***Please Note: Seeing as the title "Fate and Destiny" isn't very original, I'm going to change it to "Destiny of Four". The change will take place when I post Chapter Nine, so I'm warning you in advance.***

A/N: Oh, you guys are so great! *hugs all her reviewers* Your reviews are all so encouraging, it gives me warm fuzzies. Hehe.

So the last chapter was a bit short? You're probably going to wish for them to be shorter again after this monster of a chapter. ^.~

Yes, I took my description of Grosser Fluss from the suikogaiden intro. There aren't many sources for me to look this stuff up, so yeah, that's where I got it from. The berserk thing... eeh... I don't know anything about that. _

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Chapter Eight - Percival's Memory

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She knew it was him. She could feel his presence through the Rune. Unheeding of Nash's warnings, she walked right up to the navy blue sphere and touched it with the hand her True Water Rune was in.

Instantly the world seemed to melt away and she found herself in an atmosphere not unlike when she had connected with Yun's spirit. Everything seemed out of focus. There was someone there. Heart pounding, she forced her eyes to focus on the form before her. She knew it had to be him. As Yun had, he looked ageless, but she could tell from the dark hair, the deep chestnut brown eyes, the calm, composed demeanor; It was him.

It was Percival.

"Chris..." He appeared to speak without moving his lips, just as Yun had.

"I... I don't understand..." Chris whispered, nearly overwhelmed by emotion.

He looked reserved and a little sad. "I'm so sorry about what I've put you through."

"What is this? Are you... Are you real?"

"As real as Yun or anyone who has ever sacrificed themselves to protect a True Rune seal..."

"No!" Chris shook her head. "No, you wouldn't do that! You couldn't! You're not a Grasslander! You're Zexen! You're, You're-"

"I'm a human spirit. It is only the physical body that is born Zexen or Grasslander. But people are all the same, Chris. In the end, we all have a spirit and a destiny."

She shook her head incredulously, her confusion turning to anger. "Destiny? How can you say that? You were a Fire Bringer! You defied fate!"

"Fate and destiny are not quite the same. Fate is the assumption that the future is unchangeable. Destiny is what you were born for, the reason for your existence, but it is up to the individual to choose if they will follow their destiny or not."

"Nonsense!" Chris exclaimed, never having felt so angered and hurt in her life. "How could you do this? How could you just leave me?"

Percival closed his eyes and looked truly pained. "It's... Hard to explain. Maybe if I show you everything you need to see from five years ago. . ."

And once again the True Water Rune in her right hand began to glow and she felt as though she were falling...

*~*~*~*~*~*

Percival could barely recognize her, there was so much disfigurement and blood.

"Goddess! Who did this to you?! Who!?"

"... He's getting stronger... The north..."

"North? What is north?"

"She couldn't hide... the rune from him...Was...no one to protect it."

"Shhh, love, don't talk. We have to get help!"

"It's too late... Too... Powerful..."

He held her battered body close to her as the life left her eyes. He began to sob, gritting his teeth, and squeezing his eyes shut, unable to look into those unseeing eyes.

"No! Come back! Oh Goddess! Chris!"

******

Percival bolted upright, his body covered in cold sweat. He panted, trying to calm himself and keep from hyperventilating. He looked around him. He was in their room in their house. It had been the nightmare.

That nightmare. It kept coming back. At first it had been fuzzy, uncertain, a couple times a month. But now he was having them nearly every night, and each time it got clearer and more unbearable.

He looked down at the slumbering form beside him. Her face was so calm, so peaceful and beautiful. He touched her face gently, brushing the stray silver locks from her face. She sighed peacefully in her sleep, but did not awaken.

Goddess, he loved her so much.

He had never told anyone about these recurring dreams. He didn't want to alarm anyone, especially the amazing beauty sleeping so peacefully beside him. But these nightmares were trying to tell him something. He had to make sure that these horrible visions were not prophecies of some kind, even though he wasn't sure how they could be. He had to find out. But how?

'North'. The word seemed to echo in his memory, and he took a deep breath. North it was then. He would start by going to his hometown, Iksay and go from there. There was no time to waste. He had to go now.

He leaned forward slowly and kissed her lips gently for a long moment.

"I'll be back soon, Chris," he whispered to her sleeping form before sneaking out of bed and getting dressed.

******

A normal person would not have sensed anyone's presence there in the shadows of the windmill, but Percival had developed a sixth sense about these things since having become a knight.

"Who is there? Who are you?" he called.

"I could ask you the same thing." It was a woman.

"I'm not the one hiding in the shadows," he pointed out.

"I prefer the dark."

