's it, Sky Haven Temple. I'll hide with the Blades. Delphine said that they serve the dragonborn, so they have to help me." Sigmund said quietly, beginning to wonder if Delphine's paranoia had begun to rub off on him.
"I know where it is. I helped Sigmund and the Blades find it." Hadvar said with a little rise of his hand.
"It's a while away though. I'll need a horse..." Sigmund said.
"Take Tullius'. I'm sure he won't mind... If he doesn't die that is." She replied.
"Is that everything?" Sigmund asked.
"Wait, can I save someone?" Hadvar questioned. Sigmund looked at his friend and knew who he was going to say.
"Who?" Rikke asked.
"Ralof." Hadvar replied. Rikke crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow with intrigue.
"Really? Why?" She asked.
"I know he's a Stormcloak, but he's a fine warrio-"
"I know the story, you two grew up together. Alright, you may. But if he refuses to help us he won't be of any use to us. Understand?" Rikke asked.
"Yes ma'am." Hadvar replied with a small smile.
"Yes, I believe that's everything. You may leave now." Kuja replied. The two nord men both nodded in reply and walked over towards the tent to receive orders from the general.
"Are we going to survive this?" Rikke asked.
"I haven't the slightest idea if we will." Kuja replied and she smiled uneasily.
Lightning, Ralof and Sephiroth had finished putting up the final fence and walked back towards the Palace of the Kings. The guards were running around, rounding up their comrades according to Galmar's orders and telling the citizens to either fortify their homes or leave by boat to another Hold until the battle was over. People were leaving with their families or erecting piked fences outside their doors. They wandered into the palace to find soldiers running around the hall just like they were outside. Ulfric sat on his throne, looking as calm as ever as Galmar frantically barking orders at the rushing soldiers. The three of them approached him as he pinched his brow in frustration.
"The fences are up general." Ralof said with a salute.
"Is everything alright?" Lightning asked and crossed her arms.
"I can't deal with this! It's utter chaos! I can't do this myself, it's too much!" Galmar exclaimed. Ulfric stood up and walked over towards his friend. He placed his hand on Galmar's shoulder and the stressed general massaged his temples.
"Bone-Breaker, I need you to help Galmar put together the defence." Ulfric said.
"Yes, my Jarl. I won't let you down." Lightning replied and saluted.
"Good. Now if you excuse me, I have to get my axe sharpened." Ulfric announced and headed out of the palace and towards the blacksmith.
"Any ideas?" He asked.
"I have an idea for the defence of the bridge, but I'm not sure what to do about the city itself." She replied.
"I'll go help Terra." Ralof said and pointed towards the wizards' quarters and wandered up there. It didn't take Sephiroth long to figure out a plan to defend the city.
"How many battle maidens do you have?" He asked. Galmar looked at him with surprise and Lightning gave him a small smile.
"In Windhelm presently, we have ten." Galmar replied.
"How many know how to fight?" Sephiroth inquired.
"Half do." Galmar answered and Sephiroth nodded.
"Here's what we do. The half that don't know how to fight will wait in the Temple of Talos until we need them after the fighting to heal the casualties. The ones that can will be split up into squads along with soldiers to heal them as the assault progresses. There should be two squads stationed at the main gate, and one each in the other quarters. Have the rest ready for them in front of the Palace of the Kings." The assassin said.
"I think that sounds solid enough." Lightning commented and Sephiroth brushed his fingers against hers before grasping her hand and giving it a small squeeze.
"That does sound solid. Alright, I'll give the orders. And Bone-Breaker, what was your idea?" Galmar asked.
"Depending on how many archers we have, they are lined up on the sides of the bridge and rain arrows down on the oncoming soldiers." She replied. Galmar crossed his arms and nodded with intrigue.
"I like that. I'll give the orders and I expect you to put them in whatever place you feel is right. And Sephiroth, I hope you stay to help us." Galmar said.
"I have my own score to settle with the Empire, so believe me when I say I'm staying to help." He replied.
"Good. Talos guide you both." Galmar said and began yelling at the rushing guards as they made their way out of the hall.
