Only two reviews? *sniff*
The Story Master 125: I hope you can update your story soon as well. I really like it :)
khmerboi919: Well, it is kinda hard to write about a chapter I've never played, don't you think? No, I'm not going to write about it.
Chapter Seven
Anguish
"Miss Florina?"
Ninian approached a visibly upset Florina the next day. She sat on some barrels at the boat's stern, simply gazing at the floor as though oblivious to all around her. Ninian's voice, however, seemed to snap her out of her trance. She looked up at Ninian, and her lower lip began to quiver, as if she was going to start crying all over again.
"W-what is it?" Florina asked shakily.
"I..." Ninian began slowly, "I wanted to...apologize for yesterday."
Florina's expression suddenly brightened hopefully. "D-do you mean...you remember me now?"
Ninian shook her head sadly, and Florina's hopeful look vanished. "I do not," Ninian said, "but Lord Eliwood...he says...that my memory was lost. He says...that it will come back eventually."
"Then...then..." Florina seemed unable to speak.
"Yes," Ninian answered her question before she asked. "I do not know when...but at some point...I will remember you again."
Florina smiled.
"In the meantime," Ninian continued, turning red, "I wanted to apologize...for—for yesterday. I...I did not mean—"
Florina cut her off by suddenly embracing her. "It...it's all right," she said. "It's not your fault...if you lost your memory."
Ninian returned the embrace this time, although briefly. After letting go, she added, "For now...we could...still be friends, right?"
Florina's smile grew wider. "Of course," she said. "It will be like...just meeting each other all over again..."
Ninian smiled back, but Florina's face suddenly seemed a bit saddened, although she continued to smile.
"Do...do you really not remember me at all?" Florina asked.
"I...I am sorry, I do not," Ninian replied. "But...your name...does seem a bit familiar."
Florina simply stared at her silently for a few moments before getting up. "Well," she said happily, "you've certainly made me feel a lot better. Thank you, Ninian."
Ninian's face turned pink. "It...it is my pleasure, Florina."
"Land ho!"
One of Fargus's crewmembers cried out from the crow's nest as the fog-enshrouded Valor became visible over the horizon. Ninian stood at the bow of the ship with the rest of the army as the isle got closer and closer...
Something...something wasn't right...
"Ninian?"
Eliwood's voice snapped Ninian out of her thoughts as the army stood on the beach of the Dread Isle. She blinked a few times, then looked at him.
"Ninian, are you all right?" he asked.
Truthfully, she didn't know. A voice in her head was screaming at her, telling her to get as far away from the isle as possible.
"Ninian?"
Again Eliwood's voice brought her back to reality. "I..." she began, but quickly fell silent as she felt a tingling sensation in the back of her head.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "You look pale..."
"I—"
Get AWAY!
The sudden volume of the voice in her mind caused her to shiver in fright. "I-I should not...have come here..."
The tingling sensation in her head suddenly flared and became nearly unbearable. Ninian sank to her knees, clutching her head. Eliwood quickly stooped down and picked her up off the ground, but he nearly dropped her when he heard another scream.
"Lyn!" he shouted.
A part of Ninian's mind remembered the name, but the thought was quickly shunted aside by the pain she was feeling.
She managed to open her eyes despite the pain. About twenty feet away from her, a dark-skinned man riding an almost gold-haired horse was holding captive the green-haired woman Ninian remembered from the ship.
The dark-skinned man scanned the rest of the army, who were all drawing their weapons. His eyes settled on Ninian, and for a moment their eyes met.
And in that moment, the pain in her head flared again, and she screamed. She didn't know how, but she knew that the dark-skinned man was full of evil.
A pair of strong hands suddenly gripped her shoulders, and she whipped around to find a heavily armored man. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, and his armor bore the blue of Eliwood's army.
"Do not worry," the armored man said. "I will protect you while Lords Eliwood and Hector take care of our enemies."
She was only dimly aware of the armored man leading her slowly to a tent. She felt the pain in her head diminishing as they drew further away from the rest of the army.
