Last Time On AU Oneshots: Harumi is pregnant

Request: Request: Kailor, maybe with some intense angst. AU: Either a War or Assassin AU. Either works

Requested by: Northern Goshawk

Warnings: War, blood

Pairings: Kailor

AU: War.

Note: This was supposed to take place in the 1300's. I got mixed up and it's probably closer to the 1200's instead. Also, I get it, people from Mongolia rarely have natural red hair or green eyes. I don't want to try and racebend these guys and accidentally offend someone, okay?

Battletorn

Mornings on the Steppe were cold.

Kai crept outside of the warm Yurt he shared with his brothers, glancing at the vast, grey sky. The sky that went on forever. The sky that sheltered the nomadic horse-riders of the Steppe. He glanced back inside at his brothers, flopped out wherever there was space. Lloyd was halfway out of a hammock about to fall on Cole, and Jay and Nya were snuggling (ew). Zane was asleep softly breathing near the door.

Kai finally pulled the hide door shut and left the area. Creeping through the camp, he was careful not to wake anyone with his footsteps as he slipped between yurts. Finally he found one of his family's horses, his favorite, Flame. The broad-shouldered stallion was grazing near a flock of sheep, but he glanced up when he smelled Kai.

"Hey, boy," Kai approached the stallion and patted his warm shoulders with his bare fingers. Flame tossed his head. "I need you for a minute."

Grabbing Flame's mane, Kai swung up on the stallion and clicked his tongue. Flame stopped grazing and looked up, ears alert. Kai gingerly pressed the stallion's side, urging his mount forward. As soon as they were far enough from camp, Kai urged Flame into a fierce gallop, thundering across the frosty ground towards a thin creek a few kilometers from the camp. It was too far to be used by Khan Chen and his people, or by Kai's family clan, making it the ideal spot for a meetup.

Approaching the creek, Kai slowed flame, trotting up to the small pool created by the water. A second horse, a young mare, was drinking from the creek, her rider, Kai's girlfriend Skylor, fingering the mare's mane. Kai dismounted as soon as he got close, and let go of Flame, allowing his stallion to greet the mare how he saw fit.

"You came," Skylor looked up, her green eyes sparkling with amused surprise.

"Don't sound so surprised," Kai answered playfully, folding his arms and tucking his hands beneath his arms to stay warm. "I can keep agreements."

"Oh?" The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Past events would suggest otherwise." She moved closer to him, and Kai could see the way their cloudy breath mingled with each other's and with the horses. It tied them to the earth, to the Steppe. To the horses, and to each other.

The two of them sat down, and Kai happily placed an arm around Skylor as she leaned into him happily. It was quite a bit warmer to lean against one another than to be by themselves.

"How did you sneak out?" Kai asked, adjusting his leg and pulling Skylor closer to his chest. "With your dad?"

"You think he cares what I do?" Skylor asked, blowing out a breath of air while leaning against Kai warmly. "He didn't notice."

"Are… you still sure about this?" Kai asked, tugging at Skylor's soft hair. "We don't have to kill him. We can back off and let him-"

"No, Kai," Skylor answered. "For the sake of my clan, and for the sake of yours, he… he has to die. In the tradition of the Steppe, I am the only heir to the clan, and you and I can disband it as we see fit."

"Are you sure your tribe will be accepting of… all this?" Kai asked. "I mean, I know a lot of them hate Chen, but, you and I haven't done the traditional work or anything like that."

"Kai…" Skylor poked his ribs gently. "I think they'll understand. At least, my sisters might. Toxicita and Chamille may understand."

"Wait," Kai pulled back a bit to look into Skylor's eyes. "How are they not-"

"I'm the oldest," Skylor explained. "And they're not old enough to be married yet. Our clan is made up of a lot of little families, not like yours. If your brother Cole died, you or Zane would become leader in his place. Because of my father's control, if he died, chaos and war would break out. I can't let that happen."

Kai smiled at her. "When did you become such a leader?"

Skylor sighed. "I'm not a leader, I'm just good at making sure people don't kill each other, y'know what? Nevermind. Our plan will work as long as there's no ensuing chaos and people don't initiate murder."

"Besides us, right?" Kai asked, joking around.

Skylor chuckled and shook her head. "You're adorable."

Kai mock-frowned and folded his arms. "Excuse me, I'm terrifying and dangerous."

"Okay, okay, I believe you," Skylor answered as the two of them got up, taking their horses from the creek. "Are you going to be able to explain what's going on to your brothers and Nya?"