Lightning was surprised at how quickly Galmar's orders got out. Four archers were waiting outside the door for orders and another was dashing towards the group as Lightning and Sephiroth approached them.
"Alright, all of you, with me." Lightning commanded and led them towards the bridge. As they marched through the ruckus and rush, other archers joined the group of bowmen. They squeezed past the piked fences and assembled on the middle of the bridge. By the time Sephiroth had taken his place beside her, a few more archers had scrambled past the fence to join the group.
"Is that everyone?" Lightning questioned. The bunch looked around at each other and murmured to each other and they all nodded. The pink haired soldier counted the archers and counted twelve.
"Good. I want six of you spread out on each upper level of the bridge." She commanded and pointed with both fingers up at the walkways on the stone bridge. The soldiers mostly stayed close together and Lightning crossed her arms and huffed.
"I said, spread out!" She exclaimed and waved her hand. Sephiroth tried not to smile as he watched both sides nervously shuffle away from each other, their eyes fixed on Lightning as she picked out the bowmen who she thought were too close to their comrades and waved them apart. The snow had began to build up on Sephiroth's silver pauldrons when the l'Cie was finally pleased with the placement of the Stormcloak archers. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.
"Are they going to have someone here to lead them?" Sephiroth asked.
"I'm not sure. I didn't think about that." Lightning replied.
"I'll command them. I can try to find their camp and watch for their movement. I'll alert Galmar when they begin to march."
"Won't they know you're there?"
"I'm an assassin, stealth is part of our business. The only one who might notice something is Cloud. I'll be fine." He replied. Lightning placed her hand on his and the corner of her lip turned up slightly in an unsure fashion.
"You better not die on me." She said. He smirked and his nose brushed against her fringe.
"Don't be concerned about me. Just head back inside and wait with the others. They'll be on their way soon." He replied and unfurled his black wing. Lightning lightly kissed his cheek and he smiled.
"And try not to get the archers killed." She said as she turned around and marched back to the Palace of the Kings. He shook his head with amusement and took to the skies.
He followed the sound of the sharp pang of a hammer against metal and perched himself in a tree that overlooked the Imperial camp. He was intrigued at how close they placed it from the city. From the cover of the tree he watched them scurry about repairing armour, saddling horses and sharpening weapons. He could also hear the loud bickering of a breton and a high elf. Sephiroth noticed that the elf was wearing Thalmor robes and the breton wore a darker version of Delvin's armour. He had a feeling that he was the master of the Thieves Guild, but he had no idea why both the Thalmor and the thief were there. He noticed Garland walking up to them with Kefka prancing along beside him and Cloud trailing behind. Sephiroth thought it was odd that Kuja wasn't with them, instead he spotted the petite mage leaning against a tree talking with a female soldier in the Legion heavy armour as she placed an officer's helmet on her head. He saw Cloud look up at the tree and Sephiroth pressed his back up against the trunk, unsure if the blonde werewolf had seen him or not. He watched Cloud tap Garland's armour and he teleported to another branch lower down as Cloud pointed to the branch he was previously perched on. He watched Cloud's face harden as Garland turned around again. He noticed another tree closer to where Garland and his group were talking and slowly edged towards the end of the branch. He whipped his head around as the general walked out towards the centre from the camp and boomed, "This is it men! Tonight we march on Windhelm and we crush the rebellion!" As soon as the men began to shout and holler and before the general could continue his rallying speech, Sephiroth flew back to Windhelm. He landed in front of the Palace of the Kings and wandered in. Ulfric watched Sephiroth with unease as the assassin walked up to Galmar.
"What is it?" The general asked.
"The Legion are preparing their march. Their general was giving them a rallying speech when I left." Sephiroth replied.
"Thank you Sephiroth." Galmar said and drew his blade and called Ulfric forward. As the Jarl took his place before his stone throne, the one-winged angel returned to the bridge and stood above the entrance to the stone structure outside the city, waiting for the Legion to enter his line of sight.
Galmar stood beside Ulfric as Terra and Ralof reached Lightning's side. The soldiers inside all gathered around as the leader of the rebellion prepared to speak.
