Ch 5 - A Strengthened Resolve

Sid woke up before the sun and as the hints of dawn approached the village, she could hear the people stirring in their tents. It was evident that none of them had a good night sleep. News had travelled fast as soon as the warriors returned from the battle and by the time Sid was done taking care of the last wounded man, the whole village knew what was in store today.

Sid sat at the base of Cagara's statue with her bare hands tucked under her chin. Boo slept right on top of her head. Her wavers were on her feet and her spear rested across her knees.

"Ready?"

Sid glanced over and saw her grandfather walking over to her from his tent. She nodded and he took a seat next to her. He gazed up at the statue and he smiled faintly up at the legendary warrior.

"I used to sit here and look at him too before I went to battle," he said quietly.

"I know...Grandmother told me. She said you would come here for some answers."

"Is that why you are here?"

"I was debating whether or not I'll be able to do the right thing…" Sid said, "To ignore my friends and focus on the enemy."

"I see," Urepo replied, "And have you come to a conclusion?"

Sid nodded against her hands and with her eyes still glued onto the statue. "There is no need for debate. This is not about whether I will be able to or not. I have to...This war needs to end today. I don't think I can take another battle...or another loss."

"...Same," Genbou whispered and then he put his hand on the back of her head, "As the chief, I will tell you to give it your all. To light the fires of Shandora and bring peace and honor to our ancestors...but as your grandfather…"

Sid whirled around to look at her grandfather when she heard his voice get caught in his throat. To her surprise, his eyes were getting moist and she could feel his fingers trembling against her skull. She gaped at him.

Her grandfather was always so dignified and poised and Sid had never seen him cry. He had stood stoically, like a pillar of strength, not only through his own wife's funeral but also his sons' and Sid's mother's. This was a man who had lost the most of his friends and family out of the entire tribe and now, at the thought of losing his granddaughter, his last blood kin, he was finally at his breaking point.

"Come back to me, okay?" he said softly, "You come back alive."

Sid threw her arms around his shoulders and she kissed his cheek, just as she used to do as a child. "I'll do both, old man. You just wait and see."

They sat like that, with Sid's arms around him and both sitting cross legged in front of the statue, for a long time. One by one, the warriors gathered in front of the statue until there were about twenty of them along with Kamakiri, Genbou, and Braham. The rest of the tribe stood around them in hushed and frightened silence. Sid looked to Kamakiri and she nudged his shin with her elbow before standing up. "Come on. Let's not keep Wyper waiting."

"Ah," Kamakiri said as they led the warriors up to the outer island in silence. As she walked away from her grandfather, she gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

"I'll do both," she repeated and then she left.

As she walked alongside the men, she could feel a couple of eyes on her. She looked up Genbou, the closest of the gawkers and pursed her lips. "What?"

Kamakiri, who was walking behind her, nudged the bag on her shoulder with his elbow. "I thought Wyper said no medical bag?"

Sid rolled her eyes and flipped open the top without breaking stride to show that the bag was empty. "No medical supplies so it's just a bag."

"Are you planning on collecting Vearth for Aisa?!" Braham asked.

That made Sid stop right in her tracks and she planted her hands on her hips. She spoke loud enough for everyone around her to here, just in case they got any wrong ideas of her. "Of course I'm not. I am fully aware that we are going into war and don't you dare question my mentality."

"Then why the bag?" Genbou pressed.

"I don't know. Guns? Dials? Other weapons? You never know when a bag can come in handy!" Sid said, "There might be something I can take from our enemy that would come in handy."

"Alright, alright." Kamakiri stepped in and played the peacemaker that he always seemed to end up being. He shoved Sid forward and nodded for the others to keep moving, "Sid's just being prepared. That's all. Besides, she didn't question it when Braham added those Flash Dials into his gun and she didn't question Genbou when he said he could carry an iron bazooka all on his own so let's give her the benefit of the doubt, all right?"

"There shouldn't be any doubt," Sid hissed, despite trudging forward and not saying another word.

"Sorry, Sid…" Genbou mumbled.

"Ah," was all Braham could say but he was always one for brevity.

When the warriors met up with Wyper, he was standing in the exact same spot as he was when they had left. His arms were crossed and he stood facing Upper Yard directly. The only slight change was a pile of burnt twigs next to his feet. He probably had slept the least amongst all of them.

"Boo?" The sky sheep woke up with a start and rolled off the side of her head down to her shoulder.

