Small Author's Note:
There's a somewhat important announcement at the end… but don't let that stop you from enjoying the chapter:
Dread Isle, unknown location…
Lyn and Lucina continued to hobble along, making slow but steady progress. After a couple more hours of travelling, the sky began to grow dark. The disappearing sun was soon accompanied by a gradual decrease in temperature.
Although Elibe, with the exception of Ilia, had generally a fairly warm and temperate climate, it was still fairly chilly at night. Although not completely unbearable, it was still rather uncomfortable to say the least, especially since they had to march on an empty stomach.
The first one to feel the effects of the night air was Lyn. Her dress, although it allowed her to move freely in battle, did nothing for her bare legs and was far less equipped to handle the cold than Lucina's attire. In fact, the Ylissean princess could feel Lyn shivering whenever a slight breeze came their way. If it weren't for the sorry state they were in, perhaps such breezes would have felt rather calming instead.
The two had no choice but to take advantage of the gradually disappearing sunlight to find a suitable shelter for the night. Unfortunately, the best they could do was find an area covered by some large leaves from the underbrush. Essentially, they had to hide under the cover of a large plant growing from the ground. It wasn't anywhere near perfect, but it was still slightly better than sleeping out in the open. Though they didn't have very much room, it at least protected them from the cold nighttime wind.
With a place to sleep successfully claimed, the two of them decided to rest for the evening. They abandoned the idea of hunting for food, as they didn't have too many good options. Lucina, obviously, couldn't move around by herself very well, and Lyn didn't have a pleasant time moving through the cold either. Even if she were to grit her teeth and bear with it, she didn't have a bow. It was improbable for her to catch anything in the dark with only a sword. And even in the unlikely event that she managed to snatch a hare or some other form of prey, they would have no way to cook it. Nevermind being afraid of giving away their position, the two of them didn't possess any reliable way to start a fire in the first place.
As a result, the two of them huddled together underneath the leaves and quietly tried to bear with it. Their saving grace was the small pouch containing some dried berries, nuts and a small amount of jerky that Lucina had attached to her belt. If it weren't for that, the two of them would probably be going to sleep very hungry.
'If it weren't for Brady's constant nagging, I probably wouldn't even have this much food on me…' Lucina admitted internally. She had been rather pleased when she suddenly remembered that there was something for them to eat that she had been carrying. 'I'll have to thank him if we… when we get back.'
Lucina portioned out over half of her rations, including all of the jerky and gave it to Lyn.
"That's too much…" Lyn immediately tried to refuse. "You have to eat as well."
"Just take it." Lucina insisted. "Your body can't function without food. If we run into any trouble, I'll have to rely on you for combat, so it's better if you have the strength than me."
"...Right." Lyn had no way to argue with Lucina's sound argument so she accepted the food and began to eat. Given that she was feeling quite famished anyways, it wasn't something easy to refuse in the first place.
Afterwards, with nothing else left to do, the two of them decided to try and catch what little sleep they could. They huddled next to each other, with their backs touching. Without a blanket, it was difficult for the two of them to stay warm, so they had no other option. Although they were mostly protected from the wind, the air itself was cold enough to make either of them shiver.
"Y-you don't seem very b-b-bothered…" Lyn muttered.
"Hm? Well my clothes are a little thicker than yours in the first place."
"Th-that's not what I m-meant…" Lyn replied, her teeth chattering. "N-nevermind…"
"Oh… that's what you meant… This isn't too new to me…" Lucina admitted. "When I was younger… nevermind. It's not something that I like to bring up. The point is, I had to share a blanket with more than just a few people… that being said, at least we had a blanket back then."
"Really?" Even though she couldn't see the greenette's face, Lucina could sense that Lyn must've had a confused expression on her face.
'Is that the type of woman Robin likes?' Lyn thought to herself, feeling quite conflicted.
"...Perhaps I'll have to elaborate…" Lucian chuckled awkwardly. "Back then… my friends and I… I guess you could say we were sort of like refugees… constantly in danger and without a guaranteed supply of food or shelter. Even when we slept, we had to keep one eye open in case we got attacked. Oftentimes, over ten of us would have to use the same blanket while we slept… I assure you it's not what you were thinking…"
"Oh… he he… of course not…" Lyn replied, feeling slightly embarrassed. "It must've been hard for you…"
"Yeah…" Lucina couldn't refute that. "But, I got through it all… still, maybe I shouldn't have even brought it up in the first place… Anyways, let's just get some sleep."
"Mm…" Lyn pressed her legs against Lucina's. She had to admit, it was nice to at least have someone else with her instead of being out here alone. The heat radiating off Lucina was very welcoming to her rather bare legs. "Goodnight then… I hope we'll both still be alive in the morning…"
Lucina let out a chuckle of defeat. "Right…"
The following day...
"Haa… ha.. Haa…"
"...Maybe we should take a break." Lyn suggested, seeing that Lucina was struggling to keep up.
Lucina gratefully nodded, and the pair found a place to sit down before drinking some more water from the stream. They've yet to see a single friendly face after what seemed like hours of walking, and at this point, both of them had conceded that they were very much lost.
Still, it was fortunate that they haven't run into any enemies either. In fact, it had just been the two of them, slowly following the water… wherever it leads.
"Hmm… still nothing…" Lyn sighed. Even after all this time, neither of them could get into contact with Robin. Not only were they stranded, Lyn had to deal with the feelings of worry that something had occurred to their beloved tactician.
"How's your foot doing?"
"It still hurts… I think I can feel it swelling up in my boot."
"Well…" Lyn sighed. "It'll be better as soon as we find someone. Something like that should easily be patched up with a healing staff."
"That's if the enemy doesn't find us first." Lucina replied with a self deprecating smile. "I think I'm better now… let's hurry."
"All right."
Lyn helped Lucina get back onto her feet (foot) and the two of them were about to start traveling once again.
However, before they could do so, three figures appeared out of the woodwork and surrounded them from a distance in the shape of a triangle. They began to slowly close in on the two girls.
"Unwanted visitors…" One of them said.
"Kill…" Another agreed.
"..." The third figure stayed silent.
"...Run." Lucina whispered to Lyn.
"What!?" Lyn shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving you behind."
"Listen to me!" Lucina pleaded. "We can't beat them. Not unless you can take them all on yourself. I'm more of a hindrance than help in this state. If you ran by yourself, you might be able to shake them off."