"Stormcloaks, the true sons and daughters of Skyrim! The Legion believe that they can march on our territory and bring us down. We will not let them succeed! We will not let their... pathetic... White-Gold Concordant dictate Skyrim and allow the Aldmeri Dominion to take over our homeland! We will not bow to them! Talos and the Eight will watch us today and our departed brothers and sisters will sing of our bravery in Sovngarde! Long live Skyrim!" Ulfric boomed.
"Long live Skyrim!" The army chorused. Within seconds, the crowd dispersed and rushed to their positions as a warhorn sounded from outside. Terra, Ralof and Lightning drew their weapons and stood with a few other Stormcloaks in front of Galmar and Ulfric.
"I'll handle the mages." Terra announced and scratched at a dried speck of blood on her repaired rapier.
"Are you sure? What if they have more than two?" Ralof questioned.
"I'll help her. Mages never scare me." The soldier next to her answered. She turned to her with a smile and said, "Thank you."
"Garland's mine. I have some unsettled business with him." Lightning said and turned the hilt of her glass sword around in her hand.
"Odin?" Ralof asked and placed his steel warhammer down before he leant on it.
"Yes. That's exactly the business." Lightning replied and Ralof chuckled.
"Keep your wits about you. They'll be here any moment." Galmar said and the trio gave each other a nod before they lifted their weapons and prepared for the invasion.
Sephiroth watched the roads and waited for the opposing army to appear. It didn't take long before they were hacking away at the first set of piked fences.
"Ready your weapons." Sephiroth commanded. The Stormcloaks notched arrows into place and his katana materialised in his hand. A black orb appeared in his free hand and it began to pulsate with bright magic. The Legion began to move towards the stone structure and a large black meteor fell from the sky and Tullius' horse reared as it impacted on the advancing army. Easily a quarter of the soldiers had been killed by the meteor. The general slid off of his horse and unsheathed his sword.
"Charge!" Tullius exclaimed and the Imperial Legion charged up the bridge.
"Fire!" Sephiroth commanded and the Stormcloak archers rained arrows down on the legionnaires. A few more fell by the arrows of the Stormcloaks before they even made it into the city. The archers all got down from the structure and followed the opposing army in with their weapons drawn. Sephiroth flew over the warring soldiers and entered the Palace of the Kings to fight with the others.
Hadvar and Sigmund charged at the oncoming Stormcloaks. The Dragonborn used the power of the Voice to freeze three soldiers into solid ice as Hadvar plunged his blade into the chest of a soldier who tried to bury his battleaxe into his neck. The shouting and screaming had began to ring in Hadvar's ears. The frozen soldiers had died before they were thawed. They followed Rikke, Kuja, Garland, Tullius, Kefka, Ancano and Mercer through the residential area, slaying the oncoming soldiers as they progressed. The Stormcloaks never stood a chance against Garland. His sword basically swept the soldiers away to the side like a broom does with dust. Hadvar and Sigmund felt sorry for the warriors who got in Garland's way. The brunette male cringed as he heard bones snap and people screech in pain. With the hulking knight clearing the path for them, it made it quicker and all the more easier to reach the Palace of the Kings. Just as they neared the wrought iron doors, Hadvar pulled Sigmund aside. The Dragonborn tried to push past, but his friend wouldn't let him.
"You have to leave. Now." Hadvar instructed.
"I'm not leaving you." Sigmund argued.
"Yes you are. We agreed to go find you once this is over." The brunette rebutted.
"I don't want you to get hurt!" The blonde exclaimed. Hadvar stopped trying to push him away and his face dropped.
"Sigmund, if Garland gets his hands on you it will be the end of peace for all of Tamriel. We can't let him do that."
"Hadvar you're the first real friend I've ever had. I don't want to lose you. If his plan is to use me, I will make myself a bargaining tool to save you."
"You're my best friend and I don't want to lose you either. I'll fight to protect you."
"Let's go kick up a fuss!" Sigmund exclaimed with a grin and Hadvar smiled back as they followed Rikke inside.
