DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: You're correct that it's a denizen of Valentia, there are too many female candidates that could be mysterious hooded woman, but yes, Lady Liprica is in the list too. Only time will tell who is this mysterious woman.
CHAPTER 7 – ATTACK ON DESERT STRONGHOLD
After taking care of Garth and his henchmen, the party resumed their quest to Grieth's stronghold to take him down alongside his men.
"Are you perchance headed to Grieth's Citadel?" Catria asked out of blue.
"Yeah, we are." Celica assured her.
"I see, it appears my sister Est is being held there." Catria stated her reason to head to the stronghold. "If such are your intentions, perhaps we could travel together."
"That's nice." Roxas affirmed her willingness to join the party. "In that case, welcome to our team."
[Palla and Catria have joined your party]
/
MOUNTAIN VILLAGE
Roxas and the team had to go through the quite-ruined village while browsing around the places to see if they could gather any info regarding Grieth, many villagers were visibly ill towards the man, especially a tall, well-worked out, gray-haired man who wanted to have a payback on Grieth. "You see, I was off fighting on the frontier until a short while ago. Came home to find my village in ruins and my brothers taken by Grieth. I want to tear that thief's head clean off his body! …But I can't do it alone."
"Well, we do have some business with him too." Celica understood his anger.
"Are you lot going to Grieth's stronghold?" the gray-haired man asked in expectation.
"We all are." Roxas assured him in determination.
"If so, let me come and have my revenge." The gray-haired man requested to join them.
"Of course you can come with us, welcome to the team." Celica welcomed him to the party.
[Atlas has joined your party]
"Thank you for letting me join ya guys, I think I should introduce myself." The gray-haired man thanked them before introducing himself to the party. "My name is Atlas. What are yer names?"
Everyone introduced themselves to Atlas and filled him with many adventures themselves were having.
"So… you were able to tear those creepy silver creatures who had been causing trouble to the priestess and the others at the graveyard, isn't that right?" Atlas asked the keyblade wielder out of surprise for his actions against the nobodies.
"Yes, I felt I needed to help." Roxas affirmed him.
"I find this curious that a key-like weapon like yours can kill a creature like that." Atlas put his fingers under his chin thinking about it.
"The swords aren't the only weapons that kill, you know?" Roxas grinned making him know that there are many ways to take down a dark creature.
"Seems that you're very well informed, I'll give you that." Atlas praised the keyblade wielder for his knowledge.
/
DESERT STRONGHOLD – DUNGEON
Meanwhile, Mathilda was behind the bars sitting down against a wall with her head sunk thinking about the Deliverance army and the way Fernand had betrayed her for Berkut, swearing his lance to that bastard was like he shot her through her heart, her spirit. And now she was awaiting her execution by Grieth and her henchmen.
"Clive… looks like we won't meet again…" Mathilda whispered in defeat and sadness… "I'm such a fool…!"
Mathilda let few tears scroll down her eyes knowing that it was just a matter of time before she was killed by Grieth's own hands, as well as losing any hope to survive and entering in desperation horizon… unless…
"Don't give up." A mysterious female voice resounded through Mathilda's ears and made her turn around to see that same mysterious figure in black coat, whose face was hidden by the hood.
The mysterious woman was in her knees before her. "Wh-what? Who are you? How did you get here?" Mathilda demanded to know her identity.
"I cannot reveal my identity, sorry. But I will tell you this…" The mysterious woman kindly refused to tell her name before telling some news that could get her hopes up. "The whole team of Lady Celica is on their way… They will get you out of here."
Mathilda didn't seem so convinced by her words, given on how she was very pessimistic due to her time for being lockdown inside the cage. "How do I know you are not lying to me?" she interrogated her showing skepticism.
"What if… I mention you that the boy in black coat is with them? You know, the one who tore the pirates apart?" the mysterious woman stated Roxas actions making her to understand that she was telling her the truth.
"The pirates… the pirates who governed the seas were defeated by that boy…?" Mathilda began showing expectations towards Roxas and his team. "Okay, girl… if what you say it's true, then I'll wait here."
"Good, now I have to take my leave." The woman in black coat said as she managed to go through the window, but not before telling her one more thing. "When the boy in black coat comes here, tell him to get you out of here, okay?"
"Got it." Mathilda finalized agreeing with the mysterious woman and having her face in hope, she would come to be rescued and reunite with Clive somewhat.
/
Meanwhile, Roxas and the party finally reached to the harsh desert due to its brutally hot weather covering the whole place, thus, this made few members sweat a lot than Roxas and Celica did.
"Damn it… I feel so hot." Kamui complained about the weather.
"I've never been to such a harsh place like this." Saber shared his opinion. "But we gotta hold out this freaking heat surrounding us in order to find that son of a bitch."
