I actually manage to get a chapter out somewhat on schedule(?) What a crazy world this is.

Speaking of crazy world, I hope everyone is staying safe during these times. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones.

The last remaining members of the squad took slow, exhausted steps home. If a breeze was blowing, Daniel would not have bet against it blowing them away completely, they were so battered.

Although, for him, he was currently weighed down by another man against him, half supporting, half dragging him along the dusty road. Each step seemed more painful and harder to take than the last, but not because of physical pain. It was as if the more they walked, the more the deadly truth was hammered deeper into their hearts.

"You failed...you failed...you failed," each footstep Daniel took seemed to echo the message louder and louder in his head.

Daniel let out a deep sigh. He turned his head to the man he was helping. "Only a little more. How you holding up?"

Roary could only manage a weak nod, his teeth gritted in pain.

To Daniel's relief, he soon saw the smoke of fires in the distance.

The camp was soon in sight, and Hussaria was already running towards them. She stopped dead at the grisly sight. She opened her mouth, but Daniel caught her eyes, silently pleading with her to not ask anything until the others had at least gotten some help. She took the hint.

Daniel handed Roary off to Bladvic, had also come running. As soon as they were out of earshot, Hussaria spoke to him in undertone. "Well, I assume it didn't go so well."

"You assumed right." Daniel set himself down on a rock nearby with a groan.

Hussaria hesitated. "That can't be possible. We had their plans, and we mapped their movement. You should've had at least-"

"Yeah, well that didn't help now, did it?" Daniel snapped. His expression softened as Hussaria recoiled. "I'm... sorry. I shouldn't yell it's just-" He groaned and buried his face into his hands. "-After we lost Reen and Zia we were in no condition to-"

"What?" Hussaria cut him off, stepping fowards. "Reen and Zia are DEAD? Where are their bodies? We-"

"Hussaria, we had to leave them behind." Daniel explained through gritted teeth. "We were too busy trying to save our own skins that no one picked them up. It's my fault."

Hussaria just fixed him with a blank stare. In a savage way, Daniel relished her shock and disapproval. He knew he deserved it.

With a groan, Daniel staggered up. "C'mon. Gather everybody. I gotta tell them what happened at some point."

Soon, Daniel found himself facing, the tired, ragged or just plain defeated faces of his fellow companions. He took a deep breath, massaging his forehead. 'Friends." He addressed them all. "You don't need a scientist to figure out what happened. As of now, we-"

But he was cut off by a harsh bark of laughter. "Yeah, yeah." Giao struggled to his feet, fixing him with a mutinous glare. "We get it. But can we address what's really important. They knew our plans. How? Perhaps SOMEONE TOLD THEM?" He glared at his comrades.

Hussaria laid a hand on his shoulder. "Giao-"

"Get off me." He snapped, wriggling free. "He pointed an accusing finger at Daniel. "Aren't you going to tell us who the traitor is? What about HIM?" He gestured to Bangston, sitting quietly in the corner. "Where was HE during the final fight?"

A low murmur swept throughout the crowd.

Daniel held up a hand. "Gaio. I know why you might be bitter. You've lost more than any of us, combined. But we cannot start blaming ourselves for what happened. We need each other more than ever. If-"

"Oh I'm more than just bitter, chief." Gaio snarled. "I want answers." He strode up to Bangston. "Well? If you're gonna sit, why don't you sit with your traitors, traitor?"

Bangston slowly stood. "I sit where I want, Gaio." He spoke. "And if you're going to invoke sayings, how about this one: 'Cowards taunt children.'"

"Yeah, well you ain't a child anymore." Gaio pushed his face into Bangston's. "Although, it might be hard to tell the difference, considering yesterday. Always lying around while WE pulled our weight. What were you doing then, huh? Sneaking off to the enemy to betray us?"

In one swift movement, Bangston had fully rose and stood face-to-face with his accuser.

"How dare you." Bangston's voice was quiet, but full of suppressed rage. "You know very well what I was doing. I was helping your wife give birth to-"

"Yeah well you didn't save HER either, now didn't you?" Gaio practically screamed, spraying Bangston's face with spit.

