"Judgement" By Luke's Dragon
A/n
Okay as I mentioned in a few of the other a/n sections I played through Suikoden II for research purposes and decided to play the game a little differently, new party that sort of thing. But I also chose the 'cowards option' in Tinto, running away with Nanami, hadn't done this since my very first game (poor Ridley) but it got me thinking, especially with Mcdohl and Kasumi being the two characters who came with me…
~~~
Chapter 6 Hard Choices
"Please tell me the answer… Is fate unchangeable?"
~ Tir Mcdohl
"Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother."
~ Khalil Gibran
~~~
Hazel had never been to Tinto before, it was apparently no great loss, there was a desert, lots of mountains and mines but that was very much the limit of fun things in the area. Still the Dragon Army had received a plea for help from the Lampdragon bandits and they had gone to investigate. Viktor had told Hazel he suspected the 'funny looking dead guys' were minions of Necrolord. Hazel had been dismayed that the vampire was still alive, three years ago he and Viktor had beaten the vampire and thought he had been gone for good. Still coming back from the grave was probably a key part of being undead.
Hazel, Reo and Viktor had been accompanied by Kasumi and Nanami as well as one of the bandits a boy called Koyu. After journeying to Mt. Lampdragon they had found it had already fallen to Necrolord's forces and now they were on their way to Tinto City to seek an audience with Mayor Gustav. Viktor claimed that Tinto would have no choice but to help them now, Hazel was less than convinced they deserved help, they had wanted no part of the Dragon Army's struggles but wanted their strength now. Still Hazel had managed to bite his tongue.
Of course he had not said very much, ever since that night with Kasumi… She had been avoiding him ever since, this was really getting to Hazel. He had put his heart on the line as much as he ever had and in return all he was getting was a few blushes and hurried escapes. Still he had come up with a cunning plan, he had told Reo she should come along for espionage purposes. Hazel was convinced that the leader of the Dragon Army had absolutely no knowledge of romance what so ever. He hadn't even figured out that the knife-throwing girl liked him yet. Still it made Hazel's task a little easier. Now all he needed was Kasumi to listen to him.
***
It was late when the party arrived in Tinto after brief discussions where Reo promised to help Tinto in exchange for support afterwards the party were shown to the guest rooms.
Reo had wanted to talk with Hazel about runes, he had noticed that Hazel didn't like to use the rune any more than he had to. In fact there had only been that fight with the moth where their lives were in danger that Hazel had used his power. Since then he had kept his gloves on and didn't ever remove them. Reo had wanted to talk but Hazel had vanished, come to think of it he hadn't seen Kasumi for a while either…
A little concerned about his friends Reo settled down to sleep in the slightly uncomfortable guest beds. Reo was soon lost in a dream.
Reo and Nanami were in the Highland capitol, they had left the rest of the Dragon Army to find Jowy, Reo could feel his heart pounding in his chest as they walked along the empty corridors, and then they came to the throne room. Jowy, dressed as Luca Blight sat on the throne waiting for them. Reo and Nanami walked towards him, Nanami was saying that everything would be fine and they could all stay friends forever. Jowy just drew his sword and ran Nanami straight through. Silently she dropped to her knees, blood pouring from the deep wound in her chest. Reo felt his heart shatter as his sister fell, rage building he charged at Jowy, attacking with the sheer fury he had felt fighting Luca he spun his tonfu, connecting with a flurry of viscous blows. Within seconds Jowy had fallen, now both he and Nanami lay on the floor, both blooded and dying at his feet.
Reo awoke with a scream, his face covered in a cold sweat. Gasping for air he was for the first time he could remember truly afraid, it was less a dream he thought, more a vision of the future. He didn't want to lose Nanami, he certainly didn't want to have to fight, much less kill Jowy and if it was a choice between that and leading the Dragon Army he'd… he'd… he'd go back to sleep and hope it made sense tomorrow.
***
Outside Hazel felt the cold, nighttime air breeze across his face. He soon found Kasumi who was sat outside deep in thought. He walked up to her and sat down wordlessly. As usual there was nothing he could find to say. Kasumi had been all that had dominated his mind for as long as he could remember and now he was sat here… Rejected?