"Nya is one of my brothers," Kai grinned. "But, yeah, it'll be easy to convince them that I'm going hunting. They'll buy that, at least for a while."

Skylor smiled and nodded. "There's a river near our camp. I'll meet you in the reeds on the far bank. We always have people moving through the camp, so I don't think anyone will notice you as different. Meet me halfway to sunhigh, okay?"

Kai nodded. "I got it."

Before mounting their horses, the two spent a moment embracing one another. Kai felt Skylor slip her woolen gloves into his pocket. It was a known fact on the Steppe that smell and breath carried a part of a person's soul, and by doing this, Skylor gave him a part of herself. Kai wished he had something to give her in return, but without wealth, he didn't have anything to give her. Instead, he pressed her tighter, giving her a kiss on the side of the mouth.

Skylor let out a soft sigh of pleasure and kissed him back for a moment before the two of them pulled apart. They did not speak while mounting their horses, but as they left their secret spring, both shouted for the fierce joy of the morning, their calls echoing against mountains and through windswept grass. Fierce love sprouted in Kai's chest. Love for the Steppe, love for Skylor, love for riding across the grass, love for his brothers and for hunting and for raids. Kai loved the chaotic life of the steppe. By killing Chen, this was the only way he could cement the life he'd grown to love.

Letting out a joyous shout, Flame whinnying beneath him, Kai thundered towards home.

Kai heard Chen Khan's camp before he saw it. Hunters and warriors of the powerful Khan galloped with their horses through the grasslands, patrolling the outskirts of the territory. Kai found a large group and rode as close to it as he could, Flame's thundering steps melding in with the other warriors. Fortunately, this patrol was low class like himself, allowing him to blend in easily. Chen was insistent on keeping traditional Steppe values while also trying to unify everyone, and his attempts at keeping those in power in power took a toll on the loyalty of his followers.

As the group drew closer to the camp, Kai diverted from the group, spotting the slithering silver form of the river grazing the edge of the camp and headed towards a deep patch of reeds. Flame slowed as they approached the edge of the camp, but trotted into the reeds anyway.

Kai climbed off of Flame and listened for a moment, hearing the sounds of voices through the whispers of the grass and mumbles of the reeds. He stepped through the cool, shaded reeds, wincing as his feet squished against the moist ground.

Finally he found Skylor in the reeds, talking in a hushed voice to a group around her. He slipped into the back, but she noticed him and nodded slightly. "Alright," She told the group. "Here's the plan."

She drew a rough square on the ground. "Toxicita, take Shade, Karlof, and Pale and create a commotion on the east side of camp to draw Chen into the open." She pointed to the left side of the square.

Tox grinned as she nodded. She understood.

"Chamille, take Griffin, Neuro, and Ronin and cut off the exit points back to camp. We need Chen trapped in the open.

"As soon as you have him trapped, go after anyone who's flanking him, but work in pairs. Don't worry about Chen. Kai and I will take care of that." She drew an X across the square, then stabbed her stick into the earth.

The group mumbled in agreement, heads nodding.

Chamille raised her hand. "Wait, you and who exactly?"

Skylor motioned for Kai to reveal himself with a quick jab of her head. He walked through the group to stand beside her as heads turned and whispers arose.

"Everyone, this is Kai. He's here to help us rid the Steppe of Chen Kahn," Skylor introduced him to the group. Mumblings slowed down as soon as they realized that he was a lot like him. Kai looked around at the small group of people and relaxed. All of them were shepherd-born, none were of high-class or aristocrats. They were simply… like him. All of them were fighting for a better world.

"Should we get going?" Toxicita asked, her green eyes sparkling. Skylor nodded. The group split up, following different leaders and making two small battalions. Skylor led Kai through the reeds and handed him the reins of a fresh horse, a skittish black gelding.

"Come on," She whispered. "We'll head to the eastern hollow. Sounds good?"

"Yeah," Kai blinked. "Hey, you didn't tell me there would be others with us."

"I… I'm sorry," Skylor sighed. "I thought you would've assumed there'd be others helping us. I should've told you directly."

"That's okay," Kai mounted the gelding as Skylor mounted a dappled grey mare beside him. Clicking his tongue, he urged his mount to follow Skylor's into the freezing river, and the horses walked across on the bottom.

"Are… you okay?" Kai asked as they rode around the outside of the camp. "You've been… kind of quiet."