The Stormcloaks stood in a line in front of Galmar, who himself stood in front of Ulfric as he lounged about on his stone throne. Tullius called Sigmund and Rikke forward as they approached the rebels.
"Ulfric Stormcloak! You are guilty of insurrection, murder of Imperial citizens, the assassination of High King Torygg, and high treason against the Empire. It's over!" Tullius boomed. Galmar raised his weapon and said, "Not while I'm still breathing it's not." The warriors in front of him prepared to fight the group that stood at the back of the hall.
"Step aside Galmar. We're here to accept Ulfric's surrender." Rikke commanded.
"I'll never surrender Skyrim into the hands of a corrupt and dying Empire." Ulfric argued. Sigmund could tell that Rikke was not buying whatever Ulfric was saying.
"Skyrim doesn't belong to you, Ulfric." She retaliated.
"No... But I belong to her." He replied.
"Enough! You are traitors and will die traitors' deaths. Stand down and face public execution, or advance and face summary execution by my hands. It matters little to me. Either way I'll be sending your heads back to Cyrodiil." Tullus announced.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Soldiers, attack!" Galmar roared. Lightning quickly counted up their opponents and realised they were outnumbered. She pulled out the Sanguine Rose and conjured a dremora. She put the staff away as the summoned warrior unsheathed his greatsword. It growled and charged at Mercer, who was too busy trying to activate his invisibility with the skeleton key to notice the dremora approaching.
"Look up you idiot!" Ancano hissed and the breton was smacked in the face by the flat side of the daedric sword. Everyone, except for Mercer, stared at the dremora as he and the thief slashed at each other.
"Bone-Breaker?" Galmar questioned.
"Yeah?" She asked in reply.
"Where did you get that staff?" Galmar inquired.
"Drinking contest against Sanguine." She replied. Ancano and Kefka snickered at her reply.
"Talos help us..." Ulfric muttered as he got down from his throne.
The real fighting didn't start until Mercer was on the ground, struggling for breath and the dremora dissipated. With a blast of light, Terra became her esper self and placed her glowing claws on the floor. She flipped around and shoots of water sprung up from under the legionnaires, sending them flying into the air and falling with a thud. Kefka, Kuja and Garland had dodged the water and the two mages charged at the purple esper as the hulking knight charged at Lightning. Sephiroth teleported to Cloud's side and lifted the blonde's chin up with Masamune. The masked soldier who offered to help Terra appeared at her side once Ancano had picked himself up to join the fight. Ralof and the other masked soldier clashed swords with Hadvar and Sigmund. Rikke and Galmar fought each other just like Tullius and Ulfric were. Ancano sent a lightning bolt spell Terra's way but she dodged it and bared her teeth at him before swiping her claws at him, which struck his cheek and drew blood. Kefka channelled his Power of Destruction and skin began to turn a dark purple and he sprouted two lilac angel wings with two darker bat wings underneath. Terra growled and pounced on Kefka, slashing at his face as he threw her off of him. Kuja went into his own trance and flicked his now red hair away from his face. Ancano laughed and twirled Kuja's tail around his fingers.
"Nice tail." He sneered.
"Shut up!" Kuja exclaimed and tapped Ancano's hand. When the graceful glider manoeuvred with the others to surround Terra, Rikke caught a glimpse of Kuja's red, furry appendage. She blinked and shook her head with disbelief as she blocked Galmar's blow with her sword.
