Author's Note: Well okay; I made a couple of friends read it and they told me to continue because they wanna see my theory on the Branded Mark. And that I left it at a suspenseful point.
WARNING: The following chapter set contains my take on the Branded Mark. If you do not like what I say; or you do not like anything different from the game; then do not read on. This is a creative piece of writing; which means that since I did not gain that much information on the mark, other than that it is a mark that appears in the later generations of a crossbred line, I am doing my own take. Once again; if you do not like speculation; DO NOT READ ON!
Warnings Applicable: Gore, Violence,
Chapter 28:
Rage consumed him once again. His arms tingled with fury; his right arm clenched in a tight fist. He felt no more pain other than loss; he felt no more emotions other than sadness and anger. He became feral; growling and roaring. He held his head between his hands, and roared loudly. Still barely able to speak; Trigger looked at the sniper that had fired the ballista. The sniper looked around frantically; his ballista rounds used up.
"M…Mu…Mua…Muar…RRGH!" Trigger said, before falling to his knees. He clenched his head even tighter in his hands, and continued his growling. It was low and rumbling; the sniper could tell it was full of anger.
Trigger's mark on his forehead began to glow. It caused him so much pain, and both of his hands went from his head to his forehead. He screamed out, a booming roar, and fell to his knees. The sniper was about to approach, then the seal appeared on the ground. It was 10 metres in diameter, and the sniper took a wary step back.
"W-what's going on here?" The sniper said. He looked at the seal with fear; nothing like this had ever been recorded before. What kind of creature was this child?
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Meanwhile, Ike's small group had grown due to the reinforcements; and had made their way to the enemy leader. The Swordmaster smiled; and raised his blade. Ike began to run at the Swordmaster and sliced upwards. The Swordmaster easily dodged and began to slash; but found his hands empty. He looked out and saw Shinon; smiling. The Crimean sniper had shot an arrow so deadly, that it had hit the hilt and knocked the sword out of his hands. The Swordmaster looked back at Ike; who was already readying a second slash.
The Swordmaster rolled to his side, reaching for his blade. A hard thump came; and his hand was crushed by Mist. Riding on her newly acquired horse, she forced her steed to step on the Swordmaster's hand. The enemy leader cried out in pain, but didn't let go. He heard movement near him; and found a young mage with dark hair looking at him.
"Worthless." The mage spat, kicking the Swordmaster in the ribs. He laughed, an evil and taunting laugh, and then opened up a book of ElThunder. The Swordmaster looked in horror as the mage started to chant. The sky grew dark in an instant.
Clouds began to converge only where the Swordmaster lay. They circled above; like a flock of vultures awaiting their feed. Then, a brilliant light came from the clouds and fell upon the Swordmaster. He had died in an instant.
The small group was tired. They had fought their hardest to stay alive until the reinforcements came; then they fought even harder to reach the leader. Now that he was gone, they thought they could rest.
"Ike, look!" Mist said, pointing over to where Trigger said. The seal on the ground had now cracked the earth, and light came from the very depths it created. The lights went many metres into the sky; blocking out any sight of Trigger. They were a mixture of light purples and dark reds; where had this come from?
"What in the world…" Ike started, and then a powerful force shot out of the seal in all sides. It was like a great wind all around; pushing people backwards. Once Ike braced himself, he looked back again. A very dark and mysterious dome had appeared around the seal; and lightning began to surge through it. Ike turned to ask Soren what the hell was happening; but he then saw something he never usually saw on the mage.
Chapter 29:
Rhys stood outside of the dome, trembling. People in the close vicinity had stopped fighting; but the sounds of battle still echoed in the distance. Had not everyone seen this… this abomination? The priest looked at the dome uneasily; and he tottered backwards. He stepped on something that felt like mush and realised he stepped on a dead body. He would have screamed, if he were not still fixed upon the dome. Trigger was in the middle of it. What was going on here?
Though he could hear fighting behind him, something else was much louder. Much louder than and clang of metal upon metal. From inside the dome; he could hear Trigger scream in anguish.
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Soren looked on in sheer terror. The symbol that had appeared on the ground; it was so similar to the one on his forehead. But it wasn't his. It was Trigger's. Did this mean that the child was a Branded as well? Did this mean that, this would happen to him eventually? He didn't want to be caught up in such strong magic; his very body quivered at the feeling of the energy around him. Something wasn't right about that dome; and about Trigger being in the middle of it.
Inside, his stomach churned and he thought he would throw up. But he forced himself not to. He had to watch. If indeed, Trigger was a Branded; he had to watch. In some odd way; it was concerning him as well. Just why did that magic circle appear; and what was it doing to Trigger?