"It's almost dark now."

"I suppose you're right." She stepped towards him and joined him by the fence overlooking the fields of Iksay.

She didn't look quite... normal. She was beautiful, but in an almost eerie sense. She had shoulder-length silver hair and two crimson eyes that reflected the soft glow of the sunset. Her clothing seemed out of place in the small farming town, and were very old-fashioned. However, they did suit her well.

"Are you a resident of the village?" she asked.

"Not really. But I was born and raised here," he replied.

"Visiting?"

"Not exactly... What about you? Are you a traveler? I don't recall seeing you around here before." He turned from the view to study her expression. She was very mysterious indeed, and he wasn't sure that he trusted her.

"I'm passing through." She stared back at him confidently as though daring him to tell her she had something to hide.

"Where are you headed?"

"I'm not sure that's any of your business."

"No, I suppose it's not. I'm Percival Fraulien."

Now he seemed to be the one under scrutiny. "Aren't you some famous knight from Zexen or something?"

He blinked a few times, then turned back to the scenery and smiled to himself. "I take it you're not from around here at all."

"No. I've traveled from Harmonia."

"Why were you hiding in the shadows?"

"I wasn't hiding. I told you, I prefer the dark."

There was definitely something amiss, Percival thought. He felt like he should know who she was somehow.

"So how long have you been in Iksay for?"

"A week."

"I thought you said you were just passing through?"

"...I am."

He raised and eyebrow and stared at her. It was clear she must be lost.

"Don't look at me with such disrespect, mortal!" she snapped.

Percival blinked. "Mortal?"

She continued to glare at him.

He turned from her glare and back to the scenery, crossing his arms and placing one hand on his chin. "Look, if you told me where you were headed, I might be able to help you."

She stared at him, slightly indignant. "I'm looking for a castle by a lake. Bud-hack castle or something."

"Budehuc?" Percival chuckled a bit.

"What is funny!?"

"You're practically around the corner from it. It's just a little West of here."

"Really..."

"Yes. If you like, I'll guide you there. It's only a few hours away by horse."

She seemed to be thinking. "Can I trust you?"

Percival raised his eyebrow again. "Trust me? What do you mean?"

"Just as I said. How can I be sure you have good intentions?"

"What, do you think I'm going to lead you out somewhere and try and take advantage of you?" Percival laughed. "Rest assured. I'm a married man."

She scoffed at this remark. "Please! I'm married too, you know, and if there's one think I've learned about married men, it's that they are most often just as promiscuous as the single ones!"

Percival smiled at her. "Call me part of a minority, then. At any rate, I don't know why you're worried. Something tells me that you are quite capable of looking after yourself should the need arise."

"Quite right you are!" she replied, somewhat haughtily. "Alright then. Lead on, mortal."

"What's with the 'mortal' business? And right now? It's nightfall..."

"Best time to travel." She turned on her heel and started off, ignoring his first question entirely.

"Wait. You haven't even told me who you are," Percival pointed out, catching up beside her.

"So I haven't. I'm Sierra."

******

"Here we are. Budehuc castle," Percival said as they arrived late that night.

"Perfect. You can be on your way now," she said, marching off towards the castle.

"Hey, wait a minute. You're not going to try go into the castle in the middle of the night, are you?" he asked.

"What's it to you?" she replied without stopping or looking back.

He caught up with her. "Because the first guard you see is going to arrest you for breaking and entering. You're not some sort of thief are you?"

"How rude of you to even suggest such a thing!" she snapped. "Besides, I'd like to see any inferior mortal get in my way."

Percival blinked, bewildered at how edgy she seemed to be. "Can't whatever you're doing wait until morning?"

"No! It's best if I do this before anyone realizes I'm here."

"What?"

Sierra stopped in her tracks and shot him another threatening glare.

"What is going on? What are you planning to do?"

She sighed. "I better make you come along so that you don't run off and tell anybody." She grabbed his sleeve and started pulling him along.

"Wait a minute! What are you doing!"

She stopped, and turned on him, jabbing a finger in his face. "I have a True Rune and I'm going to seal it somewhere in the castle. Happy?!"

'No, just utterly confused,' Percival thought. "True Rune? Could you please explain what's going on!"

"I just told you! Now which way do we go to sneak in?"

"There's a door that leads to the basement over there," Percival replied, pointing, and he had barely finished speaking before Sierra started dragging him down the steps to the side door.

They slipped through the door and crept upstairs to the main floor without being noticed.

"Where's the library?" she demanded in a whisper.

"Upstairs to the right." At this point, Percival wasn't even sure why he was answering her questions when she did such a poor job of answering his.