"Kuja has a tail... That's new." She muttered and continued to parry the Stormcloak's attacks. Terra yelped as Kefka's wings struck her whilst he was upside down. The soldier on the outside of the circle tried to cut his way into the group to help Terra, but he was struck by an explosion formed from Kuja's magic and propelled towards the ceiling by a further explosion caused by the five orbs that surrounded him. He landed with a sickening crunch that made Ancano flinch. Terra caught the three of them in her spiralling tornadoes and she pushed them up as the tornadoes became one and then split again, only to merge once more and dissipating, allowing them to drop. Ancano was the only one to collide with the ground. He whimpered in pain as the three mages hung in midair over the melee combat without him. He pushed himself up as Kuja caught her in an ultima spell and Kefka conjured three blue triangles that converged towards Terra twice. She yelped and changed back into her green haired self before she fell down towards the stone. Kuja and Kefka both returned to their normal forms as their feet touched the ground. The three mages gave each other a nod before teaming up to take on Ralof and the other soldier. Sigmund used his Voice to freeze the masked Stormcloak as Hadvar and Ralof clashed swords. Their blades broke free and they clanged together again and again. Sigmund's sword joing Hadvar's the next time the swords met. The soldier unfroze, but he was in there too long to have survived. Even his nordic blood didn't render him safe from freezing to death. Ralof managed to topple Hadvar, but he didn't notice Sigmund's shield come flying toward him until it impacted with his cheek. He stumbled backwards and Sigmund smacked him again with the shield. Ralof fell and Sigmund helped Hadvar up. The Dragonborn sliced the arm of the head Stormcloak and coated his hand and his sword with blood. He placed his hand on Ralof's throat tightly.
"Flop to the ground. Stay there and don't move." Hadvar commanded with a whisper.
"What?"
"Just do it." Hadvar hissed as Sigmund got up and ran the sword across his neck without it touching his flesh and the Stormcloak flopped to the ground just like he had instructed. The two legionnaires looked at each other with a smile and nodded. Kuja saw the look they gave each other and knew that they had tried to help the man named Ralof. Cloud dodged the first few purple arcs that zoomed towards him, but as he went to slash at Sephiroth, the last one struck him and he grunted. Sephiroth slashed at the werewolf seven times before striking at him one final time. The blonde warrior did manage to land a few blows, but it frustrated him when his sword hit air instead of his target. The tip of Sephiroth's katana came in contact with Cloud's bicep and he hissed as the skin split and bled. Kuja saw this and clicked his fingers. The Wabbajack materialised and fell into Kuja's hands. He pointed the staff at the silver haired man as he advanced and slashed at the blonde again. From the corner of Rikke's eye, she could see a red ball of light fly across the room and strike the assassin. Both she and Galmar stopped their fight when a bright red puff of smoke erupted from where Sephiroth was and when the smoke cleared, a silver furred fox with bright green eyes stood in his place.
"What was that?!" Rikke exclaimed.
"Wabbajack." Kuja replied and spun it around in his hand.
"Where did you get that?" Galmar asked.
"Sheogorath." Kuja replied bluntly. The nords looked at each other before they continued fighting. The fox bared his teeth at the werewolf as he slowly moved forward. Lightning saw Cloud advancing on the newly transformed Sephiroth and activated her personal anti-gravity device and dodged Garland's sweeping strike before she launched herself through the air and landed right in front of Cloud. Her sword blocked his and she pushed his blade back before she performed a roundhouse kick that impacted with his cheek and he stumbled backwards. She sheathed her sword and as she knelt down, the fox climbed onto her legs and she cuddled him in her arms.
"Are you okay?" She asked the fox. He licked her face and she ruffled his ears. Lightning opened the door leading to the wizards' quarters.
"Go find Wuunferth." She said and put him down on the stone floor. He looked up at her with a sad expression.
"Don't give me attitude. Just go." She commanded and he sulked away up the hallway as she closed the door. Cloud looked at her with annoyance as she whipped out Gagnrad and confronted Garland. She pulled the blade apart and caught Garland in a web of thunder before she crossed the blades and a final few bolts struck him and rose petals fluttered around the hall. She slid underneath Garland's massive blade and jumped into the air before spinning the blades around herself to conjure lightning bolts that continuously struck the knight until she placed her hands around the hilts again. When she landed on the ground, Garland's hand grasped her neck and he slammed her back up against the wall, causing her to drop the twin blades. She clawed at his gauntlet as he slammed her against the wall again and threw her to the ground. Lightning reached for her glass sword and Garland knocked her out with a single punch. Rikke and Galmar still hadn't landed a blow of each other. Tullius has barely been touched and Ulfric was heavily bleeding. The shaft of Galmar's battleaxe was beginning to split as he continued to block Rikke's attacks. The shaft snapped in half and she plunged her sword into his chest as Ulfric collapsed to the ground. The Legate pulled her sword out of the general and slashed his chest again before he fell.