"I could ask you the same," Skylor retorted gently, but the smile on her face faded. "I'm… a little nervous about how this will go, but… it'll probably be fine. What are you thinking about?"

"I feel kind of bad for leaving my family back there… if this doesn't kill me, Cole and Nya will," Kai chuckled. He started slightly at Skylor's nervous expression. "I mean, we're not going to die, Sky. We'll be fine, it was a joke."

Skylor sighed. "I really hope so."

They dissolved into silence once again as the horses carried them through the grasses of the Steppe towards the hollow. Kai almost turned back right then and there, but the idea of Chen's warriors thundering into his camp and attacking his brothers forced him to continue. When Kai was very young, an attacking Clan, the Hands of Time, had destroyed his home, killing his father and taking his mother prisoner. He and Nya had barely escaped by hiding in the tall, thick reeds and moss of a nearby creek.

It panicked Kai to think of Chen's warriors killing Cole or Zane, and taking Nya or Zane's Girlfriend Pixal prisoner. As such, he urged the gelding into a strict canter.

Skylor stopped him on the top of a hill, so they could watch the attack. Kai pulled his katana from his back and held it out, taking a deep breath. He watched Skylor adjust the sinew string on her bow and arch her back, watching for their signal.

Cries of panic rang out over the still morning, muffled by the wind, and Kai's gelding danced nervously. "Skylor?" Kai asked, the wind picking at his words.

"Yes?" Skylor looked up from her bow. "Is this about the horse?"

Kai shook his head. "Hey, um, after this is all over, will you, uh, come back to my camp? I want you to meet my family, but it's alright if you don't want to." He bit his lip. This was so hard! Normally he was calm and cool around girls, but Skylor… did exactly that making his calm, coolness defunct.

"Kai," Skylor urged her mare next to his horse and held out a hand, "I'd love to."

Kai let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and took her hand, watching as a small procession of warriors surrounding Chen Khan rode out into the open. He squeezed Skylor's hand when he noticed her beginning to tremble with nerves. He'd always thought that her hatred of her father would allow her to fight him easily, but beside him, she just looked… scared. Like how he felt. They were both terrified of what was to come. of what they could do.

A shout rang out from the basin, a loud, whooping cry, and Kai spotted Chamille's group closing off the exit way. He took a deep breath and let go of Skylor's hand.

It was time.

Skylor felt the way her horse moved under her, thundering towards her father. Towards the man who had caused all of her abuse, all of her issues. The man who must die to save the Steppe. Kai raced alongside her, katana drawn, and brow furrowed. Soon. Soon. Soon.

Chamille's group thundered over the hillsides, picking off a few of Chen's attendants with their arrows and panicking the already frightened horses. Skylor broke away from her straight line and galloped her horse around the outsides of the group, circling like a vulture to look for an opening. Her heart leapt into her throat as arrows whizzed by her.

Kai galloped towards one of Chen's attendants, Skylor's uncle Clouse, who was barely able to pull back his bowstring before Kai made a clean cut across his chest, knocking him from the saddle and into the dirt. Kai pulled back slightly, but wasn't able to control his anxious mount as one of the guards, General Eyezor, flung a sharp sword at Kai, slicing his neck.

Skylor shouted in fear as Kai yelped with surprised pain and was thrown from his horse, landing in the churned mud of many hooves, blood was spraying from his neck and wet his frightened gelding, who galloped off in a panic. Skylor screamed, slapping her mare so hard she forgot the creature beneath her was anything but a vehicle and dogged her enraged father's attendants, flying across the hills towards Kai's limp form.

Dismounting in battle nearly always meant certain death for a rider, but leaving Kai on the ground would mean certain death for him if he bled out or was trampled by the scared horses. Skylor leapt from the saddle, keeping a tight grip on her mare's reins.

"KAI!" Skylor knelt beside him, smacking his ashen cheek gently and wincing as she knelt in the mud made from earth and blood. "Kai, can you hear me?!"

Kai didn't move.

Skylor yanked her mare closer, then she gingerly looped an arm around Kai's waist and lifted him into the saddle, tying him there with the rawhide ropes. Finally, she tore off what remained of his shirt, and, dodging another arrow, packed it into his cut. She dropped the reins and smacked her horse's hindquarters, sending the mare into a panicked gallop.

Chen noticed her and leapt from his own horse, gasping heavily with age and weight. He glared at her, approaching through the grass. His voice boomed across the battlefield. "DAUGHTER!"