No it wasn't anything like that, she wasn't running now, she just looked so unsure of herself. But that was fairly obvious really, she had never seen that much of the world and they were both so young this was just so new to them. Maybe he should try talking to her, let her know he was as nervous as she was, maybe more so. It was just so… confusing.
"Kasumi…"
"Hazel…"
And that seemed about it. God why was it always so hard to say anything when he was with her like this. Things always sounded perfect in his head, he'd tell her how much she meant to him and she'd do the same. Of course that was how it ended and he never needed to worry about the future or anything major, for that perfect moment they would be as one. Maybe he really should take action in real life, not just his mind.
"Hey Kasumi… That night in Gregminster…"
"Yes?"
"It was… nice"
"Yeah… it was"
"And you know…" His voice trailed off again.
"Know what?"
"…"
"Yeah I knew that"
And then she turned to look at him and smiled a smile that made Hazel think of lightning in the summer, she kissed him on the cheek and the smile vanished, replaced by a bright scarlet blush.
"I…I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me…"
"Don't be sorry Kasumi…"
And then it just seemed so right, just like in his mind when he played out this scene everything seemed right.
"Because I really care about you… a lot"
"Thank you… I care about you too"
That was pretty much it, Hazel's usually poor conversation skills had now deserted him totally but that didn't seem to matter. They were both still there, neither had ran this time and so they just sat there. Holding each others hand until the sun rose, knowing that maybe life would be a little easier with someone else there.
***
Hazel was going to need all his strength that morning, by midday he was regretting staying up all night no matter how much it had been worth it. Two minutes later he decided that the Dragon Army could manage without him and fell to sleep during negotiations. He dreamt, not for the first time of Kasumi, this time they were walking hand in hand down a long road. Kasumi was holding his left hand, but his right palm felt like it was burning up. It was a dream he had dreamt many times before, Soul Eater took those closest to him, and therefore he had tried not to get close to anyone. He had almost succeeded too.
Five minutes later General Ridley shouting at a man referred to as Jess rudely awakened him from his dream. Nudging Klaus who was sat next to him he whispered.
"What happened?"
"Chamberlain Jess accused Lord Reo of murdering mayor Annabelle… Were you asleep or something?"
"…Uh, no"
Hazel decided that a lie was the only option, God how he hated these meetings! Jess had stormed out of the hall now and discussions were continuing. He had only tagged along since there was nothing else he could think of to do with his time. He didn't want to go back to Gregminster and travel was difficult with the war, so he had agreed to help out the Dragon Army, Shu had agreed saying it would be a huge moral booster for the troops. Still although he couldn't think of anything better to do than help out, he could think of a vast number of things more fun than sitting here listening to tactics and politics.
To his credit Hazel stayed awake for another six minutes before falling asleep again.
***
It was much later when Reo finally went to bed, Necrolord and his minions had shown up, taunted them and then left. They had discussed strategy late into the night before finally going to bed. Reo had left Hazel and Kasumi slumped out on the table, he was not sure what they must have been up to last night to be so tired, perhaps it was the rune sapping his strength. Yes that made sense. Reo settled down to sleep despite the hard bed digging into his spine. Shortly after falling asleep Reo was back in the same nightmare as he had been through the night before. Once again he awoke with a start, try as he might he could not get back to sleep so he decided to go for a walk and see if Nanami was still awake. The feeling that he was going to loose her was getting to be a real weight upon his mind and he wanted to see her, he was pleased to see she was still awake, just staring out of her window.
"Nanami?"
"Oh… Reo why are you still up?"
"I couldn't sleep"
"No me neither… hey Reo…"
"Yeah?"
"No it's nothing forget it"
"Alright, well g'night then"
"No actually I have to say it. Lets just run away from all this, there's no need for us to fight anymore"
And the more she explained that there were so many people better suited to war, the more Reo released in his mind he was just a kid playing at armies. he couldn't really deal with the responsibility of people he cared for getting hurt. He didn't want to fight Jowy and that little cottage far away sounded so tempting. Looking into his sister's eyes Reo made the first decision he had made for a while. This wasn't Shu or Viktor or anyone else telling him to do something, this was his call, and he was leaving. They packed everything they felt they needed and snuck downstairs, only to run straight into Hazel and Kasumi.
