The Flames Within Us
By: V-Dawg
Chapter 12: Return to Normality?
"What happened to Ike?" Caineghis had asked, seemingly a question he wanted to ask ever since they had found them.
There was no doubt to any out stander that out of the group, Ike was the one who clearly had changed the most, whether it be mentally or physically.
At this Ranulf sighed, looking to Ike, who himself was just staring at the floor.
"Well, he was Izuka's first trial for his experiments." Ranulf started. "Leanne and I would have literal front seats to what he had done to Ike, and my god."
Ranulf shivered, the states of pain Ike would give off, from the multitudes of crises he would experience, that Ranulf and Leanne would have to help him through playing through his mind.
Caineghis was having an idea that it was not pretty, he liked to Ike who seemed to have been trying to get rid of everything, trying to isolate himself from this conversation, which was no doubt giving him some flashbacks, probably traumatic.
"What did he do to you?" Caineghis asked, looking at Ike.
But again, it was Ranulf who would answer for him. "Twice a day, he would be put on this table, where Izuka would put these weird liquids and inject Ike with them. He called some by some weird names, but the one we made out was a right coloured liquid, that pretty much was blood."
Caineghis looked to Ike, the wings on his shoulder pads extending as it seemed to be a reaction of fear. Maybe a natural instinct of some sorts?
"We eventually found out, after the trials and seeing what was happening to Ike, and the mutters the crazy scientist would say, that it was in fact Laguz blood, probably mixed with some weird genetic editing enzymes. Alongside cutting Ike up, we found out that Izuka was messing with him in that sense."
This was rather confusing to Caineghis, "what do you mean boy?"
Ranulf signed, "what makes us different from the beorc? Internally. Is it our blood? DNA and genetics?"
"He said it was both." Ike said, in a rather small voice. "He would always mumble about something about genes and blood, and how if he changed genes, he could sort of code me different."
At this Caineghis, began to understand what they were getting at. "So, he was editing your body by messing with your genes?"
Ranulf nodded, "this probably means it also affects what kind of blood Ike produces. The idea is that inside our body contains the sort of codes that determine what we are. The type of blood we produce, our attributes, strengths, but importantly here, our species."
Ike gulped, even though he had an idea of what was happening, even he couldn't believe what he was hearing, even though he was the one who endured everything.
"Continue." Caineghis said at last, after everything seemed to have came together for him.
"The idea, was one of the serums messed with Ike's body in order to change him up. He would also cut Ike up with the purpose to make him bleed as much as possible without killing him. Alongside adding Laguz blood in him, it was as if he was taking the beorc out of Ike."
Caineghis looked to Ike, before back to Ranulf.
"As crazy as that sounds, what I'm seeing is believable, but how did you figure this all out?"
Ranulf then pulled out a book. "We took this from Izuka's possession as we escaped. It contains what Izuka had planned."
Caineghis looked at it, it was pretty large, with figure and sketches of what seemed to be weird words and figures of beorc anatomy and Laguz anatomy as well.
"What the…"
Ranulf then spoke up, "you can't understand it probably because it is written in the ancient Tellius language, however, Leanne is able to convert it relatively well into our language. And by what we were given we were able to conclude what happened to Ike."
Ike gulped, he hadn't been allowed by them to read it at all, and while he understood it may have been due to language, he still wanted to see it.
"What happened to Ike, was that Izuka had done something to change his body genes, to pretty much turn him into a Laguz. It didn't help that he had stashed dozens of Laguz blood in his shelves, alongside those weird serums, which not doubt made the process happen, I remember the first couple were the most difficult, as Ike was completely unable to move during that time."
The one word that caught Caineghis was Laguz. Ike had pretty much turned into a Laguz, was what Caineghis had essentially heard this entire time.
"How could we believe this?" Caineghis asked, his anger getting a bit more parent.
"Well, we didn't want to believe it, but it wasn't until we noticed a strange black mark on Ike's thigh, around five months in. But as quickly as it showed up, it disappeared around the same time Ike's feather began to appear. It also doesn't help that Mist now has a similar mark now, on her hand, possibly for the rest of her life."
Ike sighed, "We eventually found out that he was injecting Leanne's blood into my sister, which effectively changed her in a branded, as she said she was in for around six months. If we hadn't gotten out sooner, Mist most definitely would have gone through my fate." He finished, his wings extended in full force to show what happened.
It was then did Caineghis really got a good look. These wings were actually wings, as if they had actually grown on Ike, not made. They were dark brown to black in colour, and seemed to cover at least three character lengths.
Then there were the scars on Ike's shoulder, which Caineghis could see. They were clearly cut marks, intended to make the person bleed. He had known those marks well himself.
But multiple of those were never on a single person. They were usually only one on every person Caineghis had met when they were involved in a fight. Ike must have truly been tortured to end up like this.
But now, he was here, maybe different from what he used to know Ike from. Imagine if Greil was here to see what had happened to his son. Caineghis signed, they had clearly and ultimately failed them, and now they were paying the consequences, with Ike's character being the main reminder of what they had failed to do. Save them.
But Caineghis knew, now they had a chance at redemption.
"So, what do you plan to do now, Ike?" He asked
"I don't know, maybe Mist and I will try and see Titania again. We're not so sure how we feel with approaching Elincia yet, because we want to take it one step at a ti-"
Ike's statement was cut short when the door to the castle room suddenly opened, revealing a orange haired cat Laguz with green clothing. Her face of seriousness and anger turned to shock and hope at the sight of Ranulf and Ike in the room.
"Ranulf?" Lethe asked, in an unbelievable tone. To Lethe it felt like her mind was playing games with her. However, his voice said it all.
"Hey Lethe…" was all he said before Lethe tackled him to the ground, in a very tight hug, as if she was holding onto him for dear life in a raging windstorm.
"I can't believe it, you're alive!" Lethe screamed in joy. Ike turned around to see Kyza and Lyre joining shortly after, not in the hug, but watching the scene unfold, at least happy and pleased to see their friend return.
"Uh, Lethe I need air!" Ranulf panted, which caused Lethe to release Ranulf, though she was glad to see Ranulf back.
Before Lethe could ponder more on how Ranulf survive, she heard a gasp from Lyre, and turned around to see her face, before facing in the direction to where she was looking at.
Sure enough, just like her younger sister, Lethe found herself in shock.
There, on the opposite side of the area, was Ike, who definitely look different, Lethe could tell. Whether it was his frame, height, but Lethe eventually found herself engulfed in the weird anomaly that Ike now had wings on his body now.
"Ike..." Lethe said at last, and all Ike was able to do was scratch his head in uneasiness.
"Hey Lethe, good to see your doing alright." Ike said finally, after silence engulfed the area for a bit.
Just like most of the other bystanders around Ike, she was well found herself staring at Ike's wings, located on his shoulder pads.
It was almost as if Lethe's eyes were deceiving her.
"Is it just me, or does Ike-"
"Yes, Lethe, Ike had wings, and I'll explain why in a bit." Ranulf said before she could continue.
Regardless, Lethe gave Ike a rather tight hug, however even that was a bit awkward due to her feeling Ike's wings, which she could tell were real. They were made of actual feathers, and knowing them, Ike could probably fly if he wanted.
Regardless, the newcomers in the room's faces had turned joyful, as their moods were improved immensely due to the new faces they hadn't seen in months.
"Wait, if you all were found, does that mean the other laguz?" Lethe asked, a bit more hopeful.
Ike and Ranulf nodded, though they looked a bit confused, "We found them where we were taken to, and we managed to help them escape alongside us, however, they are probably now scattered around Tellius." Ranulf explained, and while Lethe was a bit unsettled, she was happy that they were now free, and able to roam. Maybe, in time they will find their way back to Gallia.
However, their main focus clearly was Ike, Ranulf and Leanne, whom Lethe had noticed she had just entered the door.
"Hello Leanne, how are you?" Caineghis asked.
"Good." Leanne replied on time, and with more confidence, which made them smile.
"Your English has improved, well done."
"Thank you Caineghis." She said before sitting down.
"Have you talked to Tibarn and Naesala yet?" Caineghis asked her, to which she simply nodded.
"Okay, well, now that we have found our friends and family, I want you and Ranulf to take Ike and Mist back to the Greil Mercenaries, there is no doubt she will be ecstatic when she sees you two." Caineghis said.
"We just came back; can I rest a bit more?" Ike said a bit after.
"What's wrong, a beorc is too tir-" Lethe was about to say, before a realization hit her, as she noticed the wings on Ike. They looked similar to those of Leanne, though with a different colour, they had some resemblances.
To Lethe, Ike looked a bit like a laguz now, which kind of rendered her term to Ike a bit useless.
"Get your butt up and let's move Ike." Lethe said at last, her confusion fading.
Ike sighed, his body was still hurting a bit, and he was getting a headache, something he seemed to have been getting a lot more often. Despite this, he moved ahead.
They had successfully gone to get Mist, and she was tired as well, and again had found herself being carried by Ike.
The walk to Crimea was thankfully not as long as usual, especially after Ike had encountered a certain hawk leader.
"Ahh Ike, I see your already on the move, huh?" Tibarn asked, rather smirky.
He nodded, "Mist and I are going back to the Greil Mercenaries, we are seeing Titania again after a bit."
Tibarn nodded, "I see, well Leanne, Naesala had wanted to check up on you, so you might want to visit him now."
Leanne looked to Tibarn, "On it." She said before she transformed into a heron and flew off, the group watching her figure get smaller and smaller in the sky, before they continued on their way to Crimea.
"So where are they now?" Ike asked, as they continued walking.
"They had been relocated to an old castle Crimea had owned. Apparently, you defended it from Daien, so Elincia gave it to the Greil Mercenaries." Tibarn had answered for Ike.
"I see."
The walk continued with a bit of silence before Tibarn had asked again.
"So, what are you going to tell Elincia?" Tibarn asked, to which Ike sighed.
"I don't think I will tell her anytime soon." Ike replied.
"And why is that?"
Ike shrugged, "I don't want a huge ceremony celebrating my return. After everything that happened, I don't want to be at the heart of any attention, because of how different I look or how I made it out. Telling Elincia is telling the whole country, and kind of want to value my privacy."
"But Elincia really misses you."
"She does?" Ike asked; however, he shook his head. "That may be true, however, like I said these decisions are difficult.
"So how do you think you will avoid Elincia?" Tibarn asked.
Ike sighed, as he hadn't gotten that far. "I don't know, I was hoping the shear fact that I have wings would make her take a blind eye to me."
Tibarn shook his head, as he took a good look at Ike, and managed to see some smaller changes to Ike. His ears took a more avian-like look, larger than the beorc, but not as noticeable as the beast tribe laguz.
His eyes seemed fiercer, alongside his fingers developing some small talons.
It looked rather similar to Tibarn's himself, and he found himself staring for a bit too long. He looked to see Ike confused at him.
"Sorry, but you know, you may actually be left alone so long as you don't try to stand out." Tibarn said at last, his eyes on Ike's characteristics, which looked more laguz than beorc.
Before they could continue forwards, the group had heard a flapping noise, and saw three avians approach them. Two with noticeable goldish-white wings, and the other with a more bluish-black wings.
It was Leanne, Reyson and Naesala.
Immediately, Reyson's eyes were staring at Ike, as this was the first time seeing Ike, after nine months.
"What..." Was all Reyson said, causing Ike to sigh.
"It's a long story." Ranulf said.
"I tell you." Leanne said to Reyson who nodded.
"You definitely weren't lying, Ike, and I can feel the difference in you from those times ago, when we first met to right now. Your different than previous." He spoke.
Ike nodded, "We were just on our way to see the Greil Mercenaries."
The avian nodded, and joined their journey.
Eventually, they had approached the old castle, where the Greil Mercenaries were residing.
"Are you ready Mist?" Ike said, waking his sister up.
"Huh, oh yeah! I can't wait to see Titania and Rhys, everyone else again!" She said, which made Ike laugh.
"Okay."
Knocking on the door, it was opened by a raven-haired boy Ike recognized immediately. That said boy's eyes widened and in a rare display of emotion, Soren had gasped in complete disbelief, yet hope.
Ike could have sworn he saw a bit of tears coming out.
"W-who..."
"Hey Soren." Ike said, his voice recognizable to Soren.
"Ike?" Soren asked, before he turned to the others around him. He saw Ranulf, Leanne, Reyson, Mist, Naesala, Tibarn, Lethe, almost everyone who was involved was here.
Then, his eyes turned to Ike's back, his wings, and immediately his thoughts changed.
"Ike, why do you have wings?" Soren asked, to which Ike sighed.
"It's a long story, but it's a product, and I think I'm stuck with them."
Soren looked to everyone, as they noticed no sighs of jokes or lies.
He turned to Ike, "What's the story?" He asked simply, despite the fact that Ike didn't want to explain.
"I was-"
He didn't get to finish after he heard a motherly-like shriek.
"Mist! Ike!" A redhaired paladin had exclaimed as she hugged the two, after not seeing them in almost forever.
"Okay! Let's get comfortable before we continue!" Naesala had made it clear before everyone looked at him.
"Oh god..." Reyson had muttered.
All of the Greil Mercenaries' eyes were widened in shock after seeing Ike and Mist, with the exception of Shinon, they all seemed happy to see them return after a bit.
While Ike was a bit insecure, as he could feel the looks of everyone, because of his wings, he decided to power through it as Titania was talking with Ranulf. After trying and failing to get the information from Ike and Mist, she turned to Ranulf, who decided to tell the story to everyone, who got a seat to hear what had happened.
Through Ranulf, they heard what happened to Ike, Mist, Leanne and himself, which resulted in many looks of disbelief and shock, alongside tears. Even Ike had gotten a bit sensitive, not wanting to be looked at. Whereas through Titania, they had learned how the Greil Mercenaries had functioned without their two members.
But a question came up that caused Ike to talk.
"So, Ike, what are we going to tell Elincia?" Soren asked
At this, Ike sighed, knowing this would be an unpopular idea, "We don't tell her. We are going to continue our company without the royal influence for the coming future, at least until we are needed."
Ike knew the faces were questioning what he was planning, but Ik digressed, "We will continue what we did, I just don't want any attention on us because of my return, that's all."
Soren nodded, clearly unused to seeing Ike after all these times, "Very well."
The others, like the beast and avian tribes looked to them, nodded in acknowledgment that they will keep their mouths shut.
They hadn't agreed with Ike's plans, but they weren't going to go against him. Besides, it was his decision.
"Okay." Tibarn had said at last, the others nodding in agreement.
A.N / Next chapter will be like a 2-year jump, as the Radiant Dawn story will start.