"Oh, my!" she heard a male voice exclaim. "Is she all right?"
"She will be fine," the voice of the armored man said. "Take care of her while I protect your tent."
"Of course."
She felt something soft, a bed, as someone laid her down on it.
Her eyes suddenly snapped open and she gasped as a cold, wet towel landed on her forehead.
"Are you all right there?" asked a man standing over her. He was somewhat short, with blue-green hair and a moustache.
"Ye-yes," she answered as the pain in her head continued to subside.
She looked around. The tent she was in had all sorts of weapons stacked everywhere. Swords, lances, and axes littered the ground while magic tomes of all affinities lay on small shelves.
"Where...where am I?" Ninian asked.
"Oh, I don't believe we've met," the man said. "My name is Merlinus. I manage the storage for Lord Eliwood's army."
She tried to sit up, but Merlinus pushed her back down. "Not now," he said. "You need some rest. You're looking pretty pale."
Ninian shuddered as she felt the sensation in her head again, now reduced back to just tingling.
"See?" Merlinus said. "You're already having chills. Do you feel all right?"
"I think so..." Ninian replied.
"Well, you should stay in bed," Merlinus replied. "You can't go out there in the middle of a battle."
Ninian didn't reply. She just rested her head on the pillow and fell asleep.
The next day passed in a blur for Ninian. All she knew was that the army was heading towards something called the Dragon's Gate. The tingling sensation in the back of her head remained, however. She didn't know why, but she felt as though she should not go to the Dragon's Gate; that something terrible would happen if she did.
She stayed by Eliwood as they traveled further into the isle. For some reason, despite her sense of foreboding, she felt safe around him. If something did happen as she thought it would, she felt as though Eliwood would protect her.
It was late afternoon when the army reached the Dragon's Gate. The temple was absolutely monstrous, crafted with bricks so large it seemed as though there was no way humans could possibly have constructed anything like it.
It scared Ninian.
She grabbed Eliwood's arm and clung to it before he could talk to anyone about what to do.
Eliwood looked at her, concerned. "What's the matter, Ninian?" he asked.
"Th-this place," Ninian stammered. "I should n-not be here...s-something will—"
There was suddenly a bright flash, and Ninian involuntarily let go of Eliwood's arm and shielded her eyes.
That wasn't a very good idea.
A pair of hands suddenly grabbed her shoulders hard. She tried to turn around, to see who it was, but whoever was holding her had too strong a grip.
"So," a low male voice came from behind her, "the little bird has returned to its island cage."
The sensation in Ninian's head became painful once again. She screamed and thrashed about, but her captor's grip held fast..
Eliwood drew his rapier. "Let her go," he said calmly.
The response was a malevolent chuckle. "Let her go?" the voice asked almost incredulously. "This little girl is integral to my master's plans, and I intend to help him complete them."
Eliwood lunged for her captor, but suddenly there was another flash, and Eliwood was nowhere to be seen. Ninian looked around and discovered that that was because her captor had teleported the two of them inside the Dragon's Gate.
"Let me go!" she cried in sheer terror.
To her surprise, he did so, but that did nothing to calm her nerves. She didn't know where to go, where to run—what could she do?
She turned to face her captor. He was tall, with jet black hair contrasting against almost completely white skin. His eyes were golden, and seemed to glitter.
He smirked.
"Well done, Ephidel," came a voice from behind her. She whirled around to find another man. He had dark green hair, but most of it was covered in a black turban that also covered his right eye. He wore all black robes.
"What perfect timing, little Ninian," the as-yet-unnamed man said. "It just so happens I now have the power to open the Dragon's Gate. With your help, of course..." He smirked.
Ninian had no intention to help this man, whoever he was. She was about to say "no" when the man continued, his smirk growing wider. "So you have lost your memories as well...even better. It will be even easier to control you now."
"No..." she said. "No!"
And then, suddenly, her body became limp. She could not move at all, except for her eyes. It was as if she was frozen, until—
Obey.