"You're insane, Gaio." Bangston said quietly. "You would let your rage blind you to your true enemies."

"Why, you-"

"Gaio!" Bladvic gently but firmly hauled him back. "Come now, my friend. You must not dwell on these things. They were never his fault. Be thankful that you are still alive for-"

Gaio ripped free, rounding on Bladvic now. "I do NOT give thanks for my life! It's over!" He turned and stormed away. Bangston strode away in the opposite direction, leaving behind a stunned silence.

A silent and devastating silence followed. The day had taken more casualties

Daniel let out a deep sigh. There was no point in continuing now. "Friends this - this meeting is dismissed." He turned and dissapeared

And slowly the others filed away, one at a time.

Darkness.

Pain.

Two things that were so often together it almost seemed natural to experience them both at the same time.

And yet... Why was he feeling this if he was dead?

If this is dying, why does it hurt so much?

If this is death why can I still feel?

He tried moving his fingers. They responded, much to his shock.

The same for his toes.

I...I can feel.

He could feel roughness beneath his hands. He could feel the crushing weight pressing down on hum, constricting him.

I'm not dead?

I...I can't...

CAN'T BREATH!

The area of rubble shifted, slowly at first, then more and more rapidly, more frantically. Then it stilled for a moment.

Before a hand thrust through the area, groping in the air.

The hand planted itself in the rubble below it and pushed down. Another shift, before the bruised, battered body of Daniel Arbertherry exploded upwards, displacing rubble, and coughing and gasping violently for air.

For the next few moments that followed, the only thing Daniel could do was flop back down on the dirt, breathing heavily. Every part of his body ached, and his joints were on fire from struggling underground.

Then, trying to get his bearings, he sat up and looked around him. He was surprised at what he saw.

He gazed upon the ruins of what had once been a castle. Immune to damage on the outside, but now served as a living reminder of what happened when those strong outposts were attacked on the inside.

All around and below him was rubble and remains of corpses. But it was still dark. Why? Was it nighttime?

Looking upwards, it didn't take Daniel long to answer his own question.

Giant slabs of cracked stone laid on top of the wreckage, still supported by the half-shattered beams of the hallway. In other words, he was now inside some sort of cave.

A cave he was now trapped in.

Well, at least I'm not crushed. Good thing this castle is sturdier than they thought...

The memories came flooding back. The woman, the attack on the castle and Emmeryn, the fight with Validar, the explosion, the cave in... all of the scenes kept repeating themselves over and over in his head like a faulty record player.

Daniel forced himself to stagger upwards. The castle was apparently sturdier than the Plegians had thought, as it was still supporting itself, although barely. He knew he should consider himself lucky - any other cave-in might have killed him completely. But that didn't mean he wasn't in trouble.

But even in the darkness, shafts of light peeped through the cracks of the crumbled ruin above his head. This offered a shade of good news. Although he was trapped, he could still get out. All was not lost. He limped over to a visible crack in the ruined ceiling.

Daniel took a deep breath, only to break down coughing from inhaling the dust floating in the air. Another grim thought struck his head. It's not just dust, either...

Daniel forced himself to breath again and inhale a little. "HEY!" He hollered, amplifying his voice as best he could. "HEY! BELOW! DOWN HERE!"

No answer. He knew better than to expect that it would work, but...

A flash of anger swept through him. Did they give up on me so quickly? Although he knew this was unfair. He obviously couldn't see the exterior of castle, and perhaps it looked a lot worse than the inside. That and he didn't know how long he had been out. A shiver ran through him at the thought.

Do they even think I'm still alive?

Daniel sighed and began pacing, before walking out a little ways. This action confirmed the bad news: the area he was in, while safe, was completely enclosed and small. There was absolutely no way out but through: but how could he do this?

But as Daniel walked back, he stepped on something. He initially didn't think much of it, as he was walking over rubble, but it caught his attention when a yelp of pain emitted from below him.