"Stay as close to me as possible, okay, Boo?" Sid said as she scratched him behind the horns.

"Boo…"

"Is this everyone?" Wyper asked as he looked over his shoulder at Kamakiri.

"Ah."

If he thought anything of Laki's absence, Wyper did not let it show. Surprisingly, to Sid, he didn't even say or react in anyway when his eyes fell on her bag. Maybe he had too much on his mind and didn't want to bother with getting into another shouting match with her. Whatever the reason, Sid was glad he didn't question it. He turned his gaze back to the battlefield. "I won't let this opportunity go to waste! Those who aren't prepared for this battle can stay here. I won't blame you."

"C'mon, Wyper. We're always prepared," one of the warriors protested.

"Are you really prepared to abandon anyone who falls during the fight? Those who can step over comrades and keep moving, come with me!" Wyper declared, "Do not look to Sid. There is no healer in this fight today."

Sid's lower jaw tightened as she felt a couple of men looking at her way but she kept her resolve apparent in her stance. Her eyes were glued to the back of Wyper's head. She was following his lead. No questions. No arguments. They can't afford to waver in their determination. Not today. Not for this fight.

"Set your sights on God's Shrine! Don't stop! No matter what happens," Wyper shouted and then he looked up to the heavens, "Today, we're only after one thing. Enel's head!"

He charged forward with his bazooka in hand and the warriors followed suit with a thunderous roar. They sped through the Sea Clouds on their wavers. The wind whipped through their hair and collided with shields. No one wore any masks. This was a battle where they wanted their enemies to know their face.

The warriors in front created rivers of clouds with their Milky Dials and the group separated as they approached the outskirts of Upper Yard. Sid somersaulted on her skates towards a river that was much higher up than the rest. She sailed up into the air and through the trees.

As they made their way deeper into the island, Sid could hear significantly less and less people around her. It was so sudden and they were being stopped in clusters. Her own speed began to slow down but it wasn't because she wanted to figure out what happened. In fact, her pace was being changed without her permission.

"Why….why is it getting harder to move?" Sid gasped. She felt like she was being held back by invisible vines and she could no longer move any part of her body.

"My...My body!"

Sid's eyes moved to the farthest corner it could possibly reach and she saw Kamikiri dangling in midair. The sight of him made Sid gasp in realization.

String...This is the String Ordeal!

"Hello again, Shandians! Looking good!" Shura jumped down from the trees and landed on a boulder a few feet ahead of them. A charred Fuza sailed down and stood behind the priest, "Forgive my rude welcome."

"Shura!" Kamakiri snarled.

"Ah...I know my name. You don't need to tell me," Shura laughed, "It's unfortunate news for you but Upper Yard's layout has changed since last night. You've all been caught in my newly placed String Ordeal...Survival rate is 3%."

From her ear, Sid could hear the sniffing of Boo, followed by the distinct feel of his wool brushing up against cheek as he stretched his head a bit further out.

"Boo?" Sid whispered as her sky sheep crawled up her suspended arm. After a few seconds, whatever entangled around her neck disappeared with a snap. She could finally turn her head and she gazed up at her sky sheep, who was chewing on something.

Chomp. Chomp. "Boo!"

"String Clouds!" Kamakiri shouted as he reached the same conclusion as Sid, although his was determined because he spotted it through his rose tinted sunglasses.

"Indeed," Shura smirked, "I'm glad you can tell. What covers my area are String Clouds, so fine they can't be seen by the naked eye and strong enough to stop even grown men. You pulled them in yourselves when you came through the island's entrance. Look closely, you're covered in string. Everyone that is….except...two..."

He casually rolled to the side just as Sid's spear came ramming down from above. It cracked right into the stone. She wasted no time. With her spear fully supported by the rock, she used the uprighted handle to swing around and kick at Shura, who dodged it as well. She landed on her feet and unleashed a flurry of right and left jabs towards his jaw and neck. They both knew he was going to avoid her blows but it still forced him to take a few steps back. Using that distance to her advantage, Sid quickly backtracked and freed her weapon from the stone. In a second breath she backflipped off the boulder, creating even more space between the two. She had used up her chance for a sneak attack. His Mantra was much too strong.

"How did the fly get out of the trap?" Shura growled at her.

Boo sailed off the branch ahead and landed right on Sid's head. His cheeks were full while he munched. "Boo!"