The voice of the man thundered through her head, even though his mouth did not move. To her surprise, her legs began to move against her will, walking towards the man and the Dragon's Gate. She tried to resist—
Obey.
—but the voice in her head and the power of the man controlling her was too strong. She could do nothing but watch in horror as her body was forced to look straight into the gaping blackness of the Dragon's Gate...
"Nergal, stop!" A third voice came from behind her. Ninian's body turned around under the man's command, and she stared at—Eliwood?
It wasn't Eliwood. Whoever it was, he was much too old to be Eliwood. He looked awfully like him, though...
He was on the ground, practically crawling up to the man that was controlling Ninian. He looked utterly helpless.
"Fool," Nergal spat. "You can do nothing but cower in fear now. Behold as I claim the mighty quintessence of dragons!"
"FATHER!"
Eliwood's voice suddenly emanated from the steps leading up to the Dragon's Gate. Seconds later, he, Lyn, and the blue-haired man were running up the steps. Lyn and the blue-haired man immediately tended to Eliwood's father, while Eliwood was fixated on Ninian.
"Ninian!" he called. "Come! Over here!"
Obey.
As much as she wanted to, she still could not move.
"Now, Ninian," Nergal commanded. "Take this...man's life, and use it to open the Gate."
Her hands reached out in front of her and red energy began to appear around Eliwood's father. The energy moved away from him, towards her, and she realized with a jolt that she was taking his quintessence away from him.
"Now!" Nergal shouted almost gleefully. "Open the Gate!"
Ninian's arms raised skyward, and the red energy that had coalesced around her hands scattered. The ground began to shake. She could feel an immense energy from behind her—from the Dragon's Gate. It was opening...
"Ninian!"
And then all hell broke loose.
The cry had not come from Eliwood or any of her captors. It had come from someone she knew well...
Nils.
He came running up the steps, taking two at a time to get to his sister faster.
And everything came rushing back to her. Who she was, why she was here, and what exactly she was doing...
Obey. The voice boomed through her head again.
But this time, Ninian resisted harder.
No.
She forced her arms downward.
Nergal turned to her, seeing victory slipping through his fingers. "No! You will call dragons!"
"I will not," she replied, now possessing control of her mouth as well.
Obey. OBEY! The voice was now louder, more frantic. But still, Ninian resisted.
"Ninian!" Nils called. "Get away, now!"
She did so as she felt the energy from behind her begin to destabilize. Caught in a state between open and closed, the Gate's energy fluctuated, as if it was trying to decide whether or not it should open. As Ninian and now Nergal ran away from the portal, it began to close, sucking in anything near it. That happened to include Ephidel, who had not gotten away in time.
Ninian, Nils, Nergal, Eliwood, Lyn, Hector, and Elbert watched as with a final flash, the Gate closed, and all was silent.
Nergal rounded on Nils. "Nils, you whelp! You ruined every—"
He didn't notice Elbert staggering towards his back, holding Ninian's old killing edge. With his last ounce of strength, he drove the dagger deep, deep into Nergal's spine.
"You...will...not!" Elbert said, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"W-...what?" Nergal choked out. "How..."
He began to fall, but before he hit the ground, he disappeared with a flash.
Elbert, his energy spent, collapsed on the ground. Everyone else immediately rushed over to him.
"Beware..." he breathed. "He...will return..."
"No..." Ninian looked at Eliwood, and saw him fighting to hold back tears. "You...you can't go now...not after all we've done to find you..."
Ninian felt absolutely miserable as tears began to roll down her face. Nils placed his hand on her shoulder, but it did nothing to make her feel better.
Elbert was dying, and it was all her fault. Even if Nergal was controlling her...she still had taken Elbert's quintessence from him.
With a sigh, Elbert let out his last breath, and Eliwood gave a long, despairing cry into the air.
And Ninian collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
Elbert was dead. And she had killed him.
Oh, geez, this chapter took me awhile. And once again, I hate writing angst. Unfortunately, there's going to be quite a bit more as the story progresses...