Lyn stopped supporting Lucina and allowed her to begin leaning on a tree.
"I'll buy you a little bit of time." Lucina drew her Falchion while keeping her other hand planted on the tree. However, she found that it was difficult to stay in a fighting stance, and had to plant the tip of her sword into the ground for support.
"Sorry." Lyn stood in front of her and drew her Mani Katti. "My pride as a plainswoman won't allow me to abandon you."
"Idiot…" Lucina muttered to herself. "Very well, let's make a final stand then."
As the assassins drew closer, Lyn tightened the grip on her sword.
Seeing Lyn as a much higher threat than Lucina, all three assassins leapt at her instead of the Ylissean royal.
Overwhelmed by sheer numbers, Lyn tried her best to block their attacks. If she moved out of the way, Lucina would be struck by at least one of their attacks after all. However, she couldn't block all three of them, and a knife that had been aimed for her throat slid across her cheek, slicing open a thin red ribbon across her face. Fortunately, she had moved her head in time. Otherwise she really would have gone down without a fight.
While this was happening, Lucina wasn't idly standing by either. Clearly, she was seen as a cripple, which meant she was severely underestimated. The bluenette pushed off the tree with her free hand and jumped forward with her good leg. She managed to bury her Falchion into the chest of one assassin before tumbling to the ground along with her target.
Lucina groaned in pain from the impact, but it was somewhat cushioned by the dead body of the assassin.
Still, even with one of them down, the remaining two were more than a match for Lyn. Lucina was more or less out of the fight, as she struggled to even get back up. And even if she did, she'd be too clumsy in her current state to pull off another miracle.
Fortunately, the Sacaen girl was bailed out by a throwing knife that landed in the back of one of her assailants.
"...?" The silent assassin turned his head in confusion, before raising his (?) weapons to defend against a knife that was aimed for his back.
"We found them!" Someone called out.
The two girls stared at their saviors in a daze.
"O-olivia?" Lucina asked, recognizing the voice. "A-and, Gaius, is that you?"
"I'll handle this last one." The sugar loving thief was busy tangling with the last assassin, while a pinkette appeared and ran to Lucina's side.
Shortly after, two more figures dashed out from the woods.
"Ohmigosh, Lucina!" The Ylissean princess could only smile as she saw Anna running towards her. Closely following behind the redhead was Matthew, the final member sent to find the two of them.
Seeing that the situation was rapidly becoming unfavorable, and not having sufficient information on how many people had come to reinforce his targets, the silent assassin let out a burst of attacks before using an opening to dash back into the forest.
"Don't chase." Olivia warned. "He could be leading us into a trap, or at least more enemies."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Gaius sheathed his knives. "That's not a part of our job description. And with how quick he was moving, I highly doubt we'd be able to catch him anyways. He definitely is more familiar with these parts than we are..."
"What happened here?" Anna asked as she knelt down next to Lucina.
"I… sprained my ankle." Lucina admitted. "And, we kind of got lost, so we were trying to find the rest of you when we were attacked by those people."
"Hm… my staff still doesn't seem to be working... " Anna bit her lip.
"Really? That's a shame." Gaius winced as he held onto one of his wrists. "That guy got me on the arm.
"And it looks like Lady Lyndis got hurt as well." Matthew pointed out.
"It's… not that bad." Lyn gingerly traced the wound on her cheek with a few fingers.
"Well, it can't be helped. Magic still isn't working." Anna sighed. "Maybe we'll have to wait until we get off the island in order to heal you guys…"
"Can you still fight, Gaius?" Olivia asked with concern.
"Well, hard to say." The thief admitted. "Maybe, but I think my injury could impact my performance."
"I can still fight!" Lyn declared. "It's only a small cut. Even though it stings a little, it doesn't affect me in combat."
"Maybe I'll help Blue Jr. walk." Gaius suggested. "One of my arm's fucked up, but my legs are still working just fine."
"All right. You can leave the surveillance to the rest of us then." Olivia nodded in approval. "The rest of them are making their way through the ruins, so maybe we should just aim for that place. It's been quite a while by now… I'm sure the rest of them are there already."
"Sure. I've kept track of the general direction." Matthew patted his chest. "Just follow me."
"How did you find us anyway?" Lucina asked as their newly enlarged party began moving once again.
"Well, we started combing the immediate area…" Gaius explained as he sucked on a lollipop. "When we couldn't find you, we went further into the forest. Matthew found some dead bodies, which we assumed was the work of you two… going a little further, we found the stream the two of you were following..."
"There was a stick in the ground that looked too abnormal to be caused by natural circumstances." Anna explained. "And then Olivia found a set of footprints going off in this direction, and so we followed them and voila! We found you two."
"Just in time too, it would seem." Olivia added.
"Yeah." Lyn agreed. "By the way… did something happen to Robin?"
"Hm?" Gaius frowned. "Bubbles? Nah, he's fine. You must be worried because you can't contact him right? That's 'cause there's some sort of spell covering the island or something… negates all magic."
"I see…" Both Lyn and Lucina let out a sigh of relief.
"Yep, we should be able to meet up with them very soon." Gaius chuckled optimistically. "No need to worry. It'll take quite a bit more than this to kill that bastard. Just put one foot in front of the other, and we'll get there in no time. Er… but maybe not you Blue's Jr."
Dread Isle, Dragon's Gate…
"So you think this is the entrance to the Dragon's Gate?" Hector asked.
The rest of them had caught up with Robin, Chrom, Donnel and Lon'qu and had set up camp near the entrance to the deeper part of the ruins. Everyone was tired after a fairly eventful day, and so they decided to stop and rest before venturing further into the ruins. Though their rations were too small to fill them up, at least they weren't starving. And although they didn't really have proper shelter, at least they had some blankets.
After a night of rest, Robin and the others were ready to tackle the Black Fang once again.
"Yeah, we did a little scouting…" Chrom explained. "There are traces of human activity everywhere. It's not too surprising considering that these ruins are being so heavily guarded in the first place."
"So my father is somewhere inside these ruins then?" Eliwood asked.
"I'm afraid so."
"What's wrong with Robin?" Hector asked. The tactician in question had been endlessly pacing back and forth with a worried expression on his face.
"He… still can't get into contact with either Lucina or Lyn." Chrom explained. "Even after the ability to use magic was restored. And what's even more worrisome, he can't contact Gaius and the others that were sent after them either."
"That is worrisome…" Eliwood agreed.