Skylor took a breath and strung another arrow into her bow, turning to face her father. Her abuser. The man she must kill. "Father." She fought to keep the fear out of her voice, but it still quivered. She took a deep breath in, holding her head high.

"YOU DARE OPPOSE ME?" Chen roared, his voice causing the battlefield to fall silent as he snarled, pulling his sword and approaching her angrily. "You are but an ungrateful brat. You believe that you can fight me?"

"I know that I must," Skylor took a deep breath, approaching Chen. She twisted her fingers around the arrow in her bow, sweating profusely. "The people of the Steppe will die with you as their leader. I must protect them."

"You know nothing of the Steppe!" Chen howled, furious. "You are a CHILD! YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND WHAT I MUST-"

In one fluid motion Skylor lifted her bow, drew back the string, and fired an arrow at her tormentor.

Time stood still. Chen's angry expression dissolved into shock as the arrow pierced his neck, going straight through to the tip of his spine. Blood poured from his neck as he stumbled to the ground.

Then everything was happening too fast. Several others from the resistance whooped in delight at the completion of their target. Chamille and Toxicita rode up to Skylor, both leaping from the saddle to congratulate her on her aim. Skylor too a deep breath.

"KAI!" She spun towards Toxicita. "Can I borrow your horse? Thanks." Without waiting for an answer, Skylor grabbed Tox's horse and slapped the reins, riding off towards the hills her own frightened mare had run to. As soon as she spotted her mare, she whistled for her horse, and the two horses greeted each other as Skylor pulled Kai's unconscious form from her mare's saddle. "Kai, oh, Kai, breathe! BREATHE!" She shouted, slapping his cheek gently. "Come on…"

She noticed that his shirt, though it'd stopped the bleeding, was soaked through. Matting down the grass, Skylor laid Kai on the soft grassy earth and shoved him slightly. She checked his breathing before laying her head against his chest to check for a heartbeat.

He was alive, but weak.

Very weak.

Deathly weak.

Skylor took a deep breath and switched his makeshift bandage from the saddle blanket of one of the horses, tearing it into strips and pressing that into the cut on Kai's neck. Kai himself was silent during the whole ordeal but he began to stir as Skylor wiped some of the clotted dried blood from his face, giving his cheek a gentle kiss.

He blinked his amber eyes pen with a slight whimper, barely able to focus on anything. "S… Sky?" He rasped. "Is izzat you?"

"Yes, Kai," Skylor wiped a piece of Kai's blood-soaked hair from his face and pressed her hand to his cheek. He feebly leaned into it, barely able to smile.

"Thank you," He rasped. "Thank you, thank you, thank you…"

Skylor pulled his head into her lap and caressed his cheeks with her fingers as Kai relaxed against her. "You're going to be fine, Kai.

"I promise."

Just before sunset, Kai and Skylor were married.

Golden sun rays shone across the hills, lighting the steppe as Kai and Skylor stood upon the hills. After Chen's death, Skylor had come to live with Kai's family, hunting and eating with them, and growing close to them all, but especially Nya and Pixal.

Now, as the sun set beyond the horizon, they exchanged horses, as a wedding custom. The priest of Kai's family group, Mystake, officiated the ceremony, and now, though the scars of their battle with Chen remained, Kai stepped forward towards Skylor.

He held out a silken cord, attached to a proud beige mare, and Skylor accepted it gingerly, the horse moving towards her. She outstretched her own hand, in it was held the silk cord of a fleet-footed white gelding, who shone gold in the setting sun. Kai smiled as he took the horse's cord.

The family erupted into cheers, and Skylor and Kai took one another's hands as they approached the family, smiling. Together.

Cole, Zane, and Jay ran to Kai, shouting and scooping him up to embarrass him the way brothers do. Lloyd tried to join in, but he tripped on a rock and fell over onto Jay, cracking everyone up, including Lloyd himself.

Nya and Pixal laughed as they each congratulated Skylor. Pixal was the most proud, as she and Zane had been married only a few months ago.

When Skylor looked to the Steppe and to this new family, she relaxed. Kai was alive and well, she was safe.

And everything was going to be fine.

A/N: Eyyy, it's out on time!

Also, for those who didn't catch it, the last chapter had a couple references to the SCP Foundation (Dr. Bright, Site 19, and SCP 029). Anyways, I'm glad to have finished this.

Although, I have a note to tell you guys. If you guys want something specific, you NEED TO BE CLEAR. TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT! I can't read minds!

Anyways, that's it from me!

Next time on AU Oneshots: A Mermaid Plasma adventure!