Whirling around, Daniel was stunned to see the face of Gaius looking up at him from the floor, trapped under a large rock It was his hand he had stepped on. He gazed up to him and rasped. "Can't.. breath..."

Daniel rushed to his side, examining the stone. It was too heavy to be moved by hand-

"Let me up!" Wheezed Gaius. "Need... air."

His voice was growing weaker. Panicking, Daniel did the only logical thing left. He whipped out Kjelto - who thankfully had not fallen from it's strap - and eased it under the rock. Then, he began slowly prying the rock of Gaius.

Kjelto wouldn't break under the strain, this Daniel was sure of, but he still needed to be careful. If he accidentally slipped or applied to much pressure, Kjelto could cut through Gaius's torso like butter.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of straining and the rock crawling inch by inch off the thief, Daniel gave one last heave, lifting the rock high enough so Gaius could crawl out. As soon as he did, Daniel collapsed on the ground next to him, completely and utterly spent.

"Well, I've certainly...had...better landings."

Daniel chuckled. "Ow." He winced. "Don't make me laugh. I think my ribs are broken."

Gaius abruptly sat up. "So... how much trouble are we in?"

"Enough." Daniel stated grimly, standing up next to him. "You sure you're all right?"

Gaius nodded, struggling to his feet with a groan. "Left arm's a little banged up, but It'll be no problem." He squinted in the dim light. "Where...are we exactly?"

"I guess you could say Castle Ylisse." Daniel shrugged. "What's left of it, anyway." He felt a sudden stab if guilt for forgetting about Gaius so quickly after the fight with Validar. The energy blast could have seriously wounded him. And the explosion? If Gaius had been a few feet closer, he wouldn't be standing in front of him. Not to mention that he was lucky to survive the cave-in as well.

Good gods, I hope I'm not alive when his luck runs out...

"Are you alright?" Gaius's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "You look odd."

Daniel shook his head. "I'm fine."

Gaius swung his arms back and forth. "So... I guess we should count ourselves lucky we weren't blown to smithereens. What was that stuff that they used anyway?"

"Blastpowder." Daniel explained. "They thought Emmeryn would be stuck here, so I guess they decided to have a backup plan even if they did fail. They didn't use a lot, but it sure as hell was enough to send everything around us to the ground. We're alive though."

He squinted at the light filtering through the cracks above. "Although I guess the downside is we're now trapped beneath 200 tons of rock."

Gaius whistled. "This'll make quite a story, if we can live to get out." He paused. "How long have we been out anyway?"

Daniel shrugged. "I dunno."

There was a grim silence. During this, Daniel could hear the rock shifting. They would have to move fast if they wanted to get out alive.

Gaius spoke up. "Do you...think everyone got out in time? Besides us, I mean."

Gaius's words made Daniel freeze as another memory flashed through him.

The panic. The pushing and shoving to get out of the castle. Then there came the mysterious woman's voice, ringing clear through his head.

"Panne's still in there!"

Daniel whipped around. "Well now that you mention it, maybe not. Start looking." He began digging through the rubble beneath him.

"For who?"

"Anyone! Anyone who could be saved!"

Gaius sprinted down the opposite direction of him and started digging as well.

Daniel dug, ignoring the cuts and scrapes he was digging in his own hands from the rough edges of the debris. He knew this pain would be little price to pay if Panne was found dead. He desperately searched for a inch of flesh, a tuft of fur, anything-

Until suddenly his he found his hand grasping another, furry one.

"Gaius, get over here!" Daniel began digging around the sign of life.

Gaius was at his side when Daniel was able to uncover the other arm. Together, they each grasped one and pulled hard, revealing the body of Panne. Battered, bruised, and not stirring.

Daniel instantly went to her side, Gaius close by. "Is she-"

"She's alright." Daniel breathed in relief. His hand was resting on Panne's pulse, where he could hear the steady thump thump of her heartbeat. She still looked in very bad shape, however.

Daniel closed his eyes, concentrating hard on his power inside. Soon, the dark area was filled with a green light that illuminated the shadows; the healing spell began to waft over Panne and take affect. Soon, Panne's chest began to rise and fall steadily, although she still remained unconscious.