What do you guys think of this chapter?
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT
The Story Master 125: I hope you can update your story soon as well. I really like it :)
khmerboi919: Well, it is kinda hard to write about a chapter I've never played, don't you think? No, I'm not going to write about it.
Anguish
Ninian approached a visibly upset Florina the next day. She sat on some barrels at the boat's stern, simply gazing at the floor as though oblivious to all around her. Ninian's voice, however, seemed to snap her out of her trance. She looked up at Ninian, and her lower lip began to quiver, as if she was going to start crying all over again.
"W-what is it?" Florina asked shakily.
"I..." Ninian began slowly, "I wanted to...apologize for yesterday."
Florina's expression suddenly brightened hopefully. "D-do you mean...you remember me now?"
Ninian shook her head sadly, and Florina's hopeful look vanished. "I do not," Ninian said, "but Lord Eliwood...he says...that my memory was lost. He says...that it will come back eventually."
"Then...then..." Florina seemed unable to speak.
"Yes," Ninian answered her question before she asked. "I do not know when...but at some point...I will remember you again."
Florina smiled.
"In the meantime," Ninian continued, turning red, "I wanted to apologize...for—for yesterday. I...I did not mean—"
Florina cut her off by suddenly embracing her. "It...it's all right," she said. "It's not your fault...if you lost your memory."
Ninian returned the embrace this time, although briefly. After letting go, she added, "For now...we could...still be friends, right?"
Florina's smile grew wider. "Of course," she said. "It will be like...just meeting each other all over again..."
Ninian smiled back, but Florina's face suddenly seemed a bit saddened, although she continued to smile.
"Do...do you really not remember me at all?" Florina asked.
"I...I am sorry, I do not," Ninian replied. "But...your name...does seem a bit familiar."
Florina simply stared at her silently for a few moments before getting up. "Well," she said happily, "you've certainly made me feel a lot better. Thank you, Ninian."
Ninian's face turned pink. "It...it is my pleasure, Florina."
"Land ho!"
One of Fargus's crewmembers cried out from the crow's nest as the fog-enshrouded Valor became visible over the horizon. Ninian stood at the bow of the ship with the rest of the army as the isle got closer and closer...
Something...something wasn't right...
"Ninian?"
Eliwood's voice snapped Ninian out of her thoughts as the army stood on the beach of the Dread Isle. She blinked a few times, then looked at him.
"Ninian, are you all right?" he asked.
Truthfully, she didn't know. A voice in her head was screaming at her, telling her to get as far away from the isle as possible.
"Ninian?"
Again Eliwood's voice brought her back to reality. "I..." she began, but quickly fell silent as she felt a tingling sensation in the back of her head.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "You look pale..."
"I—"
Get AWAY!
The sudden volume of the voice in her mind caused her to shiver in fright. "I-I should not...have come here..."
The tingling sensation in her head suddenly flared and became nearly unbearable. Ninian sank to her knees, clutching her head. Eliwood quickly stooped down and picked her up off the ground, but he nearly dropped her when he heard another scream.
"Lyn!" he shouted.
A part of Ninian's mind remembered the name, but the thought was quickly shunted aside by the pain she was feeling.
She managed to open her eyes despite the pain. About twenty feet away from her, a dark-skinned man riding an almost gold-haired horse was holding captive the green-haired woman Ninian remembered from the ship.
The dark-skinned man scanned the rest of the army, who were all drawing their weapons. His eyes settled on Ninian, and for a moment their eyes met.
And in that moment, the pain in her head flared again, and she screamed. She didn't know how, but she knew that the dark-skinned man was full of evil.
A pair of strong hands suddenly gripped her shoulders, and she whipped around to find a heavily armored man. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, and his armor bore the blue of Eliwood's army.
"Do not worry," the armored man said. "I will protect you while Lords Eliwood and Hector take care of our enemies."
She was only dimly aware of the armored man leading her slowly to a tent. She felt the pain in her head diminishing as they drew further away from the rest of the army.
