Snapshot Thirty-Five: Conquest's End
Game: FE Fates Conquest
Spoilers: Seriously, though, by now you guys should know that there are massive spoilers for Fates here. Ye have been warned!
Summary: In an unprecedented pact of peace between Hoshido and the Nohrian vanguard led by Kiryoku, the two factions must now face the last fight of the war against Nohr's own King Garon and his blood-thirsty generals.
Notes: First of all, this is a continuation of 34, Your Swords...Lay Them Down. Secondly, it is therefore a continuation of my Conquest AU.
Thirdly, HUGE thanks to Juny23, who not only gave me such an adorable review (they called Snapshots a box of chocolates), but it was a good review that came at the end of a long and stressful day. Thanks Juny23!
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
"Steady! Steady! Bring her a little lower!" Kiryoku sighed. Her flight was over, though she had greatly enjoyed it...feeling the breeze on her face, watching the muscles of the feathery Kinshi as the birds transported her to Fort Jinya. She grimaced as the stretcher she was on, which was suspended from the harnesses of the two Kinshi, touched down on the ground with a jolt. Kiryoku lost her breath, her already sensitive lungs and ribs unable to take the minute bump.
Elise and Sakura, riding behind a pair of sky knights, dismounted. "Are you alright?" Sakura asked as she and Elise began to undo the ropes. Kiryoku nodded, gasping. Her lungs began to function again and she took a deep breath, only to wince as her ribs protested. Tears sprang to her eyes.
"Maybe not..." Elise muttered. She undid the last rope and called to the Kinshi knights, who urged their mounts on.
"Lady Sakura! You've returned!" Kiryoku turned her head to see Yukimura approaching. He froze, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses as he saw the pair of Nohrian princesses. "Oh..."
"Things have changed, Yukimura," Sakura explained. "Ryoma is on the way...he should arrive shortly with an explanation. Please, send a message to Hinoka and Takumi, asking them to come here with the army."
"At once, my lady. And the Nohrians?"
"My sister is recovering from a near fatal wound. She is to receive the same courtesy as I would. Her other sister, Princess Elise, is to remain at her side, with all due respect of her station."
"Very well." Yukimura bowed and strode away. Sakura and Elise helped their sister stand.
"They're here," Kiryoku muttered.
Elise's eyes widened. "Who? Fath...I mean Garon?"
"No. Xander and Ryoma and the others."
"How can you tell?"
"Dragons have a bit better hearing...nowhere near a Kitsune or Wolfskin, but better than a human's."
She was correct. Hooves clattered on the stone courtyard, as did boots. Kiryoku couldn't help but smile at the sight of the Hoshidans and her Nohrian group getting along. She felt tears of joy fill her eyes.
"Are you in pain?" Elise asked.
"No. I'm just so happy."
"Come on, we should get you to a bed."
Sakura led the way, guiding her sister and the girl who was turning out to not be that bad, to a private room. "We're trying to switch the fort from a medical location to one for fighting. We still have plenty of supplies for healing, though." The healers laid their sister down on the comfortable mat. "Shall I fetch Silas?" Sakura asked.
"Please."
Sakura left the room. Elise settled down next to her sister. "Odd ways of sleeping, these Hoshidans."
"Mmm...still really comfortable, though..."
"I bet."
Kiryoku sighed and closed her eyes. She had been making remarkable healing since being attacked five days ago by the Stoneborn. In that time, her group and Ryoma's had come to an agreement and plan. They decided to make a final stand here at the fort. As soon as the Nohrian army arrived, the war would end. Ryoma's scouts told him that Garon was still a week away. There was time to prepare. Kiryoku wanted to fight in that final battle, but both of her healer sisters told her to wait and see. For all they knew, she wouldn't be strong enough to fight. She sighed again and surrendered herself to sleep once more.
It wasn't until a few days later that she was able to wander the fort without help. She and Silas had given Elise the slip and were now spending those much needed moments alone together. They heard talking coming from a room and recognized the voices of those planning the battle: Xander, Leo, Ryoma and Yukimura. There were others, as well. The two lovebirds paused in the doorway.
"Kiryoku!" Hinoka leaped up and hugged her little sister.
"Agh, Hinoka!"
Hinoka took a step back. "You're hurt?"
Kiryoku nodded.
"Sorry! Oh, no, I hope I didn't make it worse!"
Kiryoku waved a hand. "...F-fine..."
"You look awful, sister," came Takumi's voice. "Sit."
Kiryoku and Silas did so. "While you look so much better," Kiryoku retorted softly, smiling at her brother. The last time she had seen him, he'd been suffering from possession, but it had been remedied in time to save his life.
Takumi grinned. "Thanks to Azura."