"Well Ulfric, you can't escape from me this time. Any last requests before I send you to... to wherever you people go when you die." Tullius announced.
"Sovngarde... sir." Rikke corrected and sheathed her sword.
"Right. Well?" Tullius questioned.
"Let the Dragonborn be the one to do it. It'll make for a better song." Ulfric answered as he clutched his stomach. Tullius called Sigmund forward and he stepped forward.
"Song or not, I just want it done."
"I'll do it, sir." Sigmund replied.
"Here, use my sword to do it. I made sure to sharpen it for the occasion." Tullius instructed and handed him an ebony sword. The nord traced the swirled engraving with his fingertip before he gripped it tightly and marched up to Ulfric's side. He looked at the sword and swung downwards with all of his might. The rebel's head fell off of his neck and rolled a little around the floor.
"Talos be with you..." Rikke whispered.
"What was that, Legate?" Tullius questioned.
"Just saying goodbye." She answered.
"Well, the men will be expecting some kind of speech. And we'll need to hand over the city to that Free-Winter fellow." Tullius said and sheathed his sword.
"Brunwulf. Yes, I've sent the men to protect him and bring him here. Windhelm will need a government quickly if we are to prevent more violence." Rikke replied.
"The Legion will be staying here for quite some time. I don't expect there to be any further violence. Oh and Sigmund. It's been an honour to have you at my side. As a token of my appreciation, I want you to keep my sword. And now, to deliver a speech." Tullius said and led the group towards the wrought iron doors.
Garland nodded to Ancano and Mercer, who stood in front of each door and Tullius turned and faced Garland.
"What is the meaning of this?" The general demanded.
"You're not giving a speech and you're not even leaving here." Garland said bluntly. Kuja, Rikke, Hadvar and Sigmund nodded to each other and pulled out their weapons as Kuja made his staff vanish. Tullius had no idea what was going on.
"Garland was never on our side." Rikke announced.
"Ancano, the Dragonborn." Garland instructed. Ancano charged a paralysis spell and launched it in Sigmund's direction. Hadvar stepped behind him and took the spell for his friend. The brunette stiffened and dropped to the ground, unmoving.
"Hadvar?" Sigmund questioned as he turned around. The high elf sent another spell hurtling towards the blonde and he toppled over, as stiff as a corpse.
"You won't get away with this Garland!" Rikke exclaimed. Garland circled the group with a smirk painting his face behind his helm.
"What about you Kuja? I'm unsure where you stand. One minute, you're with us. The next, you're an Imperial lapdog." Garland sneered. Cloud shot Garland a dangerous glance and Garland remembered Cloud's not-so-secret lycanthropy and said, "No offence, Cloud." Kefka cackled as Cloud's expression showed offence and he wiggled his fingers before summoning fire to keep himself occupied.
"I stand with Rikke. You're not going to get away with this. Not whilst I'm here." Kuja spat. The Legate nodded to the small mage and they exchanged a smile.
"Suit yourself, monkey boy." Kefka said. Kuja clenched his fists and snarled, "I am not a boy! Zidane is the boy! And we've been over this; never poke fun of my tail!" Kefka and Mercer shared a laugh.
"That's a shame. You could've helped me rule Tamriel." Garland said. Tullius looked at Garland with surprise.
"Is that your motive?" He questioned.
"Yes, that is my motive. And now, I bid you farewell." Garland answered and plunged his sword through Tullius' chest. When Garland pulled his sword out of the general's chest, the circle tightened and the two of them found themselves back to back. Mercer turned invisible and Rikke looked around wildly to see if she could find him. Ancano used the paralysis spell on Kuja and he stiffened to a likeness of stone before toppling over. She turned to find him on the floor, frozen just like the others. She was alone and Mercer was still missing. She gasped as a poisoned dagger entered her leg and she screeched as the poison began to enter her bloodstream. She fell to the ground and she could feel her skin getting hotter and her muscles tighten. Garland laughed as she convulsed in pain. He picked up the Dragonborn and his group followed him away to their hideout in the charred remains to Helgen.