"Oh, my!" she heard a male voice exclaim. "Is she all right?"
"She will be fine," the voice of the armored man said. "Take care of her while I protect your tent."
"Of course."
She felt something soft, a bed, as someone laid her down on it.
Her eyes suddenly snapped open and she gasped as a cold, wet towel landed on her forehead.
"Are you all right there?" asked a man standing over her. He was somewhat short, with blue-green hair and a moustache.
"Ye-yes," she answered as the pain in her head continued to subside.
She looked around. The tent she was in had all sorts of weapons stacked everywhere. Swords, lances, and axes littered the ground while magic tomes of all affinities lay on small shelves.
"Where...where am I?" Ninian asked.
"Oh, I don't believe we've met," the man said. "My name is Merlinus. I manage the storage for Lord Eliwood's army."
She tried to sit up, but Merlinus pushed her back down. "Not now," he said. "You need some rest. You're looking pretty pale."
Ninian shuddered as she felt the sensation in her head again, now reduced back to just tingling.
"See?" Merlinus said. "You're already having chills. Do you feel all right?"
"I think so..." Ninian replied.
"Well, you should stay in bed," Merlinus replied. "You can't go out there in the middle of a battle."
Ninian didn't reply. She just rested her head on the pillow and fell asleep.
The next day passed in a blur for Ninian. All she knew was that the army was heading towards something called the Dragon's Gate. The tingling sensation in the back of her head remained, however. She didn't know why, but she felt as though she should not go to the Dragon's Gate; that something terrible would happen if she did.
She stayed by Eliwood as they traveled further into the isle. For some reason, despite her sense of foreboding, she felt safe around him. If something did happen as she thought it would, she felt as though Eliwood would protect her.
It was late afternoon when the army reached the Dragon's Gate. The temple was absolutely monstrous, crafted with bricks so large it seemed as though there was no way humans could possibly have constructed anything like it.
It scared Ninian.
She grabbed Eliwood's arm and clung to it before he could talk to anyone about what to do.
Eliwood looked at her, concerned. "What's the matter, Ninian?" he asked.
"Th-this place," Ninian stammered. "I should n-not be here...s-something will—"
There was suddenly a bright flash, and Ninian involuntarily let go of Eliwood's arm and shielded her eyes.
That wasn't a very good idea.
A pair of hands suddenly grabbed her shoulders hard. She tried to turn around, to see who it was, but whoever was holding her had too strong a grip.
"So," a low male voice came from behind her, "the little bird has returned to its island cage."
The sensation in Ninian's head became painful once again. She screamed and thrashed about, but her captor's grip held fast..
Eliwood drew his rapier. "Let her go," he said calmly.
The response was a malevolent chuckle. "Let her go?" the voice asked almost incredulously. "This little girl is integral to my master's plans, and I intend to help him complete them."
Eliwood lunged for her captor, but suddenly there was another flash, and Eliwood was nowhere to be seen. Ninian looked around and discovered that that was because her captor had teleported the two of them inside the Dragon's Gate.
"Let me go!" she cried in sheer terror.
To her surprise, he did so, but that did nothing to calm her nerves. She didn't know where to go, where to run—what could she do?
She turned to face her captor. He was tall, with jet black hair contrasting against almost completely white skin. His eyes were golden, and seemed to glitter.
He smirked.
"Well done, Ephidel," came a voice from behind her. She whirled around to find another man. He had dark green hair, but most of it was covered in a black turban that also covered his right eye. He wore all black robes.
"What perfect timing, little Ninian," the as-yet-unnamed man said. "It just so happens I now have the power to open the Dragon's Gate. With your help, of course..." He smirked.
Ninian had no intention to help this man, whoever he was. She was about to say "no" when the man continued, his smirk growing wider. "So you have lost your memories as well...even better. It will be even easier to control you now."
"No..." she said. "No!"
And then, suddenly, her body became limp. She could not move at all, except for her eyes. It was as if she was frozen, until—
Obey.