They crept past the few guards there were, and made their way into the library.

"It should be around here someplace," Sierra whispered, touching random books on various bookshelves.

"This is insanity. How did I get mixed up in this?" Percival uttered under his breath.

"Who... Are you...?"

They both froze before turning slowly around to see a tall, and, to put it simply, ghastly looking man standing by the bookshelf opposite of them.

"Eike?" Percival had forgotten all about the strange librarian and his habits of working late in the library.

He hadn't seen the man in nearly twenty-five years, but he hadn't changed at all in his appearance. He was still expressionless and somewhat forlorn looking, as though he had never seen the light of day. Percival himself had tried to avoid the strange man when he had first come to the castle, but since then had accepted him as a kind and helpful librarian - even if he was a little odd in his conduct.

"You are... Percival," the librarian stated in recognition.

"Percival, why didn't you tell me the librarian wasn't human?" Seirra asked.

"Not human?" Percival was utterly baffled.

Eike turned to Percival. "What... are you doing... here?"

"Believe me, I'm as much in the dark about this as you are," Percival replied with an exasperated shrug. "Sierra, could you please explain what's going on? In some amount of detail?"

"Do you know where the secret passageway is?" she asked Eike, ignoring Percival completely.

Eike paused. "Maybe...you should tell me... why...you are here first."

"If I do, will you tell me where it is?"

Eike did not reply, but Sierra sighed, realizing she didn't have much of a choice in the matter anyway.

"Alright," she began, "What you must understand is that this is very important. I don't know how much you two know about the 27 True Runes, but I have the Blue Moon Rune. I am Sierra Mikain. You, being a librarian and historian, may have heard of me."

Percival looked confused, but Eike nodded, although he remained expressionless as always.

She continued. "Anyway I've had a lot of trouble with this Rune. I've been burdened by it for over 800 years. I am the strongest, oldest vampire this planet has ever seen-"

"Vampire!?" Percival interrupted. He never paid much attention in world history during his education, and he did not remember much about the Blue Moon Rune.

She glared at him. "Don't interrupt me! Anyway, I have been with the Rune so long that it recognizes me as it's master and no one else. Lately, however, the rune has been showing me visions. Terrible visions of destruction. Destruction caused by this Rune!

"I knew it must be prophecy, and sought a way to prevent it from coming to pass. I am afraid that someone evil and powerful, even more powerful than me, will find out that I have the rune and kill me for it. I came up with the solution that the True Rune must be sealed. This will make it both difficult to find or retrieve.

"Now, as you know, True Runes can only be sealed in certain places. I asked the Rune to guide me, and it communicated to me that the best place to seal it lies beyond the library in Budehuc castle. I have not told another soul about this. Not a single other soul! Not even my own husband! Which is why you two must swear to keep your mouth shut until the day you die!" She finished by pointing a finger at one and then the other, and then there was a moment of silence.

Finally, after Percival got his head around the fact that the woman before him was over eight centuries old, he nodded solemnly. "I swear I won't tell anyone. I realize the importance of this now." He glanced over at Eike. "I don't think you need to worry about Eike either. He's one of the most secretive people this world has ever known."

Eike nodded in agreement. Then, without saying anything walked over to the corner bookshelf and tugged out a thick text. The room rumbled, and the passageway slid open. His eyes were downcast.

"Be... Careful..."

"Thank you-... Eike, was it? You and I are not much different, are we? We are both beings of the night..." Sierra gave the man a respectful node, and marched down the passageway without further comment.

Percival, still somewhat confused, also nodded to Eike in thanks, and then followed Sierra down the path.

******

"This is it. This is where I will seal the rune," Sierra said as they came into the clearing of a dense forest. She turned back to Percival. "That is all. You can go back now."

"I'll wait," Percival said, leaning against the entrance of the cave.

"No, you've been more than enough help already. You're dismissed," she spoke hastily, and she sounded almost nervous.

"I'd like to see this process, if it's all the same to you. Why, how long will it take?" he asked, unsure of why Sierra was suddenly so nervous sounding all the sudden.

"Ages and ages! Now get out!"

Now he knew something was up. "No. What are you hiding Sierra?"

"Nothing. Just get out."

"I swear I'm not leaving until you tell me."

"How selfish! You better be careful not to anger me, mortal."

"Just tell me what exactly is going on here." Percival stared at her expectantly.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

She sighed and bowed her head. "After I seal the Blue Moon Rune... I'm going to sacrifice myself to protect the seal."

"What?!"