"You can't stop us, let us past"
"Huh?"
"We're leaving and if you won't let us go…"
Nanami struck a martial arts style fighting stance which totally failed to intimidate either of her unwitting adversaries. Hazel turned and whispered something to Kasumi, who looked briefly concerned, then puzzled then smiled.
"Okay, we're going with you"
Hazel grinned in a slightly discomforting manner.
"Yes" Kasumi agreed, "it would be dangerous without us"
In their haste to escape both Reo and Nanami totally failed to wonder why Hazel and Kasumi were heading out so late at night, even before they had turned up.
***
It was less than two days later when a blooded and weary party staggered into Tigermouth village, they had first headed to Crom, only to have to flee foe their lives as zombies overwhelmed the town. Although they had fought to try and save the town as best they could but in the end the numbers and sheer relentlessness of the undead had forced them to run again. They decided to take a short break before making the tough trek across the mountains. Nanami and Reo sat down to eat whilst Hazel and Kasumi moved a good distance away before talking.
"Hazel why are we doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Running. You saw what happened in Crom, Lord Reo is needed"
"We can't force him to fight"
"But…If we can't do anything why did we come?"
"Because we don't want him to die just because he feels like his destiny isn't his own…"
"Oh…"
"…Oh what?"
"Like maybe you're doing this because you feel the same, right?"
"…When did you get so smart?"
Kasumi just smiled her lightning smile again, the smile that made Hazel forget about the dull ache in his back from one of many attacks they had endured on the way here. It almost made him forget about the permanent sensation of discomfort the rune on his hand caused him.
It was soon time to move on, or at least it would be if the guard were not blocking their path.
"Trying to escape you should be ashamed. Right now Lord Reo of the Dragon Army is fighting to save us and you're running away!"
It was true, Reo did feel ashamed but surely this had to be his only choice, otherwise that awful dream might come true and then if he lost Nanami and Jowy… He'd be well and truly lost. Having to use a Viktor-esq 'good trick' to get by was averted as a horde of undead began to enter the town. The guardsman along with anyone who could wield a weapon ran to fight the attackers.
"Now lets run!" Nanami started heading towards the mountains.
"No…"
"Huh… Reo?"
"We have to… We have to fight…"
Hazel smiled gripping his staff he charged towards the main melee, stopping before he got too far he saw there were literally hundreds of zombies and animated skeletons shambling towards the gates. They had neither skill nor speed but they were relentless, short of hacking them to pieces there was no way to stop them, the human defenders were horribly outnumbered.
"Reo… It's hopeless" Hazel didn't want to leave these people to their fate but he had to protect his friends first and foremost.
"No we have to fight!"
Reo charged, shaking his head Hazel followed him, trying to come up with some sort of plan to beat odds of more undead than he could count against a rag tag collection of villagers. The problem was none of them were good at this sort of battle, all of them relied heavily on speed and technique rather than brute strength, however the only thing effective against these living dead opponents was strength. Right now they really needed someone like Viktor, a big guy with a big sword, but there was nothing like that around. All they could do was try their best.
Reo felt his anger rising, he couldn't let these monsters win, he had to protect everyone who was depending on him. Leader of the Dragon Army or not he had to protect them. That was what Genkaku taught him, martial arts are for protecting the people you care about.
"Bright Shield Rune… I need your power!"
A massive pulse of white energy shot from Reo's hand turning all the undead it touched to dust, but it was a drop in the ocean, there were still many more coming, all the while the townsfolk were falling and Reo's friends were taking more and more punishment.
Now Hazel and Nanami stood side by side in a defensive wall whist Kasumi darted between them scoring with lightning quick blows. Blows that would have worked fine on anyone who needed their internal organs inside them, but these monsters didn't care about that. Indeed all Kasumi was accomplishing was making herself feel really sick.
Reo tried calling on his rune again, but this time there was nothing, all he felt was a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
"We have to go now!" Nanami called desperately. Reo knew in his heart there was no other choice, the four turned and ran, leaving the townspeople to their grizzly fates.