"Is it possible… do you think they were ambushed?" Hector asked.
"Maybe." Chrom furrowed his eyebrows. "Still… I trust that they won't be brought down so easily. Under normal circumstances, I'd be a little more worried, but considering what we just ran into, maybe they're just still being blocked by that magic seal."
"We have to hope that's the case." Robin mumbled. "Well, worrying without any information won't get me anywhere… I guess the best thing we can do now is to push forward."
"Are we ready to go?" Chrom asked. "We can start gathering everyone then."
Moments later, the shepherds, or what was left of them anyways, got up and prepared to delve into the ruins that lay before them.
"...Fascinating!" Canas adjusted his monocle as he took some notes while observing some of the runes carved onto the rocks around them. "This could be crucial knowledge that could help decipher the mysteries of elder magic!"
"Really?" Lissa tilted her head. "It all just looks like mumbo jumbo to me."
"Leave him be." Chrom chuckled. "His entire reason for coming to this island was because he was interested in something here."
"Kind of reminds me of Miriel a little bit…" Robin muttered.
"Ng… I can see why you say that, but Miriel is probably even less expressive." Chrom responded.
"...based on these carvings, it would seem that this place was created around the time of the Scouring!" Canas continued rambling to himself. "No… could it be!? There's a chance it could be from a time even earlier!"
The rest of them ignored Canas for the most part.
"...what's wrong?" Upon hearing those words, Robin turned around to see Lissa embracing a trembling Ninian.
"...This place… so frightening... something powerful…" Ninian muttered as she shivered uncontrollably.
"It's your power… isn't it?" Robin asked.
Without saying a word, Ninian nodded.
"Her power?" Hector asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Ninian is able to sense when danger is coming." Robin hastily explained. "Something like that, at least."
"Then we should be vigilant." Chrom furrowed his brows.
"What do you sense, Ninian?" Eliwood asked.
"I… I should not have come here!" Ninian trembled in Lissa's arms.
"Ninian!" Eliwood exclaimed in concern. "Snap out of it!"
"Maybe we should bring her away from here?" Chrom suggested.
"You won't be going anywhere." A figure rose from the shadows and formed in front of their formation. "That little bird has escaped this island cage twice. Now that she's back, she'll not be allowed to fly away again."
"Who are you!?" Eliwood asked, drawing his rapier.
Chrom, Robin, and everyone else nearby similarly became on guard instantly.
"We meet at last." After the figure fully formed, he gave a deep bow. "I am Ephidel. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"You're Ephidel!?" Hector asked as he brandished his axe. "I was looking forward to this!"
"Gallantly spoken." Ephidel let out a smirk from underneath his hood. "Of course, I know who you are: Marquis Ostia's younger brother, Lord Hector. By the way… the gift that I left for you in the forest… was it to your liking?"
"Gift?" Hector paused for a moment. "No… you don't mean…"
"That's right… the corpse of that filthy red-haired traitor…"
"You bastard!" Hector's temper instantly flared up. "Stay right there! I'm going to wring the life out of you with my bare hands!"
"Now I see!" Ephidel feigned surprise. "So she was an Ostian spy, wasn't she? Don't worry, she did not suffer. It only took one blow after all…"
"Die!" Hector rushed forward and brought down his axe. However, before his weapon made a connection, Ephidel disappeared and reformed next to Lissa and Ninian.
"What!?" Ninian exclaimed in surprise.
"You'll have to excuse me, but this girl is required for my master's ceremony…" Ephidel lunged forward with one hand.
"Stay back!" Lissa smacked his hand away with her healing staff. "Get away from us, you creep!"
"Tch… I supposed you got past Uhai, which means I cannot afford to underestimate you…" Ephidel sighed as he shook his injured hand a little. "Well, it can't be helped. I'll give you another gift that has been bestowed upon me by my master… Fenrir!"
Dark energy began to form around Lissa and Ninian in the form of purple flames and threatened to explode at any moment. Ninian clung to Lissa out of fear, and even Lissa couldn't stop the dreadful feeling that had begun to crawl into her heart.
"Svalinn!" A dark-blue, dark to the point of black, membrane formed in front of the two girls just as the powerful spell detonated, absorbing the energy from the explosion.
Although the two of them were saved by Robin's timely spell, it would seem that Ephidel had expected as much. He lunged forward, using his spell as a distraction and smacked Lissa aside before snatching Ninian.
"Ninian!" Eliwood cried in alarm.
"Lord Eliwood!" Ninian, naturally, began to struggle. However, her strength was laughable compared to that of Ephidel. "Let me go!"
"Sorry, but I really must be going." Ephidel chuckled. "I shall arrange for someone to come entertain you shortly… do make yourselves comfortable…"
With another spell, Ephidel vanished along with Ninian.
"He's gone…" Chrom sighed, stating the obvious.
"Blast!" Hector stomped the ground in frustration.
"We have to continue forward." Robin reminded them. "Ephidel said Ninian was needed for something… I get the feeling that she might be in danger. And we still need to save Eliwood's father anyways."
"Right." Chrom nodded in agreement.
Further in…
Ephidel rematerialized with the still struggling Ninian in his arms.
"Tch… to think they had a magician capable of neutralizing my attacks so easily… I cannot afford to be careless next time."
"Lord Ephidel!" Marquis Darin greeted upon realizing who it was. "Ah… I see you brought back the girl! The ritual can take place now!"
"Yes." Ephidel replied as he continued to suppress the flailing Ninian. "However, we still have an infestation of mice to deal with… They should be scurrying here momentarily… Since they should be taken care of before the ritual takes place. May I entrust this task to you?"
"Of course!" Darin pounded on his chest. "Who do you think I am? I am Darin, Marquess Laus! Ruler of the world!"
"Right… right. Very well, I'll leave it to you then."
Leaving behind Darin, Ephidel dragged Ninian towards the back of the ruins. "Humans… so very fragile…"
"You've done well, my precious Ephidel…" Ephidel's heart raced when he heard his master's words of praise.
"Thank you, Lord Nergal… shall we prepare for the ritual?" Ephidel asked as he dropped to one knee.
"Does it gall you, Marquess Pherae?" Nergal taunted the tied up Marquess, who was sitting nearby. "This is what destiny is. There cannot be any other outcome. Despite all of your mischief, the girl was fated to return to me."
"My son…" Elbert panted. "Where is Eliwood?"
"He's still alive." Nergal replied nonchalantly. "But of course, it's only a matter of time before the Black Fang finishes him."
"Good… good…" Elbert chuckled before lunging forward. "...Nergal! Prepare to die!"
"Hm?" Nergal let out a look of surprise as Elbert jumped towards him with a knife. However, before the Marquess could reach him, a figure appeared out of the shadows and plunged a dagger into Elbert's back and simultaneously pushed the Marquess to the ground.
"...That was a surprise." Nergal chuckled as Elbert lay bleeding on the floor. "When did he undo his bonds?"
"...Urgh…" Elbert glared back at Nergal, despite being gravely injured.
"Why do you not heed my warnings, Lord Elbert?" Nergal asked. "You cannot change destiny. Stop this foolishness."
Nergal flicked his hand dismissively. "Jaffar, take the Marquess and the girl to the far chamber. I will begin preparations for the ritual."
"..." The assassin that sprang out in Nergal's defence obeyed wordlessly.
Nearby…
"Ah!" Lucina winced once again. "For fuck's sake!"
"Try to hold on just a little longer…" Anna sighed. "I know that ankle of yours is bothering you."
Lyn nodded, frowning in sympathy for the blunette.
"We should be able to meet up with the rest of them soon." Gaius grunted. "Then you can take a good rest…"
"Shh…" The group halted their footsteps when Matthew indicated that something was awry from the front of the formation.
"What's going on?" Olivia whispered.
"There might be fighting up ahead. I hear something out of the ordinary."
"I-is that so?" Olivia frowned as she looked back at the others. "Do you think-"
"Yeah, it just might be 'ol Blue and Bubbles…" Gaius nodded in agreement. "At least, I hope it is…"
"Why don't you guys take a breather then?" Olivia suggested. "We'll be right back!"
Olivia and Matthew nodded towards each other, before darting away from the rest of them. In the meantime, Gaius and Anna helped lower Lucina into a sitting position.
At this point, most of them were exhausted, and being in what was potentially the middle of enemy territory, no one was in the mood to converse with one another.
Anna fiddled with a Heal staff, but could only sigh in dejection since magic was still not working.
After a few long minutes, Olivia and Matthew returned, with bright expressions on their faces.
"Great news!" Matthew exclaimed. "We found them!"
"Really?" Anna gave them a thumbs up. "That's wonderful!"
"Well, that might have been misleading…" Matthew quickly corrected himself. "But we found a lead!"
"What do you mean?" Lyn asked.
"We were able to communicate with Robin." Olivia explained. "I tried calling out to him, and he replied back!"
"That's… good." Lucina sighed in relief.
"Let's hurry over." Gaius began to help Lucina get back up. "If we're able to contact Bubbles again, I reckon Red's healing staff should work as well. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get our injuries patched up."
"How dangerous is it?" Anna asked.
"There's some fighting going on, but nothing too major… at least from the looks of it." Matthew replied. "Robin says we can take our time. After we patch you guys up, we can sneak through the side entrance. Might be able to catch some of these bastards off guard."
"Sounds good." Lyn nodded. "Let's go!"
A few short moments later, they exited the magic seal.
Feeling her magic return, Anna quickly motioned for Gaius to stop so she could treat Lucina's injury.
Although it was a rather difficult injury for Lucina to cope with, compared to what Anna, Lissa and the other healers have had to deal with in the past, a sprained ankle was nothing more than an inconvenience. Granted, without magic, it would still have been a troublesome wound that would've taken days if not weeks to heal by itself. Feeling the familiar feeling of magic channeling through her staff, Anna quickly brought down the swelling of her liege's ankle.
Lucina let out a sigh of relief after Anna's healing. She gingerly moved her foot around a little, and stood up after feeling no pain or irritation.
In the meantime, Anna took the opportunity to heal Gaius's.
"It's your turn." Anna turned towards Lyn. "Let me get that for you."
"It's fine." Lyn brushed Anna's hand away. "It's only a small cut. It doesn't impact me at all while I'm fighting."
"It's important to take care of small injuries as well." Anna furrowed her eyebrows. "Even a small cut can get infected and lead to something much worse in the future."
"Yeah, but the healing staff would be wasted on something like this." Lyn protested. "What if we need it for later?"
"These healing staves?" Anna chuckled. "Back at home, some aristocrats even buy them for their children to play with. And from what I've seen, they're pretty common even in Elibe as well. Don't worry about the cost behind it. Let's take care of that cut first."
"Hmm… all right then…" Lyn finally conceded and allowed Anna to heal her injury.
"How is it?" Olivia asked Lucina in concern.
"Much better now." Lucia replied truthfully. "I feel good as new."
"That's good." Olivia sighed in relief, despite knowing full well how effective healing magic is. To be perfectly honest, their group didn't have many who are good in direct confrontations. They had been put together as a search and rescue team, after all. But now with Lucina's recovery, they once again had someone that was capable of tackling an opponent head on if the situation called for it.
With their party fully healed and upon establishing contact with Robin and the others, Lucina and Lyn's group slowly made their way through the ruins with morale soaring high. The large amount of objects to hide behind and weave through gave them an incredible advantage, as Gaius, Olivia and Matthew could exterminate small groups of enemies without being discovered.
Their footsteps ground to a halt as Gaius, who was at the front of the formation, held up a hand to signal them to stop moving forward.
"What is it?" Lyn whispered.
Gaius didn't respond. He only gestured with his hands a few times.
"Up ahead…" Olivia, who was much close to the greenette (and the others) translated for them in a low whisper. "There is one enemy. Armed with knives. He's signally for the two of us to take him out."
Upon receiving confirmation from Olivia that she understood, the two assassins snuck up on their victim.
However, their ambush was ultimately unsuccessful as their target dodged deftly out of the way of Gaius's strike and caught Olivia's wrist with one of his hands.
Feeling a sense of danger, Olivia immediately ripped her arm out of the man's grip, and surprisingly was not prevented from doing so.
"Well now… a welcome visitor indeed… I must thank you for coming this far." The man chuckled. "And the rest of you hiding over there… you can come out now. There's no point if I already know where you are, after all."
Reluctantly, Lucina, Lyn, Anna and Matthew revealed themselves from behind the large rock they were hiding behind.
"You… you're Black Fang, aren't you?" Lyn asked. "But… you haven't cried for help even though you definitely have an opportunity to do so… are you really that confident to take on all of us at once?"
"Black Fang huh? Mmm…" The man made a pondering expression. "To be accurate, I guess you could say I am a former Black Fang member… And as such, there are no grievances between you and me. I'd like to avoid fighting if possible."
"Former?" Lucina questioned.
"That is correct." The man smiled. "The Black Fang and I… well, let's just say we had a falling out. Now, I am but a humble thief."
"How convenient…" Lucina muttered.
"So you're not our enemy then?" Lyn continued.
"Correct, so let's pretend we never saw each other… I feel that's beneficial to all of us, don't you think?"
"Wait!" As he turned to leave, Lyn called after him. "Hold on!"
"Hm?" The thief turned to look at her. "What is it now?"
"If you're not our enemy, then please help us." Lyn requested. "I… I don't believe everyone in Black Fang is evil, but some definitely are. And, correct me if I'm wrong, I get the feeling that has something to do with why you left them right? If you're able to provide us with information, we'll be able to avoid needless killing."
"Needless killing, you say?" The man looked like he was analyzing his options. "You surprise me… so you're not looking to hurt people, is that it?"
"The first person we fought when we landed on the island was a nomad named Uhai." Lyn continued. "I don't believe he was a bad man. Therefore, I hope to get by without fighting, whenever possible. Of course, I'll show no mercy in battle if it really came down to that."
"Uhai… Uhai… yes, I believe I do know a few people like that…" The thief muttered in approval. "Say… did you know your enemy is not Brenden Reed? It's a man by the name of Nergal."
Lyn and Lucina looked at each other.
"We were aware of that." Lyn replied. "We came here to defeat him."
"...Plucky, aren't you? I like that." The thief chuckled. "I like you! However, don't get your hopes up too much… I know almost nothing about the current Black Fang… but I'll lend a hand if possible."
"Thank you." Lyn smiled. "My name's Lyn."
"I'm Legault." The man replied, finally introducing himself. "I'll help you as long as I feel safe…"
With Robin…
Things definitely took a turn for the better when Robin re-established contact with Lucina and the others. The only blemish that was plaguing his heart had seemed to be resolved, and the only thing that was left to do was to finish the battle that had started.
Fortunately for him, the terrain was extremely favorable for Chrom and the shepherds. The ruins were filled with rocks and vines and all sorts of natural obstacles that made it difficult for you to see the opponent, but in turn made it difficult for the opponent to see you. In this type of environment, the number of potential casualties can range from almost everyone to not a single person, as opposed to an open field, where heavy injuries and death are commonplace for even the winning side. Although the shepherds themselves had not experienced too many losses, Robin couldn't prevent the deaths of many foot soldiers in their decisive battle against Valm due to the open terrain.
Another advantage that they had was that their opponents were the ones seeking them out. After methodically setting up a formation fully utilizing the stone buildings and walls to solidify their defense, Robin could calmly watch as they took care of the Black Fang members that wandered in by themselves.
The Black Fang probably expected them to be in more of a hurry to save Ninian and Eliwood's father, which might have been the case if they were led by someone that was less experienced. However, the shepherds all knew better than to rush in carelessly at this point. Although Hector had some grumbling to do, even he had to admit that Robin's methods were effective. They were killing scores upon scores of Black Fang members and only suffering light injuries in return.
"A few more cavaliers coming your way!" Robin called out.
Oswin and Frederick braced themselves, as they were covering the main chokepoint that connected them to the back of the ruins. Together, they had already overcome wave after wave of enemies, but they were confident in holding fast, as the mages and archers behind them gave their full support. Although there were many other paths that lead to the heart of their formation, each and every one of them were meticulously monitored by Robin and the people he's assigned, and every instance of a Black Fang member attempting to sneak in was immediately handled.
"Rrgh!" Frederick's calvary boots dug into the dirt as he took the charge of a cavalier with his shield.
"Geirdriful!" Robin blasted the cavalier off his mount with a spear of dark energy. With its rider dead, the horse whinnied and ran off.
"Fascinating!" Canas was sitting on a rocky ledge while he furiously scribbled into his notebook. "Elder magic, and multiple varieties previously unencountered too…"
Although he offered to help in the battle, Robin had assigned him some trivial and unimportant tasks. After all, the tactician knew that Canas was here only for research purposes, and that his heart wasn't really in the battle. It was best not to entrust anything important to an outsider, after all. And Canas didn't mind either. He is more than happy to sit by the sidelines and just observe, especially after witnessing the various forms of dark magic Robin had already used in front of him.
"Robin!" Vaike appeared out of one of the ruined buildings followed closely by Dart, Bartre and Dorcas. "We've finished blockin' up those tunnels!"
"Good." Robin nodded in approval. After some analysis on the Hekseer, he found that there were multiple staircases leading somewhere underground in the nearby buildings. It was highly likely that enemy reinforcements could use the underground tunnels to catch them off guard. It was better to completely remove the option in the first place.
"Are you sure that was a good idea, dear?" Maribelle, who was standing nearby, asked. "What if one of them leads directly to the interior of the ruins?"
"I highly doubt it." Robin pointed towards the direction of the charging cavaliers. "Ephidel's magic signature appeared in the same direction as those horsemen. Also, it would appear that they have guards heavily defending that area, which presumably leads further into the ruins. If one of those underground tunnels could be used as a shortcut, they'd be either heavily guarded or littered with traps. It's also impossible for them to be the only entrances, since they'd be trapped inside with nowhere to escape to if that were the case. Either way, it is better to not take the risk. If we leave them open, we could be caught off guard at a crucial moment."
"Well all right... you haven't been wrong in the past before…"
"...They've stopped coming…" Lon'qu observed after a few moments of peace.
"It looks like they're beginning to run out of men to throw at us." Chrom nodded. "Either that, or they've run out of horses."
"I think it's safe for us to advance now." Eliwood agreed. "Robin? What's our next move?"
"Hm?" Robin had just finished listening to Lyn's report, and was slightly caught off guard by the question. However, he quickly recovered. "We can start to inch forward. It looks like things are handled on the other end as well."
Led by Chrom, the Shepherds and Elibeans broke through and charged towards the main gate of the inner ruins. After tearing down the Black Fang's wall of troops, they stepped foot inside to find a skirmish breaking out.
"Take them down!" A deep voice bellowed.
"Darin!" Hector clenched his fists. "Darin's here!"
Indeed, Marquis Laus was leading many of the Black Fang as they tried to charge down a corridor that was being held by Lyn and the others. Fortunately, they had some objects to hide behind, and Gaius, Anna and Olivia were able to halt the advance of the Black Fang with their ranged attacks. Bodies were already littering the ground, but fortunately Robin didn't recognize any of them.
"Darin!" Eliwood brandished his rapier. "Your treachery ends today!"
"Huh... " Darin turned to look at the newcomers, and was not fazed in the slightest. "Ha ha ha… how could I fall to the likes of you!?"
"I couldn't care less if you have a grudge against Ostia..." Hector growled. "But I'll put up with your treachery no longer!"
"Ostia? Ha! Ostia is no longer even worth my concern… nor is Lycia for that matter… The only goal worthy of my attention is the entire world!"
Darin brandished his Spear towards Chrom and Robin. "That's right! Once Lord Nergal finishes the ritual, taking over Elibe is but a forgone conclusion. After Elibe is in our grasp, the rest of the world is next! Do you think your little country across the ocean will still be safe? Don't think that a little water separating us is enough to save you then!"
"Don't think that bullying Ylisse will be so easy!" Chrom drew his Exalted Falchion. "Rather than fantasize about the future, you'd better start thinking about how you'll get out of here alive! I will cut you down, right here and right now!"
"Brat!" Darin spat. "What do you think you can do to me with that toothpick of yours?"
"We'll take him down together!" Eliwood gestured, and along with Hector, the three lords and their weapons descended upon Darin.
"I'll take you all on at once!" Darin knocked aside Eliwood's lunge with his lance and stepped backwards to dodge Hector's axe. Chrom, being the only one to land a hit, grazed Darin's armor. Although the hit did not injure Darin, it still left a gash in his armor, much to the older Marquis's surprise.
"Yeah that's right… you're surprised now, aren't you?" Chrom smirked.
"Y-you!" Darin pointed a slightly trembling finger at Chrom as he realized that he may not be as invincible as he had previously thought. "Don't think you've won yet!"
Darin continued tangling with Chrom, Eliwood and Hector. Truth be told, Chrom felt that things would be much simpler if Eliwood and Hector weren't there. After all, he wouldn't have to worry about his allies stepping on his toes in the middle of combat… still, it was undeniable that the two younger Lords were making things a little easier for him, even if he couldn't fight as freely as he wanted.
"Scatter and keep the Black Fang away from them!" Robin had enough faith in Chrom to not lose to Darin, and with the assistance of Eliwood and Hector, things should be even easier. However, if they had to deal with constant interference from the Black Fang, the outcome might be different.
The various fighters rushed forward and took the attention of Darin's guards. Arrows and magic flew through the air, creating a somewhat chaotic scene that the shepherds were accustomed to.
Lissa, and Maribelle ran around healing the injuries that they sustained almost as soon as they occurred. Evidently, this was an absolute advantage they had over the Black Fang.
Seeing that everything was going well, Robin began to focus on a chant of his own. The shepherds, who were experienced veterans, were able to handle themselves in these types of small skirmishes quite well, and no longer needed Robin's step by step guidance. The Elibeans had also made massive improvements, partially because of the good examples they could study from, and were not causing problems throughout the fight.
Dark magic was casually flung from Robin's tomes and struck a few Black Fang members lurking in the shadows. He kept track of Chrom and Darin's fight in the corner of his eyes and patiently waited for an opportunity.
'Now!' Seeing an opening, Robin cast a spell and a magic circle commonly used in dark magic formed underneath Darin's feet just as the Marquis was blocking Hector's strike. "Fotjern!"
Darin had no opportunity to move out of the way of an attack that otherwise would've been easy to dodge. Black chains flew out of the ground and wrapped around Darin's arms and legs.
"What is this!?" Darin exclaimed in surprise. "Have you no shame?"
Chrom smirked as he lunged forward with his blade, seemingly to have anticipated Robin's assistance. Darin, being suppressed by Robin's spell, was unable to block Chrom's strike this time.
The Exalted Falchion began to glow furiously as Chrom drove the blade into Darin's chestplate. The high quality of the armor made Chrom struggle to make much progress, but Darin was unable to break free or block the Ylissean Exalt.
Slowly, the Exalted Falchion began to inch forward as it began to penetrate the heavy armor.
"N-no!" Darin exclaimed. "Th-this can't be! Ephidel! Come to me! Your master calls you!"
The help he had been expecting didn't arrive as Chrom finally broke through the heavy armor, stabbing Falchion into Darin's chest and piercing his heart.
"I am… the ruler… of the world…" Darin groaned as he coughed up blood.
Chrom withdrew his blade after seeing all the life disappear from Darin's eyes. Robin released his spell and the dead Marquis fell over with a loud clatter.
"He was mad." Hector snorted, not feeling bad in the slightest.
"He was consumed by lust." Chrom furrowed his brows as he stared down the dead body. "What a fool."
The battle around them gradually began to die down as the rest of the Black Fang were being systematically disposed of.
"I see you've become quite an opportunist…" Chrom smiled as he approached Robin and sheathed his sword.
"Look who's talking…" Robin rolled his eyes. "I only learn from the best."
"That timing was really good… even I wasn't expecting it." Chrom chuckled. "I'm surprised you were able to keep track of everything as well as you do…"
"Well, it's my job." Robin returned the smile as he dusted off his shoulder with one hand.
"Huh… did they plan that?" Hector quietly whispered to Eliwood. The two of them had been surprised at how smooth Robin and Chrom's combination of attacks had been against the Marquis. It was as if they had acted as one entity.
"They are synced with each other extremely well." Eliwood admitted.
As the cleaning up of the battlefield gradually happened, Robin noticed Lyn and Lucina's group approaching. He made eye contact with Gaius and threw him a thumbs up.
Gaius smiled in return and popped a piece of hard candy into his mouth.
"Robin!" Lyn rushed forward. In her moment of relief, she completely forgot about her surroundings and tackled Robin with a hug.
"H-hey…" Robin chuckled nervously as he awkwardly made eye contact with Lucina over Lyn's shoulder. "Uh… glad to see you're safe…"
At that moment, Lucina could read Robin's expression like a book. Still, she did notice the relieved expression he made when he saw her, and for the time being, that was enough. Actually, seeing his flustered look made her want to chuckle.
"So uh, Lucina…" Anna poked the bluenette. "Are you just gonna let her…"
Lucina swung her head away in a quick and exaggerated manner. "Hm? Did you see something Anna? Because I sure didn't."
"Ah…yes..." Anna smiled wryly. "You're right… there's definitely nothing happening here…"
A couple of seconds later, after Lyn had regained her senses, she realized what she had done and felt her entire face heat up. She quickly backed away. "S-sorry!"
"Uh… it's no problem…" Robin awkwardly replied.
Lyn snuck a glance at Lucina who seemed to be conversing with a couple of her friends, and realized that she either didn't notice or was pretending not to see what had happened. The greenette let out an inward sigh of relief.
"C'mon, let's continue forward." Chrom suggested.
"That's right!" Hector agreed. "We've still got Eliwood's dad and Ninian to save!"
A few short moments later...
"...Father!?" Eliwood shouted as they entered the deepest parts of the ruins. "Father!"
"...Over here…" A weak voice called back. Though it was barely louder than a whisper, Eliwood clearly recognized it as his father's, and ran towards the sound.
"Hey!" Lyn protested. "Eliwood, be careful!"
Although the rest of them were slower, they eventually caught up with the young Lycian Lord, and found him next to a man lying on the floor.
"F-father!" Eliwood gasped in shock. "Wh-what happened to you?"
"Eliwood…" Elbert croaked. "F-forget about me… take the girl and flee!"
With what seemed to be all of his remaining strength, Elbert jerked his head towards the stairs that he lay in front of. Following the Marquis's motion, everyone raised their gazes to find Ninian standing at the top of the staircase with her back to them.
"Ninian?" Lyn called out to the girl, but received no response.
"That girl…" Elbert wheezed. "She's the key to the Dragon's Gate! Hurry... *cough* before Nergal notices you!"
"Ninian! Come! We must flee!" Eliwood called towards the girl, but like Lyn, achieved nothing.
"Something's wrong with her…" Robin noticed. "She's in a trance!"
"Quickly!" Hector began to pick up Marquis Pherae in a bridal style carry. "I've got your father, Eliwood! Grab Ninian!"
"Allow me!" Chrom, being one of the most physically strong members of the party without being weighed down by heavy armor, stepped forward and began bolting up the stairs.
For the first time, Marquis Pherae took notice of the other people around Eliwood. "Hector… you came too? ...Thank you…"
"Don't worry about that!" Hector responded. "Let's leave this place!"
Right before Chrom reached the top of the staircase, a figure emerged, seemingly from thin air, and stood between him and Ninian.
"Who-" Chrom furrowed his brows as he reached for his Falchion.
Elbert let out a croak in surprise. "That man… is dangerous… you must face him on your own!"
Hearing Elbert's desperate plea, Robin gestured for Gaius to go in and assist Chrom. Reading the situation, and seeing that they weren't responsible for anything else at the moment, Lucina and Olivia also followed closely behind. Naturally, Anna followed after her liege, albeit with some grumbling.
"Be a good boy, and listen to your father, Eliwood!" Ephidel walked out of the shadows and placed a hand on Ninian's shoulder. It could've been a trick of the light, but Robin swore he saw Ninian's figure flinch when he did so.
"Ephidel!" Eliwood snarled.
"Even among the Black Fang, that man is feared for his skill." Ephidel proudly proclaimed. "You are no match for him, even as a group!"
"I'll be the judge of that!" Chrom drew his Falchion and charged towards the assassin.
"So that's how it is, huh?" Ephidel chuckled. "Jaffar… eliminate them."
Jaffar responded to his orders and engaged Chrom. Although Jaffar was wielding a couple of long, wicked looking knives, Chrom realized that he couldn't overpower his opponent, even with the advantage of a longer weapon. Moreover, Jaffar was much faster than him. For the first time since arriving in Elibe, Chrom found himself faced with an opponent on par, or perhaps even exceeding his own capabilities.
Fortunately for the Ylissean Exalt, this time, numbers were on their side. Even against someone as formidable as Jaffar, Chrom wouldn't lose in the matter of a few strikes, despite the fact that they were fighting a flight of stairs.
After a few short moments, Jaffar had to dodge out of the way of a throwing knife from Olivia. Afterwards, he dodged a strike from Gaius.
"You…" Gaius growled. "I still owe you one from earlier…"
"..." Jaffar didn't respond and continued to hold them off. Even after Lucina and Anna were within range to lend a hand, he didn't back off. Although he was clearly struggling and was being suppressed, he also was not in a completely disadvantageous position.
"Looks like your pup's found himself a skilled group of bodyguards, Marquess Pherae…" A new voice observed.
Ephidel immediately bowed towards the sound. He would always recognize the voice of his maker and master, Nergal.
"To think Jaffar is struggling…" Nergal chuckled. "Here I thought I'd have all the time in the world… no matter. I suppose I'll just have to rush the ritual then… Ninian! Open the Dragon's Gate!"
Hearing Nergal's voice, Ninian began to stir. She began channeling energy towards a door-like structure made from stone.
"Interrupt it!" Robin realized something dreadful was about to happen, and called out an order.
"And how do you propose we do that!?" Maribelle inquired.
Robin gritted his teeth. Without hurting Ninian, it was impossible to stop the channeling of whatever spell or magic she was using.
"Here…" Ninian spoke in a trance-like voice. "Children of flame… come to me…"
The space between the stone 'door' seemed to catch on fire as an inferno brewed on the other side. Moments later, the massive head of a fire dragon began to appear out of the door.
"... it can't be…" Hector's eyes went wide.
"Ah… no…" Lyn felt herself trembling slightly. "Is… that…"
"...is that truly a dragon!?" Eliwood asked in disbelief.
Contrary to the Lycians, the Ylisseans were surprisingly calm. It wasn't that they were more brave, or that they thought it was of no threat to them… it's just, after having to deal with Grima who must've been a few dozen, if not a few hundred times larger, a small fire dragon was comparatively underwhelming. If Grima were to be considered a true dragon, the fire dragon that began to appear before them could only be considered an overgrown lizard at best. Still, if they weren't careful, a dragon like that could easily kill each and every one of them.
"HA HA HA HA!" Nergal cackled. "Yes! Use all your strength! Squeeze every drop from your body! You will call dragons!"
"...I will not allow this!" A new, younger voice responded from behind them.
"Who's there?" Ephidel's gaze shot around the darkness, trying to find the one that called out.
"Nils?" Lyn asked in disbelief when the young boy ran to the front of their formation.
"Ninian!" Nils called. "You must come to your senses! You mustn't do what they want!"
"Ni… Nils?" Ninian muttered, still in her trance-like state.
"Nils?" Nergal growled in frustration. "Not now! Ephidel, stop them!"
"Desist, Nils!" Ephidel ordered as he began to cast dark magic. However, this time he was stopped by a protective barrier cast by Robin. Protecting an ally was far easier than interrupting one, after all.
"Ninian!" Nils bellowed with all of his strength.
The exclamation seemed to jolt Ninian back to her normal state. "...Nils?"
After Ninian stopped being controlled mentally, the Dragon's Gate naturally began to stop functioning as intended. Simultaneously, the temperature of the room shot up, as the air began to become scorchingly hot, threatening to burn everyone standing nearby to a crisp.
"Here… hurry!" Nils warned Robin and the others. "The dragon's beginning to crumble! Everyone, flee!"
"This… this heat!" Lyn raised an arm to shield her face. Even from this distance, she felt like her whole body was melting.
"Gah!" Hector roared in pain as his armor began to heat up, burning both him and Marquis Pherae. To be honest, it was a miracle that he didn't drop the man.
"Quickly! We have to leave!" Robin stepped forward and began to channel a spell. "Svalinn!"
A large barrier formed in front of the shepherds, and the temperature behind it cooled down back to an acceptable degree. Still, it was clear Robin was struggling to hold back the heat from the other side.
"Hurry!" Robin grimaced as he felt his magical reserves being heavily taxed. He felt his consciousness slowly leaving. Nevertheless, he continued channeling all that he had into the barrier.
Hearing Nils's warning, Chrom shook off Jaffar with one last blow as Gaius darted behind him and snatched Ninian in a fireman's carry. Perhaps not the most chivalrous ways to carry a young girl, but at the moment, he couldn't care less. He needed to bring the girl and himself as far away from the heat, as soon as possible.
The shepherds quickly descended the stairs, with Chrom covering for Gaius and the others while everyone ran towards the entrance of the ruins as fast as they could. Chrom, as the last one to enter Robin's side of the barrier, threw the tactician over his shoulder. As he did so, Robin's figure went limp from exhaustion as the heat level surged up once again.
Not looking back, Chrom ran away from the Dragon's Gate as fast as he could while carrying the unconscious Robin.
While this was happening, Nergal gave them one final glare before teleporting away. Jaffar, similarly, managed to dart away and escape. Only Ephidel was left. As someone that was too close to the gate and didn't react fast enough, he began to be absorbed into the gate alongside the dragon.
"Hyaa! Lord Nergal!" Ephidel pleaded. "Lord Nergal, please!"
It was ultimately useless, as Ephidel and the dragon disappeared into the inferno, and the gate finally closed. The body of Ephidel began to crumble and turn to ash as it was sucked into the portal to the realm of dragons.
After they had retreated to a safe distance, Eliwood finally approached his father, who was still in Hector's arms.
"Father!" So many emotions welled up inside of him, dominated primarily by relief and concern.
"...Eliwood… be prepared…" Elbert took Eliwood's hand. "He will return…"
"All right, but for now, let's leave this island." Eliwood suggested. "Let's go home."
"No… my son… I'm done here…" Elbert coughed. He had been feeling himself beginning to slip away for some time now. The extra scorch wounds he had clearly weren't helping either. "You, Eliwood… you must finish this!"
"Don't say that!" Eliwood protested. "Mother is still waiting in Pherae! She's waiting for you, father!"
"Ah… Eleanora... " Elbert chuckled with his dying breath. "She will be cross with me… Your mother… Eliwood… tell her… I'm sorry…"
"Father?" Eliwood cried out in anguish when he realized his father's body went limp in Hector's arms. "No, please! After everything we went through to find you… Father… please… open your eyes!"
Lyn felt conflicted. While she wanted desperately to check on Robin, she also couldn't tear her gaze away from Eliwood, who had begun to cry.
"How is he!?" Lucina, on the other hand, had much less attachment to Eliwood and his father. That wasn't to say she was heartless, it was just that Robin's safety was placed far higher in her heart that Elbert's death was trivial by comparison.
"Be at ease." Chrom sighed. "He is still alive. I feel his heartbeat. That last spell must've taken everything he got."
"I don't blame him…" Gaius, who had already put down Ninian, wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "Even though I only experienced it for a moment, that heat was somethin' else! Half a second longer, and I fear I might've been burnt to a crisp."
"The amount of energy needed to put up a barrier that large to block something that intense must surely be extremely taxing…" Anna admitted, biting her lip.
"Milord… allow me." Frederick took Robin's body from his liege.
"Uff… thanks." Chrom let out a sigh as he felt his muscles relax.
"So, uh… what now?" Lissa asked. Ninian, upon being released by Gaius, had instantly dove into her embrace, and Nils was watching his sister nearby in concern.
"We head back to the ship." Chrom replied. Since Robin had yet to wake up, he had to call the shots. "There's no need for us to stay on this island any longer. We've already accomplished what we set out to do, as best as we can."
His gaze lingered on Eliwood, who was bawling as he clutched his father's lifeless hand next to Hector.
"Y-yeah…" Although Hector was beating himself up on the inside, there wasn't anything he could say or do to fix what was right in front of his eyes, so he didn't make things any more difficult than he could've.
The group began to solemnly make their way back to Fargus and his crew…
Author's Notes…
When I played the game, there were a few small things I didn't really like about the confrontation with Nergal in this chapter. For example, in the game, Jaffar was called to stop their retreat, only to be immediately sent away again. It seems rather odd when, at this point, he probably could've just killed all of them, but I guess then there would be no game to play. In a way, having the assistance of the shepherds actually makes this scene a little more believable in my opinion.
Unfortunately, I have some bad news. Due to the unique situation of my next semester, I will be unable to write or post (or even access the internet) for a few months. And even afterwards, I may have limited amounts of internet access, and even more limited amounts of time to write. Regretfully, I must say that this may be the only chapter to get posted for the next half year or so.
Of course, I don't plan on completely abandoning the story… it's just my real life circumstances that are preventing me from writing and posting for a short while, and so I'll apologize for it right now. As soon as I get back, I'll try and get the next chapter finished and posted as soon as possible. If you've found my story interesting so far, this would be a good time to follow it, as I can't be sure when the next chapter will be posted.
As always, thanks for the viewership and interest, and I'll hope to see you all in around a half year or so.