Daniel collapsed back down to a sitting position, completely drained. He wiped his brow. "She'll be alright for the moment. That'll keep her stable for now. I could have done a lot more-" He broke off with a cough. "-But I don't have any of my supplies with me to treat all her wounds properly."

Gaius eyed him with surprise. "Didn't know you such a skilled healer. Let alone a healer at all."

"Well, surprise." Another shift of rock made Daniel eye the ceiling with increasing worry. He laid Panne gently down and stood up. "Ok, are you fit for action?"

Gaius nodded and also stood up, coughing. "You have a plan? I can kinda tell."

"Well, I wouldn't call it so much as a plan but rather a desperate hope." Daniel sighed. "And one that is logically quite impossible. But we'll take anything at this point." he eyed Gaius. "Can you trust me on that?"

Gaius was quiet for a brief moment before nodding again. "I mean it's not like have much choice, but I do. So what's the plan?"

Daniel squinted through the darkness at the surrounding area. "So...I know it seems that we're pretty badly trapped, but light's coming through here-" he gestured to the shafts of light piercing into the collapsed ruin. "-So that means we're not as badly trapped as it may appear."

He took a deep breath. "With time - and a whole lot of effort - we should be able to dig ourselves out. But shifting so much rock makes me willing to bet that it'll bring the rest of this back down on top of us." He gestured above him. "So what we also need to do is also shore up this roof with something to support it, to make sure that we can still avoid being crushed as we dig our way out."

Gaius slowly nodded. "Ok..."

"And" Daniel continued, coughing "We also need to do it pretty soon. Or else-" He gestured to the particles floating in the air around him, illuminated by the small shafts of light. "-This blastpowder dust in here is going to do nasty things to any part of our body that needs oxygen."

"So that's what it was." Gaius groaned, coughing as well. "I felt like that there was something in the air, jeez. Are you saying that it'll kill us?"

Daniel nodded grimly. "If we inhale enough of it, yes. It's pretty toxic. Try to take short breaths."

"How long have we got?"

Daniel shrugged. "Assuming this doesn't crash back down on us? I'd say about an hour."

Gaius stared at him. "We have to do all this in an hour!?"

"Let's not waste any more time, then." Was Daniel's brisk reply.

The two men set to work, at first venturing or digging into the ruin to retrieve and salvage any beams or pillar fragments that they could jam into the area above them to provide some sort of support. Then they set to work slowly, carefully digging and moving away the large chunks of rock near the surface.

Time was ticking, only adding to the harrowing process. The more rocks were moved, the more audible the shifting noise became in the depths. Several times they were forced to stop to make sure they had not triggered another cave-in.

The blastpowder was also becoming an obvious issue. Daniel had pulled up his mask to try to block some air, but even he could feel himself weakening. Gaius, with no facial protection, was noticeably struggling. He was soon no longer strong enough able to help Daniel, leaving him to dig out by himself. Constant coughs echoed throughout the space.

Finally, after what seemed like a decade, Daniel had moved enough rock in an area that he thought he could break though. He ordered Gaius to get Panne so that they could be ready to run as soon as the path was clear. He wasn't sure how much time they had left.

"Ready?" He coughed, a soon as Gaius appeared carrying Panne.

Gaius nodded. "Y-yeah, lets just get outta here already." He coughed.

"Ok." Daniel inhaled sharply. "Here goes..."

Leaning forward, Daniel reached out to give the spot a sharp, experimental push...

...And nothing happened.

Fighting to remain calm, Daniel stepped backwards to re-asses the situation, although it didn't take him long to figure out the problem. All the rock moving had probably shifted more rock behind the area he was pushing, blockading it without him noticing while he had paused to call to Gaius. In other words, pushing against the area now was about as helpful as trying to push away an impenetrable barrier.

Daniel turned around to see Gaius standing there, fear evident in his eyes. "Now what do we do?"

"Working on it!" Daniel snapped. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think desperately of something, anything.

