After Ike and I talked over the semi-rushed plan from earlier, the two of us headed back outside where a fair amount of people were gathered. The remaining fires had been put out, so it looked darker outside than it was before, especially since the sun had yet to rise. People were watching us as we headed over to the food storage area, but we paid them no mind. We were more focused on the catastrophe in front of us: smoke was still leaking out of the stone building that stored our food, and from the looks of it, everything inside was completely burnt and unusable.

"Well, this is worse than I thought," I whispered under my breath as I gawked at the complete wreck of a storage room. Piles of glowing ash and singed wood were everywhere, and all the stone surfaces of the room were blackened by the fires that had ravaged our supplies.

"Our best bet is to look toward the middle. If we're lucky we'll be able to find usable seed," Ike said.

It looked like it would be a grueling task, and I wasn't hopeful we would find anything, but I knew we had to at least try. So, we started sifting through the rubble, and any hint of something that wasn't black or gray powder felt like finding real gold in a vein of pyrite. By the end of our back-breaking search, we came up with only a few kernels of corn, three half-burnt tomatoes, a couple varieties of bean, and one apple with partially burned skin. There was probably more somewhere in the ash piles, but time was limited.

"So, you're telling me you can feed everyone? With just this?" Ike raised his eyebrows after looking at our measly collection of food scraps. It was understandable that he still had doubts.

"Yes. I can, and I have," I tried to reassure him, but the only way to prove it would be to actually put my words into action. "We just need to find a spot of open land, pronto." Quickly, I grabbed some burnt shards of wood leaning against the back walls of the building, and we bolted out the doorway.

Fortunately for us, we were adjacent to a wide field that was just beyond a small section of trees. The moonlight softly illuminated the sea of grass before us, and crickets chirped gently in the distance. A slightly cooler breeze wafted past us, giving us a brief sensation of peace. Like the calm before the storm.

"Will this do?" Ike turned to me and asked, but I'm sure he already knew the answer.

I smiled. "Oh, this will do alright. But we can't grow anything the way things are right now." It would be impossible to grow anything when grass was already taking up all the space. So we had to get rid of it somehow. "We need fire mages."

Ike looked confused. "What?"

"No questions. We need fire mages, stat!"

With that, the general was off, and he promptly returned in mere minutes with some random people I didn't recognize. But I didn't need to know them for what we were about to do next. The plan was to burn up a large section of grass in the field so that we'd not only have space for other plants, but we'd also be able to use the ash from the old plants as an excellent fertilizer. It was genius! But I realized we'd also need wind mages to spread the fire faster, so I had to send Ike running again.

Once we had everyone we needed, it was go time. The fire mages sent plumes of glowing flames into the grass, and then the wind mages sent powerful streams of wind over the fire, causing it to dance in the breeze and grow to amazing heights. It ripped across the field like some unstoppable beast.

"Uh...how do we put this out?" Ike asked over the roar of the flames.

"Uhh," I panicked. It was then that I realized I didn't think that far ahead, so I basically had to make something up on the spot and hope it worked, otherwise we were all doomed. "A ton of Blizzard spells," I suddenly said. "We need all we've got." I figured that if enough ice covered the fire, we would put the fire out and generate some water to help grow the plants. Another genius idea!

Immediately, Ike was off once again and returned with a small brigade of wind mages who were all equipped with Blizzard tomes.

They stood shoulder to shoulder and launched massive pillars of ice into the blazing fields. As soon as the ice made contact with the fire, enormous clouds of thick steam engulfed the area, swallowing up the raging orange glow. Slowly but surely, the glow dissipated, succumbing to the darkness of the early morning, and leaving behind nothing more than a charred slush. The smell of smoke still lingered in the air for a little bit longer, but the ambient winds eventually carried it away.

I sighed, relieved that my last-minute plan had gone off without a hitch.

"Is everything set?" Ike asked eagerly.

I looked at the pieces of wood I held in my hand. "Not yet," I responded as I walked over to the border of the singed earth. Taking the wood, I plunged each piece into the ground in evenly spaced intervals and planted a different type of seed in front of each one. Then, I returned to Ike and nervously sucked in my breath. "Ok. I'm ready," I said to him, leading him over to the leftmost piece of wood where I had planted the corn kernels.