"What is that?" Shura asked with narrowed eyes.

"Oh...I guess they don't have sky sheep where you're from," Sid said as she directed her sharpened spear at his face, "They graze on clouds, you know. Any kind. They can chew right through them."

"Why you-," Shura snarled.

"Sid! Get out of the way!"

Sid looked up as Wyper leapt down from the treetops with his bazooka aimed right at Shura. The priest smirked and climbed onto his bird. "Let's go, Fuza!"

They sailed upwards to meet Wyper halfway just as the warrior fired off his bazooka. The priest maneuvered to the side, avoiding the rocket. The boulder exploded into pieces and sent Sid hurtling backwards from the after shock.

"If I die from his hands, I'm going to haunt him," Sid grunted as she got to her feet. She grabbed Boo and tossed him in Kamakiri's direction. The sheep landed right on his face. "Boo! Free the others!"

"Boo!"

"Don't assume you can match me in mid-air!" Shura shouted as he sailed towards Wyper with his Heat Javelin at the ready.

"Sid! Catch!"

Sid opened her arms and caught Wyper's bazooka and shield instinctively. At the same second, Shura's javelin pierced right in Wyper's left shoulder.

"What?!" Both Sid and Shura were astounded by the turn of these events.

"Why would you throw your gun and shield away?" Shura demanded.

Wyper's teeth sank into his cigar and he grabbed Shura's own shoulder with his bare hand. "You want a shoulder? You can have it."

Flames ignited from the point of impact but Wyper did not flinch. He held Shura firmly as placed as he splayed a bandaged palm out right over Shura's heart.

"Are you crazy?!" Sid cried out when she saw his stance.

"Reject!" Wyper roared as he pressed his Reject Dial against Shura's chest, sending a shockwave ten times the force of a normal Impact Dial through the priest and sending him rocketing back to the ground.

Sid rushed to the side, furthering herself even more from the broken boulder. She narrowly escaped being flattened by the demolished priest by a hair. She clutched Wyper's artillery to her chest and she glared at him when he landed on his wavers in front of her. The flame in his shoulder was gone but it still smoking. He clutched his other shoulder with his bare hand while his bandaged one hung limply at his side.

"Are you crazy?!" Sid demanded just as the rest of the men rushed towards them, including a much slower and rounder Boo.

"Wyper, are you trying to die?!" Kamakiri asked, "If you use the Reject Dial one more time, your body will be blown apart!"

Wyper's jaw clenched and he grabbed his bazooka back from Sid. He rested it on his shoulder without faltering in the slightest. "So what? Isn't that called resolve? These guys can't be beaten without such sacrifices."

With that, he created a new road with his Milky Dial and sailed off.

"That guy…" Kamakiri growled.

"I know," Sid scoffed and threw Wyper's abandoned shield to the side, "Leaving me to hold onto his stuff. If this is the real reason why he told me not to pack my medical bag, I'm going to take his head."

"Oy! Why are you throwing his shield away? You might as well use one!" Kamakiri lectured.

"You know I don't use those," Sid said and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You don't fight with shields...You don't fight with Impact Dials...I'll never understand your fighting style," Kamakiri sighed, "Effective as it is."

Sid shrugged. "It's just how I do things."

"What are you guys all standing around for?!" Braham demanded as he spun his pistols in his hands, "We're behind enemy lines now. We need to split up. There are still two priests out there. Since the location of their ordeals have changed, we don't all want to get caught in the same ordeal again. There's no reason to be that stupid."

His pistols stilled and he ran off. "I'm going on ahead."

"Boo!" Sid shouted and took off as well when her sky sheep was back on her shoulder.

They raced down the cloudy road, wove around the trees, and went deeper into the island. Suddenly, there was a trembling bleat overhead and Sid backflipped out of the way just as a hand swiped right past her. Boo went spinning into the back but he recovered into a floating position after a few a few spins. As Sid landed on her feet, she felt a deep cut in her right cheek. She righted herself up and her hand went to touch the wound. She narrowed her eyes and studied her opponent's bandaged hands. He didn't even touch me...so how…? What dial did he use?

"Meeeh," the man bleated. He was cloaked in a white robe and he had sharp horns on his head. Besides his ears dangled long lobes of flesh that made it look like he had two pairs of ears. He had one arm raised in the back and another hand facing palm out towards Sid. "Heso!"

"A Divine Soldier?" Sid asked, recognizing the garb and the Skypiean greeting.

"Indeed! By God Eneru's order, we've been sent to clean out all of Upper Yard. Accept the fact that there is no escape from us fifty elite Divine Soldiers! Taste the wrath of the Axe Dial! A dial that does not exist in Skypiea. It can cut right through the human body in one breath."

"Axe Dial," Sid said as she touched her cut again, "So that's what that is…"

He leapt into the air with his palm still out towards Sid, "Axe Dial!"

"You know the problem with fighting with dials?" Sid asked as she turned to the side just as his hand pushed towards where she originally stood so it looked like they were standing side by side. In one breath, she grabbed him by the elbow with one hand and then used her other to push his forearm so that his dial-strapped hand came towards his chest.

"WHAT?!" he gasped just as the top of his dial clicked against him. He was sliced cleanly in half within a blink of an eye. Sid released him and he fell right through the cloudy road, staining a patch of it red.

"You always have to be at the point of contact too," Sid answered to the patch.

"Meeeh! Meeehhh!"

"Ahhhh!"

Off in the distance and below the tree branches, Sid could hear the sounds of more Divine Soldiers and the cries of her people. Sid clenched her teeth and headed straight for the noise. It wasn't like she was going against Wyper's directive, it was technically in the direction of God's Shrine. When she got close enough, she could see a group of Divine Soldiers circling around five Shandians in a cloudy road below her. There was trail of wounded and bloodied Shandians leading up to them. As soon as Sid saw the crimson trail of Shandian blood, her own vision turned the same color.

"Boo, stay up here," Sid ordered and then jumped right down.

Wham!

She landed her knees right against one of the Divine Soldier's shoulders, using her downward trajectory to force him head first into the clouds. He was the one that stood directly in front of the Shandian's path. The two Divine Soldier's flanking her turned towards her in surprise but before they had another second to react, Sid had the end of her spear in hand. She cleaved an arc around her, slicing them deep across the chest, adding their blood into the mix.

"SID!" the Shandians cried.

"Go on ahead. I'll meet you all at God's Shrine. I'll take it from here," Sid said as she glared at the other still remaining Divine Soldiers.

"But-"

"Go!" Sid ordered and then when the first Shandian started to make a move past her, she moved forward to intercept the incoming Divine Soldiers. She dropped her spear into the cloud, ignoring it for the moment, and grabbed the closest wrist of a Divine Soldier. She swiveled to the side to avoid getting hit by the Axe Dial attached to his hand and then moved the Divine Soldier's hand to the side, where it touched another Divine Soldier.

"No!" the Divine Soldier gasped as he inadvertently cut through his comrade.

Thwack!

Sid threw an elbow across his jaw, feeling his bone crack against hers and then let go of her hold. Another Divine Soldier ran towards her with his hand at the ready and she jumped into a front flip. Her hard waver cracked down against his skull as she landed.

"This is what happens when you harm one of God's soldiers! Axe Dial!"

Sid side stepped out of the way just as the final Divine Soldier came towards her from the back. She caught him by the elbow. She dug her fingers into his arm and twisted it around, securing the muscle and bone right where she wanted it. She raised her own elbow high over his straightened arm and then dropped it down, feeling the cracks and the tears.

"AHHHHHH!" the Divine Soldier screamed. She released his limp arm and he writhed on the ground in pain.

"This is what happens when you fight a healer in combat," Sid asked as she knelt down next to him and stared coldly at his pained expression, "I know how to break every bone in your body with the least amount of effort." She stood back up and kicked him hard across the face, smashing his nose and sending him tumbling over the edge of the cloudy road.

With the enemy gone, Sid's attention went to the wounded Shandians along the path. Instinctively, she took one step towards them.

"No. Sid...Go! Wyper is waiting for you...Just...go to the God's Shrine!" one of the remaining conscious ones groaned as he clutched a bleeding wound to his chest, "We might not be able to go on but you can. We're...we're counting on you!"

Sid sucked in a breath.

"GO!" he shouted.

"...Ah," Sid gritted her teeth and powered up her waver. It took more force for her to wrench herself away from the scene than to jump back up to her original path, where Boo floated in wait. She tapped her shoulder and once he was back in his spot, she skated onwards again. "

The war ends today!" she promised as she skated off.

"Ahhhh!" came the rallying cry of the wounded men she was leaving behind.