"Anyway..." Leo continued from where he left off. Kiryoku listened to the various statistics brought in by the scouts: the approaching Nohrian army's size (much too big), their approximate arrival (much too soon), and other details that made Kiryoku's stomach churn uncomfortably. But eventually, she fell asleep against Silas, still exhausted from her wounds.
Two days later, however, she stood with Ryoma and Xander - and Silas protectively at her back - watching the Nohrian army approach. She was wearing the classic armor of a samurai, as she had yet to get a replacement set, and the bandages still wrapped about her chest made anything else uncomfortable.
"Remember. Stay back," Xander said. "You're in no condition to fight, little princess."
"I know. Silas and I will fall back as soon as the battle begins."
They stood in silence, waiting for the inevitable. Finally, the enemy came to a stop. The ranks parted, admitting Iago and Hans. Garon himself followed his generals astride a massive and vicious charger.
Xander shifted. "You're sure he's no longer our father?"
"Yes. He is but a demon wearing Father's face. There is one way to tell, but that involves having him sit on the Hoshidan throne, which shows one's true form."
"A risk I'm not willing to take. There are far too many innocents between here and the throne." The Nohrian crown prince winced as his father's voice boomed out across the battlefield.
"What is the meaning of this?! My own children have turned against me?"
"You are not the father we once knew!" Leo shouted. He had been incensed by the discovery that he'd been deceived for much of his life. "We stand for peace and justice, not brutality and war!"
"So, you have been turned by Kiryoku. Traitorous child. You were worthless as my daughter."
Kiryoku growled. "I was never your daughter! I am the proud child of Queen Mikoto and King Sumeragi! I was raised not by you, but by Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise! I was accepted by Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura! They are my family, not you! My loyalty is to them, and to peace!"
"Then you will die!"
"You'll have to go through me," Xander snapped, drawing Siegfried.
Ryoma did the same. "And me!"
"This war ends now!" Kiryoku called. She drew Yato, glowing now with the light of all four sacred weapons, and raised it. "For peace!" The Hoshidans and Nohrians on their side repeated her cry, lifting their weapons into the air. Their voices seemed to shake the very ground.
Hans shouted wordlessly and charged alongside a small portion of the Nohrian army.
"Get back, Kiryoku!" Ryoma called, taking his stance.
Kiryoku nodded and, with her husband's help, mounted up behind the knight. Silas spurred his horse back through the ranks and to a high vantage point, where Kiryoku could watch the battle. Takumi and Mozu, leading the archers and snipers along the walls and at the ballistae, were there as well. Kiryoku dropped to the ground by her brother, holding her arms to her chest. Shouting clearly was not the way to heal her wounds.
"Archers, fire at will!" Takumi called, unleashing a deadly storm of arrows on the enemy. Kiryoku winced, knowing that some of those soldiers struck by the arrows would never move again.
"Why are they hanging back?" Mozu asked, pointing with an arrow at the nervously shifting army at the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from Iago and Garon.
"Cowards, maybe," Takumi sneered.
"Maybe not," Silas said. "Nohrian soldiers are, for the majority, highly loyal. They must see Lord Xander as the head of our forces and don't wish to fight him. Despite the fact that he's not yet king, they respect him."
"So those that are attacking must not care for anything save bloodshed, like Hans." Kiryoku shuddered, thinking on the massacre of Cheve. She paced, eyeing the battlefield. "Hang on, What's Garon doing?" She squinted. What she saw made her mouth go dry. "Gods..."
"What?" Takumi asked, releasing another arrow.
"G-garon...he killed one of his own men! The others are throwing down their weapons! No wait, some are charging...they're attacking their own! Hans is down! Overwhelmed by his own men!"
Silas whistled. "Not the reaction Garon was hoping for."
Across the battlefield they could hear the retreating soldiers chanting "for peace!" They watched as the turncoats, having defeated Hans, threw down their weapons and retreated. Those Nohrians still attacking became quickly overwhelmed and pulled back, the Hoshidan army following. Faced with their infuriated king, some soldiers turned to fight while others simply ran.
Kiryoku watched tensely, keeping track of all her siblings in the fray, while she shifted anxiously from foot to foot. She saw Ryoma, Xander and Leo start toward Garon and meet him head on. Chaos followed, and the princess lost sight of her siblings until she saw the man she once called father raise his battleax and swing it down with deadly ferocity.
"No!" Takumi cried. He had stopped shooting, too focused on the battle.
Kiryoku felt her emotions skyrocket. The stone she had been gripping slipped from her fingers. Her inner dragon took over, and she found herself gunning through the air to attack Garon. The king, barely able to bring his ax up, was knocked to the ground, Kiryoku snarling over him.