But as we approached the spot, I didn't feel ready at all. My heart rate noticeably accelerated at the thought of growing an entire field of crops; I had no idea if I was actually going to be able to do it. In the past, I had only really grown crops while I was imprisoned by the bandits and forced to do it, and only while I had the anklet. I had never tried to do such a thing before the bandits first captured me. Now, all I could think about was bandits. Unwanted memories of them flashed through my mind as I crouched on the ground in front of the buried corn kernel, and intense feelings of fear swept over me like a wildfire over a dry field.

Ike knelt down beside me. "How long will this take?" he asked innocently. When I didn't respond, he glanced over at me with a worried expression. "Something wrong?"

The sound of his concerned voice snapped me out of my terrifying trance. "I...it's just that…" I struggled to get my thoughts out. My experience with the bandits was still an extremely touchy subject for me, but if there was anyone I truly trusted with my feelings, it was Ike. As soon as I reminded myself of this, words spilled out of me. "It's just, I haven't ever had to do this outside of those awful bandit camps." I looked away and remembered the many times I had collapsed from exhaustion, nearly dying after cultivating fields upon fields of crops, and it never ended. Troubled by the thoughts, I curled my fists around the slushy soil below me.

Upon noticing my turmoil, the young man's gaze softened. He placed his arm around my shoulders cautiously, as if he expected me to lash out in response to his touch or something. But when my muscles instead started to relax, I felt his grip around me tighten just enough to make me feel secure. "Remember, you're not with those dastardly swines anymore."

I blushed nervously, laughing a little at his description of them. Then, that familiar warmth started flooding my body again. Don't let go.

"You're with me now," he said gently. "You're capable of more than you realize, Serena. And I'm telling you this not as your general, but as a friend. I've watched you come this far." He stopped talking, waiting until I looked him square in the eye. "I believe in you."

His powerful words struck me with inspiration and a sense of awe. It was almost too much to handle, so I turned away and gazed ahead for a moment.

I noticed the first, faint blue light of day was beginning to paint over the stars and the blackness of night above. The sun would soon follow, meaning that we hadn't the time to waste. So I turned to Ike again and remembered his words. I saw in his eyes that he truly cared, and that reminded me of why I was at the field in the first place. I had to do this, and the only way I could was if I put those silly fears behind me. At least for the time being.

Screw the bandits. They mean nothing now. They don't define me, I thought to myself. Then, I shifted my focus back to the ground below. Inhaling sharply and raggedly, I rested my palms over the spot where I planted the corn as Ike watched.

A faint glow, reminiscent of early morning sunlight, appeared underneath my palms. And almost instantly, a small green stub pushed up and appeared through the blackened slush. The stub rapidly developed into a single, healthy corn plant right in front of our very eyes. For a moment, I ceased the glow to analyze my work.

Ike looked up at the plant in awe, reaching out to touch its bright green leaves with his free hand, almost like he couldn't quite believe the reality in front of him.

And just then, the sun peeked above the horizon as if to observe my handiwork as well. It cast its pale, glimmering rays onto our faces and touched the wide expanse of land ahead. As pretty as it all was, this was no time to relax or admire its beauty, however. I still had a lot to do, and the worst was still yet to come.

Once more, I faced the ground and fed it whatever energy I could find. Seconds later, the corn plant darkened and rotted, scattering all its kernels on the ground and eventually disappearing into the soil. Many green stubs then started sprouting from the ground, and all of them quickly grew into new corn plants.

"Wow," Ike muttered under his breath. "You're doing great, Serena."

Despite his kind words, I didn't think I was doing great at all. I was going too slow, and it was going to take forever if I continued that way, so I had to pick up the pace.

I know how to do this, I thought. I need more energy.

I didn't have enough energy within me to do it all, yet somehow, my magic was still working better than ever. Radiant energy was flowing through me from somewhere, and it felt powerful. It wasn't a wild kind of energy from the earth, it was more warm and comforting.

"If you need me to do anything," Ike said suddenly. "Let me know."

My heart pounded at his words, pumping what I knew was his energy through my veins. "Just...stay where you are," I beamed. Then, my face hardened as I focused it all into the ground, and the golden glow beneath my palms intensified. It started to expand beyond my palms, and swirled around the kernels and parts of the field in front of me. The growth of the corn began to accelerate tenfold, with plants maturing and rotting, flashing between life and death faster than we could process it. Within mere minutes, there was a messy row of corn plants stretched out all the way to the far end of the burnt field. For a moment, I halted the flow of energy so I could check my progress, and I smiled. I had done quite a lot more than I anticipated, and much to my surprise, it felt nearly effortless.

"That...that was amazing," Ike said as he stared at the corn.

"I...I guess," I responded sheepishly. "But we're not done yet. We still have all the other plants to take care of."

Ike removed his arm and stood up, taking his heat with him. Then, he looked down at me. "Well, if you feel ready, we don't have time to lose," the boy said before taking my hand and pulling me to my feet.

As the early morning progressed, the sun crept higher and higher, showing off the field as it continued to fill up with succulent plants. Little did I realize, my work had started to attract crowds of people that began gathering behind us. They watched the ever-growing field with wonder, like children standing in front of piles of presents or candy. They watched the ribbons of golden light dance around the crops and shimmer in harmony with the morning sun. The drops of dew that coated the grass around the premises captured the light, glittering like a sky full of stars. Everyone whispered amongst themselves as they observed the miraculous display.

Despite the beauty and splendor of the scene, however, I grew progressively weaker.

The last batch of plants was apple trees, which took much more energy to grow than the others. Growing the last of them felt much like the final sprint at the climax of a marathon, and by the end, I felt so weak that the final push completely wiped me out. But it was nothing compared to what I felt with the bandits. Instead of feelings of depression and desperation, I felt proud and accomplished. The fruits of my labor that stood tall before me were the result of my own desire to help, not the selfish desires of others.

I did it, I smiled weakly.

"Are you ok? You look a little pale." Ike's voice sounded a little muffled and distant.

Barely registering Ike's voice, I didn't respond.

My delirious and unresponsive state must have been quite obvious to Ike, so rather than continuing to speak, he carefully helped me to my feet and allowed me to lean on him a little bit so I didn't topple over.

Once I was able to (mostly) stand on my own, we turned around, and only then did we notice the massive crowd of people behind us. And let me tell you, there were a lot. I noticed a few heron laguz mixed in with the crowd as well, and assuming they witnessed my handiwork, they probably could have guessed the source of my unique powers. As for the others, who knows what they were thinking.

All of a sudden, a fast moving, red blur appeared within the mass of people, revealing itself to be Titania. She pushed her way through the crowd and ran up to the both of us, panting. "Ike, Serena, what's going on?" Her focus shifted between the both of us, waiting for one of us to answer.

"We've been saved," Ike spoke up.

She looked confused, but once she took one look at the glorious sight behind us, her eyes widened in amazement. A hopeful smile appeared on her face, and her green eyes sparkled. "How did…"

"It was Serena," he interrupted. "She did this all by herself."

Titania beamed at me. "You have given us more hope than you realize. We must repay you for this somehow."

"Oh, you don't have to do anything," I mumbled weakly. "It was my pleasure."

"Are you sure?" She seemed confused. "This was no small thing you did for us."

I shook my head. They had done more than enough for me already.

"You heard the girl," Ike spoke on my behalf. "Actually, would you mind rounding up the rest of the troops for a moment? Bring them here. I have to speak with them."

Titania looked back at the crowd which had started to scatter, then she glanced back at Ike. "Just like your father would have done," she said with a smile before running off.

We could hear her shouting orders, saying something or another off in the distance. The people in front of us were chatting amongst themselves now.

"Should I stand with the crowd?" I asked Ike sheepishly.

"Depends," he said. "If you don't want to be in the spotlight, I can understand that. But I honestly didn't plan on giving a speech to everyone, and you helped us a lot, so I'd prefer if you stayed up here."

I thought it would be kind of odd for me to just be standing here, unless he wanted me to speak too. The thought of that made my blood run cold. I'd rather be dead than speak in front of thousands of people! "Do I have to speak?"

"No, but I wanted to mention you. After all, you're the reason we're in a better position after what happened. People should know that."

There wasn't much time for me to decide, since the crowd was rapidly growing. A huge part of me wanted to run out of fear, but I ended up doing the exact opposite of my instinctual reaction. "I'll stay," I said.

"Thank you," Ike nodded simply in response.

Just then, Titania shouted something. I couldn't tell what she was saying, but I think it was meant to get everyone's attention. She made her way to the front and stood watching.

As for me, I stood by Ike's side, eagerly waiting to see his leadership in action.

Ike cleared his throat, shifting his attention to the enormous crowd in front of us. A drop of sweat glistened on his brow. He looked...nervous? "Um...hey," he said awkwardly.

Well, that wasn't the opener I expected, I thought.