C'mon Daniel. People a relying on you, you can't choke now...

An inspiration suddenly struck him, although that inspiration was instantly marred by the it's own insanity. Still, he had no other choice as of now. He whipped out Kjelto and primed its blade.

"What are you doing?" He heard Gaius call.

Daniel didn't turn around. "New plan." He wheezed. "I'm gonna try to cut our way through."

He knew it was risky. While they originally could have just pushed their way out, using a magical weapon like Kjelto while it was powered would superheat the rocks. Done right, the rocks would vaporize or crumble. Use too little power or piercing the rocks indirectly would cause them to turn into molten lava and they wouldn't have to worry about blastpowder dust to be destroyed.

Daniel paused, taking careful aim. Steadily, steadily, before inserting sharply into the center of a rock.

Instantly the rock crumbled into dust, leaving a sizeable gap. Daniel moved further into the new indentation and repeated the process. More rock withered away.

Soon the rest of the blockage crumbled away, leaving a hole that light streamed through. Daniel could fit through it and then pull up Panne and Gaius. their way out was now clear.

Well, almost.

When Daniel had clambered out, lifting Panne with him and helping Gaius out, he barely had time to bask in the sunlight and breath in the clean, fresh air before he was met by the spears of nearly forty Ylissean guards that had surrounded them.

Daniel groaned. Great.

An elder man, obviously a leader of the group, stepped forwards. "Halt trespassers. You are now under arrest for destroying this property and aiding in the attempted assassination of Exalt Emmeryn. Please do not resist, or it will only be worse for you."

Gaius shrugged at Daniel. "Well, at least they're polite about it."

"Ok, we don't have time for this." Daniel was both exhausted and fed up. He stepped towards the soldier. "Look here, gramps, we just fought in the battle that was here against the people trying to kill Emmeryn and have worked our butts off trying to dig outta here. I'm part of the shepherds, with Prince Chrom, and we need to get back to them. Stand down."

"You are under arrest by order of Ylisse." The man repeated stubbornly. "Please-"

Daniel took a quick step forwards and promptly knocked out the soldier with a stiff right hand to the face. He then turned to his comrades. "Anyone else want to get on my bad side today?"

Gaius stepped up next to him, knife at the ready. "Seriously, guys. No one needs to get hurt here. I'll personally tell your boss what a good job you guys did, though, ok?"

Then, a young soldier stepped forwards, looking at him closely. Daniel almost instantly recognized him as one of the guards that he had met when he visited Castle Ylisse the first time.

The soldier turned back to his comrades. "Stand down. This man speaks the truth. I saw him with the Prince just a few days ago."

"You sure?" Another soldier inquired.

The man nodded. "He was with the Prince, and he referred to him as a friend. And keep in mind that the Prince mentioned a man still inside when...this...happened." The soldier turned back towards Daniel. "I think we just found him."

Slowly, reluctantly, the rest of the soldiers dropped their spears.

"Although," the man continued in undertone as the others moved away, "I can't promise you'll be completely out of trouble for knocking out a lieutenant." He gestured to the unconscious man in front of them.

Daniel scoffed. "He'll be fine. Just give him a couple of hours to sleep it off. Seriously though, thank you." He hesitated. "You...wouldn't happen to know where Chrom is now, would you?"

The soldier shook his head. "I'm sorry, no. I was only stationed here after the attack had happened, and I only heard through rumors that the Prince had been searching for you. By then, he was already gone, with the Exalt."

At least Emmeryn really did make it out safe...

"How...long ago was that?" Daniel braced himself for the answer.

The soldier paused. "Unfortunately, I don't know that either. The Prince only departed because of reports near the border."

Daniel sighed. "Well, alright. Thanks again for all your help."

"I wish you well." The soldier bowed and disappeared after his fellow comrades.

Gaius sidled up next to him as soon as he was out of earshot. "Well, way to handle that situation. I never knew you had such negotiating skills." He smirked.

Daniel snorted. "Just for future references, most other people wouldn't negotiate while brandishing a knife in someone's face."