"It must be done!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "If I don't, the seal can be broken far too easily, and if it falls into the wrong hands, there will be no spirit to limit the rune's abilities."

"That's madness!" he shouted. "And who's going get the True Rune back if it falls into the wrong hands, if its true 'master' is a mere spirit?"

She blinked. "The True Rune's ultimate powers can not be fully released if the spirit of the seal does not allow it. The spirit becomes the rune's limiter."

"But this 'limiter' you speak of, how long will it last?"

Sierra's composure faltered slightly. "Well... I... I suppose it will last for as long as the spirit can hold out..."

"So basically you're telling me that this limiter can only buy some time before the rune's powers can be abused by its user?"

"No one is going to find it here!" Sierra retorted, ignoring his valid point.

Percival opened his mouth to argue but suddenly the words from his dream came to him.

*...'She couldn't hide the Rune from him...No one was there to protect it'...*

Slowly, everything began to come together in his mind. This was what his dreams were about! He was supposed to travel North and help Sierra seal the Moon Rune and protect it from evil! But how?

"I... had a dream about this. That's why I traveled north to Iksay," he said simply after a moment.

"You did not! Only those influenced by the power of the 27 True Runes can have prophecies," she argued.

Percival paused as he thought of this, and then nodded. "I... I *was* under the influence of one of the 27 True Runes! The True Water Rune! I have spent the last ten years of my life around it. You see, my wife is the bearer of the True Water Rune. It must have been communicating to me in my dreams."

Sierra was in denial. "No... That is impossible to have such dreams..."

"I swear on my life, I did. My wife... She's the reason why I came here. I kept having nightmares of her dying in my arms, telling me that there was no one to protect a True Rune up north, and that's why it was too late. Only certain people can bear that rune, right? It needs to recognize someone responsible as its master if someone evil gets a hold of it. If you sacrifice yourself to become a limiter, and the rune is found, your limiter will only last so long before countless people are killed, including my wife."

"But-"

"Don't you understand? The limiter isn't the complete solution. We both know that the limiter can only buy time for the rune's true master to protect it. You should be using this time to train someone to follow in you footsteps, in the event that something happens to you when you're guarding the rune. Someone who has been around the True Rune for a long time, and therefore has the ability to wield it. Can't you think of someone who could eventually take your place as the Blue Moon Rune's true master? Percival asked.

She nodded. "Yes, but he would have be turned into one of my kind, and I would not want to burden him with such a curse unless I had to... But tell me, in the mean time, if I don't act as the power limiter on this Rune, than who will?"

It was meant to be a rhetorical question, but Percival suddenly came to a realization as the last piece of the puzzle slid into place.

"...I will."

There was a long moment of silence. Sierra stared at him disbelievingly. Finally she shook her head slowly. "No... No, you mustn't. You can't. Only strong spirits chosen by the True Runes can act as its limiter. "

"I have been chosen by the True Runes, or else the True Water Rune my wife has, would not have showed me those nightmares of the future I must change. The True Runes have shown me so that I can stop all this from happening. And I will do anything for Chris." Percival closed his eyes in total resolve. "I'll die for her."

"No. You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"

"Sierra," Percival said in a warning tone. "I have only known you for a few hours, and I can't pretend to understand everything about the evil that is out to control the True Runes. But I can tell you that I haven't been so sure about anything since my marriage to Chris. I don't have to do this. But if I don't and you do, there will be no one for the rune to call its master, and if this rune falls into the wrong hands, countless people will die. I can't let that happen. The True Runes are giving me a chance to prevent evil from abusing its powers. This is my choice."

Sierra shook her head several more times in protest, but Percival stepped ahead of her, leaving no room for further discussion. He paused. He took off the scabbard that sheathed his sword and handed it to Sierra.

"There's only one thing I must ask of you," Percival said, his voice slightly wavering with emotion. "Find Chris Lightfellow. She's my wife. You shouldn't have a hard time finding her, she's famous all over Zexen as the captain of the Zexen Knights... Anyway, please give this sword to her. She'll know it's mine... Don't... Don't tell her what happened, but tell her..." He had to stop and turn his head away before continuing. "Tell her that I'm truly sorry. And please be sure to tell her I love her."

She took his sword but barely nodded. She opened her mouth to say something, but for the first time in ages, she found she was unable to speak.