"I'm sure most, if not all of you, are aware of what happened here just a couple hours ago." His voice sounded slightly more confident now. "There was an attack that none of us saw coming. From what we can tell, it was a well-planned assault most likely ordered by one of King Ashnard's men with the help of a spy. They burned our supplies. Harmed our comrades. And I can tell that many of you have lost some faith in our ability to succeed." He paused. "But I'm here to tell you that we're far from defeated."

Ike continued on. "First, despite our tarnished supplies, hunger will no longer be an issue going into battle." Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and raised my arm into the air. "This young woman has single-handedly replenished our lost supply of food, and then some."

I blushed. Oh no, all eyes are on me.

The people broke out into a quiet chatter, seemingly amazed by what they were hearing. And instead of the looks of scorn and disapproval I would sometimes be met with throughout camp, they gazed at me as if I were a hero.

"The field you see behind us is the result of her hard labor, to provide for all of you, the people who will bring us to victory." He lowered my arm and let go of my hand.

I looked down and stared at Ike's shoes, hoping he wouldn't stay focused on me for too long.

And as if he could read my mind, he immediately moved on with his speech.

"Second, I would like to remind you all that we've come this far for a reason. We've come this far because of all of your efforts. We're a force to be reckoned with." Ike's tone grew fiercer with every word. "We didn't come all this way just to give in to some measly surprise attack. We're better than that." He paused and took a deep breath.

The crowd watched intently, and Titania clasped her hands together as she looked at Ike with pride in her eyes.

"So before this battle, there's one more thing I want to tell all of you. After a year of fighting alongside each other, we have become a family. Beorc, laguz...it doesn't matter to me because we are all fighting for the same cause: to liberate Crimea! That is why I...I don't want any of you dying on me!" Ike exclaimed. "To lose any one of you would be like losing a brother or a sister."

Oh Ike… I thought as his words touched my soul.

"So if you don't want to let your family down, then live! Fight each enemy and each battle like the lives of all your brothers and sisters depend on it, because we cannot let Daein prevail! So today, let us all do what we set out to accomplish one year ago. We can do this. Together!" Ike confidently raised his fist in the air.

The Crimean Army followed suit, erupting in cheers and exuberant shouts. I could almost see the hope return to each of their faces.

"Now!" Our general shouted, temporarily halting the cheers. "Let's make the most of the time we have left before battle and prepare for what's to come! You can all help yourselves to the food and fit in whatever training you need to do. And of course, if any of you have any questions or concerns, you can find me in the training grounds shortly. Thank you all for your time." Ike ended his speech with a brief wave, and he sighed heavily when it was all over.

Instantly, the chatter and excitement resumed, and Titania and a few others began barking more orders, I think to help keep too many people from rushing to the field at once.

"Uh...should I do the same thing as them?" I asked tiredly.

"No," Ike replied.

"No?"

"We have a couple of hours before we meet the first wave of Daein soldiers. You need to regain your strength, so you're going to use this time to rest," he ordered.

I get to sleep? Oh thank the goddess, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, ok. That works, I guess," I tried hiding how happy I was about it.

"Mhmm," was his reply. "I'll get Shinon and Gatrie to guard your room, just in case anything happens."

Gatrie?! Really?! I thought. I mean, I won't have to talk to him, so I guess it's alright. "Ok," I shrugged.

"I'll take you back."

I followed Ike closely as he pushed through the scattering crowd, and I waited until we were past the other soldiers to speak up. "By the way, you did really good back there."

"Hmm? You think so?" He seemed surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, everyone was cheering. Even I got so motivated I almost don't want to sleep right now." I smiled a little.

Ike chuckled. "I'm honestly not that great with words, but thank you."

I could swear I saw a little blush appear on his normally stoic face, but it could've been my tired brain imagining things.

"Not that great with words?! How preposterous!" I said playfully. "You're a sWORDsman after all."

Ike's eyes widened in surprise. "Off to bed with you, crazy girl."

I rolled my eyes as we entered my room, then I took a seat on my bed.

"Rest well, Serena. I'll come wake you up half an hour before we depart, and I'll save some food for you," he said.

As if I wasn't tired enough, Ike's softened tone made it nearly impossible to stay awake, and I could feel myself starting to nod off.

"Oh, one more thing." Ike turned around, forcing me to stay awake just a little bit longer.

"Hmm?" My voice was weak and tired.

"I...I want you to fight alongside me today." He looked away.

Some of my tiredness faded upon hearing those words, but I was still only half-processing what he had said. "Me? Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "But now isn't the time for questions. Sleep well." He hurried out of my room, allowing me to finally rest my weary head and silence the thoughts that were swarming my mind.