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Trigger felt his muscles twitch with anger and rage. His body began to hurt all over, and he roared out once again. The hairs on his body seemed to grow rapidly, and he felt his hands shrink. He looked at them and they became cat-like paws with claws; and the same happened to his feet. His nose and mouth became more prudent; and soon he had fangs. Though, his transformation left him still on two legs. He looked around, scared, and stepped around.
He didn't know what was happening; but he didn't really care. His body rattled with power; he brimmed with confidence. He looked around him and noticed the dome. He slimed, and leapt up high. He broke through the dome as if it were glass. It shattered into pieces as he leapt into the air; and the sun glared from out behind him.
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The sniper looked up, at the abomination that had leapt out. It landed in front of him, and drool came off its teeth. It was like a beorc; it stood on two feet. Yet; that was the only beorc-like thing about the creature. It was covered in a black fur, and had definitely transformed. But why did he stand on two feet? He seemed defined as well; he had a chest and defined abs; no laguz resembled this much to a beorc when transformed.
The creature's paws seemed to have stopped halfway through transformation. It had paws nonetheless; but it also seemed to have very short, stubby fingers. From the fingers was what worried the sniper, though. Long, protruding claws came out from the hand. They reflected the light ominously, and he looked back to the creature's face.
The face seemed to be the only part that was fully transformed. It had a definite head of a tiger; and its mouth curled up in a very evil smile. The sniper took an arrow and aimed it at the beast; but his hands shook. The beast looked at him and smiled. This caused further fear to enter his mind, and he let the arrow go. It flew through the air and hit the tiger in the leg, but the beast did not fall.
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« Pain... He didn't feel it. The arrow in his leg should have crippled him; but there he stood. Was this… was this Trigger? » Rhys thought. Trigger now stood far in front of his fallen brother; could he approach and tend to Muarim's wounds? Or would Trigger not like him getting near?
Then, he saw something that defied all odds. Muarim twitched. He was alive! Rhys was about to call out to Trigger; but then stopped. Would he even care? He had been so consumed by his rage; would it matter? The feral instincts inside the young boy had taken over. Rhys wanted to tell him; but he knew Trigger wouldn't even look back. There was too much anger that directed him towards that sniper.
Chapter 30:
The sniper looked in fear. The arrow hit; but the monster didn't seem to care. He raised another arrow and fired it; but this time the tiger moved. He ran so swiftly on two feet; the sniper barely had time to look at where the tiger was going to attack. He barely dodged a vertical swipe meant for his face; but as he stepped to the side the tiger quickly slashed horizontally. The sniper felt pain rush into his stomach; and a warm liquid oozed down his front. Three marks slashed across his stomach, and he fell back.
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This was it. It was time. Trigger knew that it wouldn't bring his brother back; but at least this idiot would be put out of his misery. There was no room for forgiveness now. He looked down upon the sniper, and sneered. He slashed the sniper across his face, and enjoyed the fact that the man screamed at the top of his lungs. He fed on the fear, on the way the man reacted. He kneed the beorc in the face, and smiled. The cracking of the man's jaw was music to his ears.
The sniper, who was on the ground, didn't move. Was it over already? He had just started to enjoy his plaything. He picked the sniper up by the neck and moved his snout close to his ear. The sniper opened his eyes and gazed into the deep, black pupils of Trigger. Trigger smiled, and then bit off the man's ear. Shock first entered the man's mind; and he screamed again. Trigger licked the blood that made its little course down his face.
"Please… Let me live…" The man pleaded. Trigger felt a surge of happiness go through him. The more the sniper begged, the more he felt good. He never wanted to stop; he wanted the man to beg some more. He wanted the man to scream out his name in pain. He went to the other ear, and felt the man's heavy breathing. The man expected him to now cause him pain; and Trigger wasn't going to disappoint. He took his claw and clawed the opposite side of the man's face.
"Let you live?" Trigger said. His voice was hoarse and crude; a mix of growling and speech. "You didn't let Muarim live! This won't bring him back; but now you'll feel the cruelty of war!" Trigger said. He dug his claw into the man's face, and the man looked at him once again. His eyelids shot open and closed slowly, and he was barely alive.
"Please… just end this…" The man said. Trigger smiled.
"My pleasure." He said. He opened his jaw and bit at the man's jugular. The sniper let out a gurgle, and fell to the ground. Trigger licked his lips and swallowed the blood. He liked the taste; not sweet but not bitter. He stood up and sighed. It was finished.