Percival gave a slight but genuine smile. "Don't worry, this mortal plans on providing one strong limiter to whatever unfortunate soul tries to abuse your rune. You just make sure that there is someone responsible to protect this rune should this prophecy attempt to become reality. It's all going to work out. I just know it will."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Do you see it now, Chris?" Percival asked his former wife as she came back to the present from his memories. "I did this so I could act as the power-limiter to the True Rune. Now that I know it is Yuber after this rune, it makes even more sense. As all True Runes are connected, I know that he already has a True Rune - the Eightfold Rune - And I know that he has the unusual capacity to bear two True Runes. However, since both the Blue Moon Rune and the Eightfold Rune are dark runes, they'd compliment each other perfectly, and therefore make him phenomenally powerful. The first thing he'd do with such power, of course, is kill those with other True Runes so he can take them or destroy them. That's why he'd be after you, Chris...

"Perhaps it was fate that there would be a conflict within the True Runes, but it was destiny that brought me here. It was my choice, Chris. In the end I had to choose. And although I miss you more than words can express and am guilt stricken by the pain I've caused you, I could not bear for that nightmare to become a reality..."

Chris was so overwhelmed by everything that she found it hard to reply. Her fists were clenched and she shut her eyes to keep her unshed tears at bay. A long time seemed to pass, and she did nothing but wrestle with her emotions, feeling as though she were on the brink of insanity.

Finally, thanks to all her years of being the emotionless and stern captain of the Zexen knights, she was finally able to force her brain to think logically again.

"Sierra... She was the woman who came to me with your sword that night. Nash's wife! I had no idea... The way our four lives have intertwined... It's almost too much." She gazed upon the hazy figure that was the spirit of her former husband.

The spirit seemed to come closer, a look of sadness and empathy on his face. "You two must stay strong so that my and Sierra's deaths weren't in vain."

She thought of Nash and she felt a sudden wave of inexplicable guilt. "Percival... Nash and I... There's... During all of this... he's... I think I'm in..." when she finally realized what she was trying to say, she trailed off into silence. Was that sentence the beginning of a confession that she had feelings towards the Harmonian?

Percival closed his eyes, and Chris did not need to finish her sentence. "Chris... I... I know. I can sense it in you. I can also sense the guilt, fear and pride. But... I don't want you to be alone. Your mindset is preventing you from moving on. Maybe it's because you never knew the truth about what happened to me. But I think it's more than that. He is nothing like me or anyone else you've ever had to deal with and I think that somehow frightens you. Don't let it, Chris. I want you to find a happiness that will last you for the eternity in which you must live... I never thought that ruffian could be any good for your but..." here he seemed to smile slightly. "I suppose at the very least he keeps you sharp and on your toes."

"Percival..."

But the former Zexen Knight changed topics. "Nash is the one who Sierra had in mind to replace her, should the need arise. Having been married to a vampire for so long, the transition for him when he became one was far less difficult than if it had been the average person. Since she placed such confidence in him, I will grant him full power of the Moon Rune when he attains it... But not right away. The power of the rune might be too much for him at first. But as he adapts, I will begin to remove the limiter on the Rune's power." He paused so Chris could process the information. Then he closed his eyes. "I'm glad I could see you one last time. Remember what I said... about moving on."

"I will never forget you," Chris said, suppressing a sob.

"Goodbye, Chris... I'll always love you."

She was falling as the scene faded. The grassy earth became solid under her feet again. She was weak from spiritual exertion, and she felt her knees begin to buckle.

Next thing she knew, Nash had caught her in his arms and he eased her towards the ground. The whole time Chris had been in a trance, he had just watched, utterly confused as to what had just transpired. He held her against him and looked at her with a very concerned expression on his face.

"Are you alright!? Chris!? What happened!?"

She had reached her limit. She buried her head in his chest and wept.

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A/N: Despite the fact that I revised this entire chapter several times, I somehow get the feeling that I'm going to be flooded by reviews that identify a whole bunch of plot holes I haven't even thought of.

At any rate, you have no idea how difficult this chapter was! Sierra and Percival are hard characters to write, and especially being that they've never interacted with each other before, it made it even more difficult to get the characteristics right. Ol' Percy particularly may have been a smidgen out of character due to the fact that, since he was older when he 'died' and became a spirit, I tried to make him a little wiser sounding.

It occurs to me that Chris' last name should probably change to Fraulien since she got married, but I figured I'd keep it the same because I'm not sure if that's how it works in Suikoden, and besides a lot of famous women keep their last names after they marry.

And I have no idea what Eike is. I personally don't think he is totally human, because he doesn't really act like one, and according to Ace, he doesn't even have an Aura. I did the best I could with his character without assuming too much about him.

Hehe, okay now that I'm done justifying this chapter that I just inflicted on all of you, I must sincerely thank you for continuing to read and review my fic. I just can't say enough how much I appreciate it!

Next Chapter: Relief