Xander felt his foot catch on the limb of a fallen soldier and he stumbled. He cursed, realizing just why he usually fought mounted. He attempted to get up, but the shadow of Garon fell over him. He looked up to see the king ready to strike him down with a deadly blow of his ax. As the weapon came down, Xander rolled out of the way. He was hauled to his feet by the back of his armor. A glance to the side told him it was Ryoma.
"There are better places - and times - to take a nap, y'know," the Hoshidan prince quipped, pointing Raijinto at an enemy archer aiming for Hinoka. A fork of lighting struck the soldier, sending him to the ground.
"Ha ha, hilarious," Xander retorted flatly. He scowled, turning his anger on Garon. "What kind of father kills his children?!" he demanded. "You are no father of mine!"
Garon took a step forward, glowering at his son. He turned suddenly, barely able to get his ax up before a silver blur tackled him to the ground.
The dragon roared, flaring her wings. Garon kicked at her and she stumbled back, snarling. "Kiryoku, get back!" Xander shouted. What was his sister thinking?!
He took a step forward, but Ryoma held him back. "Wait. This isn't right." The two princes watched, noting the absolute fury with which their sister fought. There were no pulled strikes, no commentary. Only snarls and roars, and a heart-wrenching yip as the ax slammed into her side. Other Nohrian soldiers scattered, while Garon seemed overwhelmed, barely able to keep up. His ax was knocked from his hands, then he was brought to the ground again by the following swipe. A third blow struck and Garon stopped fighting to get free of the claws, going far too still.
Kiryoku threw her head back and roared triumphantly. She turned her attention to Iago, who had watched the whole thing, frozen with fear. "L-lord Xander, please, call the beast off!"
"Coward!" There was a flash of magic, and Iago was sent flying backwards. Leo trotted to Xander's side, his Brynhildr glowing ominously. Kiryoku chased after the mage, defeating him with another swipe of her claws.
"Kiryoku!" Silas galloped up to them, a shining dragonstone in his hand. Ryoma swore. He knew his sister wasn't herself. The dragon turned, eyeing them, as they were the only ones close enough. She made an odd noise, as if she was coughing. Her wings drooped and her sides heaved. "She thought you were killed," Silas explained, dropping to the ground.
"That explains it," Ryoma sighed. "Kiryoku! It's okay now. We've won! Just calm down." The Hoshidan prince took a few steps forward, but stopped as his sister growled weakly, raising a razor sharp claw.
"We're all alive," Xander continued. "We're all fine. Be at peace."
The dragon groaned, falling to her knees. She coughed again and collapsed fully. Light flashed around her, and her form shrunk back to normal. Silas ran to her side, falling to her level. Ryoma, shouting for a healer, followed.
Xander sighed, but turned suddenly at the sound of wet coughing. His father lay dying. Xander moved to stand over him. "All the pain and suffering, all the war mongering...I could let you bleed out here and now." Garon gaped, gasping and attempting to reach for his ax. Xander kicked it further from his grasp. "Instead, because you were good to me when I was a child, I will ease your passing. Know that Nohr will thrive in my hands." He lowered Siegfried, and ended Garon's suffering. He sighed, looked away, but ended up meeting Leo's gaze.
The younger of the Nohrian princes bowed his head. "It had to be done..." He eyed Kiryoku. "Let's go help. She looks like she's in tough shape."
"The war is over..."
"We can rest easy…at long last…"
"There was no point to this war..."
"We're friends now!"
"Friends!"
Kiryoku groaned, rolled onto her side, and coughed. She tasted blood.
"Still at it, huh? Gods, if you had stayed put..."
Kiryoku opened her eyes and saw Elise by her bedside. "Stayed put where?"
"With Prince Takumi and Mozu." Kiryoku coughed again. "But, then again, the war is over. Thanks to you."
"Me?"
"Yup. You took down both Iago and Fath...uh, Garon and taught them never to mess with an angry dragon."
"Oh. I vaguely remember being a dragon."
"Yeah, but you re-broke some of your ribs, hence the blood." Kiryoku coughed, grimacing at the metallic taste of the blood. She sighed. This was getting old. "But, if you're able to get up, Xander and Prince Ryoma want you to be there when they sign a peace treaty between Nohr and Hoshido."
Kiryoku sat up. "Well, let's go, then."
"They might still be asleep. Victory celebrations lasted until far past midnight. Everyone's pretty much asleep."
"Is that why it's so quiet?"
"Yup. I'll let you know when they're up. You, in the meantime, will rest."
"Gotcha." Kiryoku sighed. "Peace at last, huh?"
"Peace at last."
Author's note: So, how many Awakening Easter eggs can you find in this? Blame Ryoma and his voice actor.
Published 6/22/2016