"Maybe they should." Gaius chuckled. "Would be a lot easier. Intimidation effect."

Daniel was now free to look at the wreckage from the outside for the first time. The castle was still partially intact, but was reduced mostly to a mountain of rubble. It was almost as if the Castle's bottom half had sunk into the earth. It cast a grim and foreboding atmosphere on the rest of the city around it.

What an awful sight it must be for these people, who have known nothing but peace as of late.

"So...now what?" Gaius asked tentatively.

Daniel exhaled softly. "Well, first we have to help Panne, see if she's alright. Then, I guess we should-"

As if on cue, a groan emitted from behind him, and Panne suddenly stirred. Daniel hurried towards her side, Gaius at his heels.

Panne slowly sat up as they knelt next to her. She rubbed her eyes with a groan. "Ay...what happened? How long have I been out..."

"Hopefully not too long." Daniel answered. It reoccurred to him that he still had no idea exactly how long they were out, though much longer with the blastpowder air and they would be dead. So it couldn't have been too long, which relieved him. "Can you stand alright?"

With a grunt, Panne hauled herself up on one foot. The other looked injured, and Daniel was afraid it might be broken. "What happened?" She repeated.

"Castle exploded. I guess you were inside, cause you were out when we found you in that ruin." Daniel gestured to the scene behind her. "We just got done digging our way out of there."

Panne turned to stare at Daniel curiously.

"You...saved me then."

Daniel shrugged. "Would you preferred that I didn't?"

"No. it's just..." Panne shook her head slightly. "I have never seen a man go to such lengths to preserve my life." She bowed her head. "I thank you."

Daniel sighed. "Yeah. Well, don't thank me yet, cause we still don't know where we go from here."

"Shouldn't we try to find this Chrom guy?" Gaius inquired.

"Yeah we should. Problem is, I dunno where the heck they would be." Daniel rubbed his eyes. Was it possible that they would have returned back to the camp before the leaving for the border? Well, at this point, anything was worth a shot...

Daniel turned to his newfound group. "Well, I might know where to go, but that'll mean a bit of a walk. Panne, you think you can make it?" He turned towards her.

"Yes." The tanguel replied stiffly. She stood up shakily, hobbled two steps, and promptly collapsed back down to her knees.

Daniel exchanged a look with Gaius. "Of course you can make it, I'm sure." Daniel grumbled as he knelt next to her. He examined the foot and shook his head. "It needs to be set before I can do any healing on it. Or else the bones might permanently rupture." He turned to Gaius. "C'mon, we'll help her."

He made to grab Panne's arm, but the tanguel stubbornly swatted his arm away. "Don't touch me, manspawn. If I'm such a burden, then just leave me here."

Daniel saw Panne's jaw tighten as she looked away. "Oh, get over it." He exclaimed exasperatedly. "It ain't the end of the world to need help every once in a while. Or would you rather we re-bury you back under that ruin? In any case, you should be thankful you're still alive. So can you please set your pride aside for one goddamn moment?"

Panne stiffened "It isn't about pride-"

"Sure it ain't." Daniel snorted. "But I honestly don't care about those things anymore. What I care about is getting home alive. Can we do that, please?"

The tanguel glowered at him but reluctantly permitted herself to be grab her arms up on both sides. Daniel and Gaius each slung one of Panne's arms over their shoulders - Gaius somewhat reluctantly - and hoisted her up.

Daniel let out a deep sigh, gazing out into the city and the hills beyond it. Exhausted, but still so far to go. "Alright, let's get a move on."

And slowly, step by wobbly step, the ragged survivors trekked out of Ylisse.

Yup, nobody's dead. I'm merciful like that. Although this may be the last time you see me grant so much mercy...

As usual, please review! I'd love to hear how you guys think I'm doing and where your main points of interest are.

Unknown: Thank you! I did pour an extra amount of hard work in that chapter so I'm glad it's paid off. As of your rest of your review, well I'll just say this: what makes you think that I was implying that Daniel is connected to Grima...? :) And I hope you feel better soon.

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See you all next time.