The voice of the man thundered through her head, even though his mouth did not move. To her surprise, her legs began to move against her will, walking towards the man and the Dragon's Gate. She tried to resist—
Obey.
—but the voice in her head and the power of the man controlling her was too strong. She could do nothing but watch in horror as her body was forced to look straight into the gaping blackness of the Dragon's Gate...
"Nergal, stop!" A third voice came from behind her. Ninian's body turned around under the man's command, and she stared at—Eliwood?
It wasn't Eliwood. Whoever it was, he was much too old to be Eliwood. He looked awfully like him, though...
He was on the ground, practically crawling up to the man that was controlling Ninian. He looked utterly helpless.
"Fool," Nergal spat. "You can do nothing but cower in fear now. Behold as I claim the mighty quintessence of dragons!"
"FATHER!"
Eliwood's voice suddenly emanated from the steps leading up to the Dragon's Gate. Seconds later, he, Lyn, and the blue-haired man were running up the steps. Lyn and the blue-haired man immediately tended to Eliwood's father, while Eliwood was fixated on Ninian.
"Ninian!" he called. "Come! Over here!"
Obey.
As much as she wanted to, she still could not move.
"Now, Ninian," Nergal commanded. "Take this...man's life, and use it to open the Gate."
Her hands reached out in front of her and red energy began to appear around Eliwood's father. The energy moved away from him, towards her, and she realized with a jolt that she was taking his quintessence away from him.
"Now!" Nergal shouted almost gleefully. "Open the Gate!"
Ninian's arms raised skyward, and the red energy that had coalesced around her hands scattered. The ground began to shake. She could feel an immense energy from behind her—from the Dragon's Gate. It was opening...
"Ninian!"
And then all hell broke loose.
The cry had not come from Eliwood or any of her captors. It had come from someone she knew well...
Nils.
He came running up the steps, taking two at a time to get to his sister faster.
And everything came rushing back to her. Who she was, why she was here, and what exactly she was doing...
Obey. The voice boomed through her head again.
But this time, Ninian resisted harder.
No.
She forced her arms downward.
Nergal turned to her, seeing victory slipping through his fingers. "No! You will call dragons!"
"I will not," she replied, now possessing control of her mouth as well.
Obey. OBEY! The voice was now louder, more frantic. But still, Ninian resisted.
"Ninian!" Nils called. "Get away, now!"
She did so as she felt the energy from behind her begin to destabilize. Caught in a state between open and closed, the Gate's energy fluctuated, as if it was trying to decide whether or not it should open. As Ninian and now Nergal ran away from the portal, it began to close, sucking in anything near it. That happened to include Ephidel, who had not gotten away in time.
Ninian, Nils, Nergal, Eliwood, Lyn, Hector, and Elbert watched as with a final flash, the Gate closed, and all was silent.
Nergal rounded on Nils. "Nils, you whelp! You ruined every—"
He didn't notice Elbert staggering towards his back, holding Ninian's old killing edge. With his last ounce of strength, he drove the dagger deep, deep into Nergal's spine.
"You...will...not!" Elbert said, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"W-...what?" Nergal choked out. "How..."
He began to fall, but before he hit the ground, he disappeared with a flash.
Elbert, his energy spent, collapsed on the ground. Everyone else immediately rushed over to him.
"Beware..." he breathed. "He...will return..."
"No..." Ninian looked at Eliwood, and saw him fighting to hold back tears. "You...you can't go now...not after all we've done to find you..."
Ninian felt absolutely miserable as tears began to roll down her face. Nils placed his hand on her shoulder, but it did nothing to make her feel better.
Elbert was dying, and it was all her fault. Even if Nergal was controlling her...she still had taken Elbert's quintessence from him.
With a sigh, Elbert let out his last breath, and Eliwood gave a long, despairing cry into the air.
And Ninian collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
Elbert was dead. And she had killed him.
Oh, geez, this chapter took me awhile. And once again, I hate writing angst. Unfortunately, there's going to be quite a bit more as the story progresses...
What do you guys think of this chapter?
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT