EDITING PROCESS:

Sep 8, 2006, 07:33 PM - Chapters 15-17 have been edited, revised, and looked over.

I didn't change much; I liked the feeling they gave off. I did edit the story a little; and implemented thoughts of Trigger's age. I kind of want to make that a recurring thought. It is important, after all.

I didn't change much of the dream sequence; other than explain a few lines better and add a speck of detail to his transformation.

I find myself editing less as I go on in the story; because I developed so much on the feelings later on. I probably just need to edit the major battle scenes a little more. But I'll still read over it all.

Chapter 15:

"Muarim, I need to speak for a long time, and I can't be interrupted. Is that alright?" Trigger asked. Muarim looked at him worriedly, and nodded. "I... I wanted to tell you so long ago; when we first met... when I first heard..." Trigger trailed off.

"My name." Muarim interjected. He had just agreed to not interrupt Trigger, and yet felt right to finish the sentence. Trigger nodded solemnly.

"A long time ago, a laguz woman and a laguz man had a child. This child would later on become the slave of a beorc noble. However, the laguz man would die and leave the mother alone. She was able to find her son at first; and forced herself into employment with him." Trigger said. Muarim began to think.

---

"Hello child." The woman said to him. He was no older than four, but could already speak the beorc language. "I... have so much to tell you. And now that I've found you, we can catch up." The woman said to him. She had come out of nowhere; and yet he felt at home with her. Safe with her. Together they just, they just seemed to fit.

Only later, would he learn that she was his mother.

---

"This laguz woman, eventually fell ill. Finding her to be of no more use, her current slaver threw her on the streets. Then, he suddenly moved; leaving the woman alone again. She then looked for her son-" Trigger started. Muarim looked at him suspiciously. There were holes in the story, but... it was so much like his...

Trigger only looked back with the sadness he had held the whole time.

"Trigger, who are you talking about?" Muarim asked. Trigger said nothing, and then continued.

"But she found no trace. Nothing; his name didn't even ring any bells. She was so very weak, that she could barely walk when a beorc man found her on a deserted street in Begnion. He helped bring her back to health, and she fell in love with the beorc. They crossbred, and had a child. What the man never told his laguz wife was that his family was part of a long line of crossbreeds; though the last recorded one in government records was his great grandfather. His family had undergone a great deal in hiding their shameful bloodline." Trigger said, spiteful. His face contorted into anger, and his hands created a painful fist.

"It was too late, though." Trigger said, a tear running down his cheek. Muarim wiped the tear away with a finger and looked Trigger in the eye.

"Too late?" Muarim asked. Trigger sniffled and nodded. Tears started to flow a little more freely; still somewhat held back. They glittered as they fell; reflecting the low lantern light, then exploded into microsopic droplets as they rebounded off of his hand.

"Y-you see, she died giving birth. The child came out with the mark of the Branded, and his father saw this as a bad omen. His wife died giving birth to a child that showed the mark; and he cast his child out as soon as it was old enough to walk, run, and eat. The child wandered for days upon end, travelling from Begnion to Crimea. No one wanted him though; he was a dirty orphan and had no place in society." Trigger spat. His voice held even more contempt, and his fists bunched further. Tears began to flow freely, creating small rivers on his cheeks.

"He went to Gallia, but all the laguz refused him of having their blood. He went back to Begnion without knowing it." Trigger added. The winds outside suddenly picked up and the tent opening flapped violently. Muarim looked at it, tied it closed, and then sat. Trigger hadn't nudged, and yet he had seemed to have changed from his old, angry demeanor.

"The child, who was now a youth by this time, had learnt how to speak the beorc language easily; he then learnt that his father was a Branded. Easily understanding what that meant, he realised just who his mother was. He heard later on that his father truly loved him, but he couldn't deal with having a child that could give everything away. His father's slaved 'escaped' and sold everything. He had died alone on the road, with nothing." Trigger said. A single tear fell from his cheek. "It was pitiful. From riches to nothing, the youth's father gave up everything so that the child wouldn't be prosecuted."

"Prosecuted?" Muarim asked. Trigger nodded.

"Other nobles had found out about the marriage, and deemed him unworthy. They raided his house, torched it, and left nothing. Luckily, the father had sheltered the child, kept him from prying eyes. He was never known to the public. And yet, he knew the public in the few short years that he was able to stay there."

"The youth met a family friend, who told him that he had a brother on his mother's side. The brother, unlike him, was a full laguz. Apparently, seven years his senior. Their mother was kicked out when the child was about six years old. It's said that the older one should have celebrated his birthday, and have been nine when the younger one was born." Trigger said. Muarim only sat, listening to every word. Inside, he felt like he didn't know what to do.

There's no possible way that... that Trigger...

Chapter 16:

"The youth, having no other family to turn to, decided to look for his brother. No one helped him, and the family friend kept their mouths shut because they were suspected by other nobles in the area for being friends of the 'dirty family'. He tried to get any more leads, any possible information. But he was careless, and people started to think him a half-breed. To flee it all, he hid in the Serenes. At the age of seven, even his hiding place was no longer safe." Trigger said, referring to the Serenes Massacre.

"He saw it all; the beorc hatred towards the laguz who had done nothing. He saw the fear of the laguz as they fled. He saw the forest burn, wither and die." Trigger said. His voice now had become more confident, but he still had a tone of sadness. "He'd seen how futile it was... and decided then that there must be something that could have been done. The fires forever raged in his heart."

Muarim thought back to that incident. He had been about fifteen at the time of the incident. He began to think that Trigger was speaking of himself; but found it to be impossible. That was over twenty years ago. Trigger, through calculation, should have been twenty seven. And yet...

"The youth had decided to try and continue to stop slavery. Hopefully, this would free his brother. He continued to grow, and stayed in the Begnion area. He returned often to the Serenes, and hoped that no other forms of such treachery would be permitted in a place that had already been scarred. He ensured himself that he would protect it; and forever be there." Trigger said.

"Then, one night, as he saw beorcs enter the forest, he was found by a laguz in the trees. Things happened, and then he learnt the name of the laguz. It was the name of his brother. Then, the happiness didn't stop. He'd found his brother, and he'd found a group of beorcs who shared the same dream as him. The youth decided he belonged, and wanted to stay. Stay close to people whom he could trust… and more importantly his family." Trigger said. He sighed, as he had finished his story, and Muarim sat silent.

"I should be twenty-seven. But I'm not. I don't know how to explain it, and I can't. But I'm here now, and I don't want to leave. I might not be able to kill, I might not be able to fight; but I can dream. I'm here now. And..." Trigger trailed off. "I don't... ever want to leave..." Trigger added.

He expected a response, and found none. He felt disheartened at first, but realised that he had expected Muarim to be shocked more than anything.

"That might have been a bit much for you to take. I've told you everything I wanted to. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be going to my tent and going to sleep." Trigger said, standing up. Muarim still sat silent, absorbing all that had been told. Trigger looked back at Muarim from the flap of the tent; but the laguz hadn't made any movement to look back.

"Good night, brother." Trigger said, before opening the flap and exiting. The winds still blew furiously, and he tied the flaps from the outside. Muarim heard his footsteps on the cold ground outside; as he dragged his feet.

"Brother…" Muarim said, as he continued to sit. It didn't make sense; and yet the story was true to all respects that Muarim could prove. Trigger was not of the age, and yet he was the same person. What had happened to him? "Trigger..."

---

"Trigger, where were ya? I was kind of worried that something got you while you were out there!" Rolf said, greeting Trigger as he came through the flap. Rolf seemed eager to talk, to do something; but Trigger felt drained.

"Sorry. I'm not feeling well, mind if I just go to sleep?" Trigger asked, rubbing his eyes. He hoped Rolf would just leave him alone for just one night.

"Sure thing. I understand." Rolf said, walking back to his area of the tent and lying down. He seemed disheartened; and Trigger felt sad. But he knew if they talked, that he would say things, or act in a way he'd never want to. He didn't want to hurt Rolf more than he'd already done.

Trigger went to his side and lay down as well. Sleep came quickly, but it wasn't peaceful.

In the dream

"Rhys! Have you seen Muarim?" Trigger shouted. Rhys stood right beside him, but he knew he couldn't hear him properly. They had been attacked from all sides; and now as the enemy charged down shouting battle cries he could barely make out his voice. He could see Ike, giving out orders, but couldn't hear them.

"Muarim? No!" Rhys shouted back, before Ike came up to both of them.

"We have reports of ballistae! You guys be careful out there!" Ike said. Rhys and Trigger nodded. Ike went off to try and get the other people calm as the battle was soon coming. The Greil Mercenaries were pincered, with no way out.

"What's a ballista?" Trigger asked, still at the top of his lungs. He realised he didn't know what it was.

"It's like a very large crossbow. It fires at long ranges, and it can fire bolts of pure iron or steel!" Rhys said. Trigger looked around and saw that people had begun fighting. This was a dirty trap. He ducked as a spearman threw his weapon at him, and he ran forward. The spearman tried to run by Trigger and go for his spear, but Trigger placed a dagger in the man's side before he passed him. Then, something metal hit the ground hard in front of him and he realised it was the metal bolt from a ballista. The sheer force of it being fired made him fall back hard.

He looked up and saw his brother darting in and out between soldiers. Laguz were always quick on their feet. He began to run over to Muarim, when he heard a cry behind him.

Chapter 17:

"Get away! Help! Ahhh!" Rhys yelled, as a soldier came at him. He brought out his Light tome weakly and opened it. A surge of balls of light emanated from the book, and flew sharply at his pursuer. They cut through his body like knives, and soon the man fell limp on the ground. Trigger smiled at Rhys; he could be deceptive at times. He looked back to his brother, and his face contorted in horror.

His brother had had his headband ripped off, and was forced back into his beorc-like form. Defenceless, he could only block as people continued to rush at him. Trigger started to run at him, but then was held back by Daein arms. He looked around him and saw at least five men on him, then stared back at his brother.

His brother reached out to Trigger, being soon engulfed by a sea of armor. He edged his way through, pushing past all of them. Trigger smiled as his brother charged to go and free him from the Daein arms; but then he jerked coldly and stiffly. A ballista bolt had found its mark in the stomach of Muarim. Trigger only looked on as his brother began to fall to the ground, still reaching out for him.

"Muarim… MUARIM!!! NO! NOOO!" Trigger yelled, and he was then encircled by something black and purple. All the arms around him were thrown off, and energy surged through his entire body. It was like a magical field, which circled him. He looked around himself and saw that it was everywhere; black and purple with random bolts of lightning running through it. The lightning began to strike his body, and he screamed out.

---

From the outside, Rhys had seen this abomination. What was it? As it began to grow, it tore up the ground. Any soldier that came into contact with it was either thrown back a couple dozen feet, or had electricity surge through his body and was instantly fried. Something was wrong… and Trigger was in the middle of it.

---

Trigger looked around in fear as the black and purple dome began to grow. As it passed over the ground, he saw bodies of charred soldiers on the ground. What was happening? He then felt something inside him, and he fell to his knees. The charred bodies reminded him too much of Muarim...

Muarim... He was killed...

Nothing mattered anymore. His brother was killed, and he wanted revent. He found himself filled with rage. Rage like from the fire of the Serenes, the rage that had built up in him that one night. His arms twitched with it, and all he wanted to do was scream. He stood up and looked down and saw that he was covered with fur. He felt himself brim with power; power like the dome exerted. With this power, he could destroy the Daein army, the people that killed his brother.

He was about to run forward out of the dome, when hands appeared on his shoulders. They were powerful, warm, and he knew their presence. And yet... they shouldn't have been able to grab him.

"Trigger! Trigger? Wake up!" Muarim said. He was alive. But how? He had seen him die. He looked down, and saw that his stomach was fine. No hole, no wound. No blood. This wasn't right. "Trigger! TRIGGER! Wake up!!" Muarim said, shaking him. His face contorted in horror, and he placed his hands firmly on Muarim's arms; trying to shake the spectre off. "TRIGGER!!" Muarim said loudly.

---

Trigger sat up, sweaty and shivering. Muarim knelt over him and his face was filled with worry and fear. "Mu...Muar? What happened?" Trigger said, his head hurting. All a dream? Muarim took Trigger in his arms and hugged him tightly.

"You had me so worried… you wouldn't wake up from your nightmare. I can't believe the story... but I want to. I don't want you to have to feel that pain anymore. I don't want you to be alone anymore..." Muarim said, hugging Trigger tighter. Trigger began to cry and hugged his brother back.

"It's alright… I'm not alone anymore. I've got someone. Someone right here and this giant family called the Mercenaries that will look after me. More importantly, there's someone that I care for and I don't want to leave. Brother… I'm fine. Okay?" Trigger said, looking at Muarim. His brother smiled, and wiped away tears. "I'll be alright… I'm not alone anymore."