So they fled again, Hazel took one last look back as the last of the human defenders fell and the whole region belonged to Necrolord. And then, at the exact same time the same thing happened to Jowy in Muse, Reo passed out. The main difference was Jowy was in a safe warm office, Reo was on a mountain surrounded by flesh eating zombies.
***
The party ran along the mountain path, Nanami carrying Reo on her back, Kasumi and Hazel running ahead cutting down any zombies that blocked their path. Luckily the undead were slow to move and react so they managed to get almost the entire distance before running into trouble. When they did however it was big trouble.
Blocking the path was a vast number of undead, at least fifty, maybe more, undead who were not affected by fatigue unlike their human opponents fighting permanently did not worry them at all. Hazel was really starting to feel the effects of the past few days now, but there was no other way they had to keep going forwards. Gripping his weapon he charged at the undead striking them with a rain of blows, but to very little effect, the crushing blows his staff delivered were ineffective against dead bodies. Bleeding from several fresh cuts he dropped back, the situation was looking grim.
"Hazel…"
Kasumi was breathing heavily too, she didn't even have a true rune to help her out. That was it, he had his true rune, much as he didn't want to use it there was no other choice. Tearing off his glove he revealed Soul Eater, it seemed to pulse with an angry red energy, eager for some action.
"Soul Eater… Show your power!"
He unleashed a blast of black light which engulfed the zombies, sending their souls to the eternal abyss, tired from the exertion Hazel dropped to one knee and watched as… Nothing happened?
Damn it! He should have remembered from last time he had fought Necrolord that most of his powers were useless against the undead. They had no souls for Soul Eater to take. Shuffling forward the wave of zombies moved closer, dropping back again he caught sight of even more coming from behind them. He was exhausted, out-numbered and trying to protect everyone. But he still had one choice, one he was not looking forward to using and on that he would have to pay for later, but there was no choice.
"Soul Eater… I call on your full power… Judgement!"
This never got any easier, if anything it felt worse and more painful every time he used it. The price was always there, and the fact it felt like his entire body was on fire, frozen and crushed all at the same time. Didn't help matters. But more so it was the sensation of everything that made up the victim being reduced to nothingness, all the thoughts and memories of the victims flying past him and then they were nothing but memories that he would dream of tonight. The black energy tore through the zombie in front of them, staggering slightly Hazel and the others ran to the relative safety of Drakemouth village.
***
"Oww… Where are we?"
Reo's vision was spinning and his head hurt, he felt like he had ran a marathon and then some, he was tired and he hurt and all he could see was Nanami's concerned face looking down at him.
"Drakemouth… Somehow we made it here"
"Where are the others?"
"Outside. They're trying to guard us"
Reo had a flash of recollection, the pain in Hazel's eyes when he had unleashed the power of his rune, and it had all been his fault in a way. If he hadn't left in the first place… Outside it sounded like the fighting had intensified. Nanami looked even more worried than before.
"Sounds like there's lots of them… I'll go and help. You stay here"
Reo felt totally helpless, everyone was suffering because of him. Nanami, Kasumi and Hazel too, all fighting. He couldn't stand waiting any longer. Painfully pulling himself to his feet Reo walked outside, straight into Flik.
Hazel and Kasumi were stood a short distance away, taking the time to recover whilst it was quiet, possibly they were also trying to avoid the anger in Flik's eyes, and the disappointment and sorrow Shu and Apple were showing in theirs.
Reo was only half listening as Shu told him how he felt let down by Reo's actions. Reo was too busy looking at the piles of corpses that littered the village to pay him too much attention though. He was having a hard time telling which bodies were zombies or which were villagers or which were villagers who were turned into zombies. It was a truly gruesome sight, Reo's eyes fixed though, on the body of a young girl, no older than Pilka, he was still looking at her in a horrified fascination when Shu slapped him across the cheek.
It was not a hard blow but it took him off guard and knocked him backwards. He could see Apple crying as Shu told him how Ridley had been killed in the fighting, how the whole area was under Necrolord's control and how they needed him to come back. He remembered the guard at Tigermouth village, and how Ridley had been the one to jump to his defense when Jess had accused him of killing Lady Annabelle. It was almost too much for him, but he bit his lip and tried not to cry. And then Shu told him that it was his decision to come back or not, he wouldn't and couldn't force him. And then they were gone. He didn't hear what Flik said as they walked away but from Nanami's response he could tell it wasn't complimentary.
And now he didn't know what to do, if he went back there would be more death, more people would die because of him, Nanami's life would be in danger and he would have to fight Jowy. He didn't want to, but there was no other choice was there. He couldn't just run away forever, could he? Hazel walked over to him, Reo couldn't help but notice he was moving with some difficulty and had deep gashes across his chest. Kasumi too was bleeding and looked so tired that she would collapse at any moment.
"What will you do Reo?"
"I… I don't think I can go back"
Reo was crying now and he didn't care, crying for Ridley, crying for everyone who had believed in him, crying for Jowy, and he didn't care who saw him. How was he supposed to do this? He wasn't a leader, he wasn't a fighter and most of all he wasn't a killer. Hazel put his hand on Reo's shoulder to try and comfort him.
"Hey… It'll be all right, trust me I've been there"
"No… I don't want Nanami to die, and I don't want to fight Jowy"
"But to leave, after everything you've been through? Are you sure?"
"I… I… I don't know what to do. I'm just a kid after all… how am I supposed to do this?
"You just have to do what seems right"
And then it seemed as though something clicked in Hazel's eyes, he had an idea, an idea brought on he supposed by being with Kasumi and Reo for too long and starting to feel young again, like the young man who had united peoples hearts not so long ago. Through his sobs Reo heard d Hazel make an offer. It made both Kasumi and Nanami gasp in disbelief, it even shocked Hazel that he had been able to say it.
"If you want to leave I'll… I'll lead the Dragon Army"
Stained with his own tears and blood Reo looked into the eyes of his hero, a face no older than his own, but with green eyes that belied all the pain they had seen already.
"You'd do that for me… Why?"
"Because… because I see myself in you…"
It was true, In Hazel's deep green eyes Reo could see it, the pain of loosing those closest to you, having to fight people who meant the world to you. Reo understood that maybe somewhere along the line Hazel Mcdohl had wanted to run away but never had the choice. Perhaps that was why he offered, because he knew all the hurt that being a leader and a hero involved more than anyone did.
"But… your rune… and you've done it all before"
"I don't mind, if you really want to leave then go I won't stop you… but…"
"But…?"
"Will you be able to go through life and honestly say you'll never regret this choice?"
"…"
"And as for Jowy… You know enough to know that you might be able to save him, bearer of the bright shield rune. If I face him…"
Hazel just made a sad face, removed his glove and gestured towards his right hand. Soul Eater seemed to stare back up at Reo, making him wince. The thought of Jowy ending up as a burnt out corpse, a soulless husk like the other victims of Soul Eaters wrath was too much. He tried, but failed to stop his voice coming out as a tearful squeak.
"…Jowy"
"…But it's your call and yours alone. Don't chose what Shu wants, or what Nanami wants… just… just follow your heart"
With that Hazel and Kasumi walked away, there would be another wave of zombies coming soon and more than anything, Hazel knew Reo needed the time to think this through, much as Hazel had been forced to do three years ago. Gripping his staff he turned and smiled at Kasumi, he was rewarded with the young ninja flashing him a smile that made him think of lightning in the summer.
"Nanami… What should I do?"
"… He's right… It is… your call"
"…"
Reo looked out of the gate of Drakemouth village, towards the rolling open plains and freedom lay ahead. Behind him Necrolord and his legions of undead. And perhaps worse of all the disappointed faces of his friends were waiting for him. Here was where his destiny and his life stood at a crossroads, here was where he could leave behind all the pain and suffering and never have to fight Jowy.
Reo looked back at where Hazel and Kasumi were finishing off another group of zombies who had burst into the village whilst he was thinking, and then his eyes wandered back on the pure, green, free grasslands ahead of him. Taking one last look at his right hand Reo made a decision, not as the leader of the Dragon Army, but as himself.