The whole party kept walking few more miles until they eventually, and their eyes were not deceiving them, reached the real and huge Desert Stronghold, and as they expected, they were met with a heavy resistance awaiting them.
"Looks like we don't have to whine about the weather anymore." Said Valbar preparing his axe weapon.
"Now we're talking." Saber expressed enthusiasm putting out his sword.
"Ready?" Celica called them as she got ready to engage.
"You know we all are, Celica." Roxas affirmed her summoning his keyblades.
[INFORMATION: Defeat the Grieth's henchmen!]
The battle broke out as Roxas and the others surged at the Grieth's henchmen in many ways, Atlas, Celica, Roxas, Palla and Catria took down a quarter of the opposing team while Kamui, Valbar, Mae, Boey and Leon dealt with the others, even though the opponents were quite formidable and tough to defeat.
However, they stumbled into a big trouble as more enemies appeared from nowhere and surrounded them.
"What the fuck is this bullshit?!" Saber spat in frustration after they all were being overwhelmed in number.
"That's too many of them!" Boey seconded clenching his teeth.
"What are we gonna do?!" Mae whined in almost defeat, knowing that they all were about to meet their end.
Roxas was put in a huge dilemma like everyone else, he couldn't find a way out to ensure their survival and reach for Temple of Mila.
But suddenly, many enemy soldiers let out a lot of painful screams as they were struck down with such some fast-paced and excellent maneuvers in a blink of an eye to the whole party's surprise and shock. "Wha-What just happened?" Kamui said in shock regaining his sight and having a clear shot of the dead and agonizing soldiers lying on the sand.
It was at this moment when everybody noticed the person standing in front of them, this person was the same mysterious hooded woman. However, Roxas noticed something that got his attention, that weapon that she was holding, was no more nor less the same keyblade Riku used when he first fought him: Way to the Dawn.
"This black coat…" Roxas began as he looked at the said figure. "Xion? It's that you?"
"No…" the mysterious woman denied his question after being mistaken for her friend. "I'm not Xion, guys." She said before turning to see them without taking her hood off.
Roxas then realized that she was not the woman as he thought, no, it was impossible, Xion had stayed with Axel and the others to train. If it wasn't Xion, then who was that hooded woman?
"You remined us of the masked man who had been saving our asses few times." Saber grinned playfully. "May you be kind to us to introduce yourself?"
"I afraid I cannot reveal you my identity at this moment…" the mysterious woman denied his request. "But… I'm pretty sure that everything will become clear as water in due its time. "By the way, there's somebody crying for help inside the stronghold."
"Do you expect us to believe such words? Have you ever been inside?" Mae asked out of skepticism like everyone else, not willing to believe those words easily.
"I have, I talked to her few moments ago. The female knight is waiting for you guys to set her free, it's a matter of life or death." The hooded woman assured her making them see that she wasn't lying, aside of referring to Mathilda.
"Okay." Roxas accepted her request.
"Something tells me that this woman isn't lying." Celica realized of her honesty coming out of her mouth. "Let's get inside, guys."
But just as soon as they were about to step inside the stronghold, an arrow came from nowhere and Roxas dodged it just in time.
"You don't look scared as you should …" a man with beard, Wolff, was pointing his bow at the keyblade wielder, when the hooded woman stepped in the middle. "Go inside, now!" she ordered them to head inside.
"I won't let you in, cocksuckers! Gwaaah!" Wolff tried to shoot an arrow at Celica but the hooded woman slashed the bow off his hands. "You little who—!" he winced in pain before receiving a fatal blow with the Zantetsuken technique and dying by the mysterious woman's hands.
"Very well, I must take my leave, we'll meet again." The mysterious hooded woman bid her farewell before losing herself through the sands of the desert.
/
INSIDE DESERT STRONGHOLD
Roxas and the whole party entered inside the stronghold as the hooded woman suggested them to, they searched for Mathilda checking every corner as they explored the whole area.
Roxas, Celica, Mae and Boey searched for the northwest section without any success and they were about to give up and leave when they heard her cry for help. "HEEEY! Over here!"
"Did you hear that?!" Roxas said turning around to the scream's direction.
"Yeah, must be this way, let's go!" Boey seconded as they headed for the said place.
The four ran through the hallway until they finally found the prison cell where Mathilda was held captive, who gazed at Roxas and everyone with amazement.
"Those clothes…" she spoke looking at him with surprise. "You must be the one that this hooded woman talked about, I take it?"
"Yep, did she tell you that?" Roxas replied assuring her while opening the door cell with one of his keyblades, much to Mathilda amusement as she nodded.
"Are you alright?" Celica asked as she helped her stand up and get out.
"Yeah, I can still fight, thank you for getting me out of here." Mathilda said feeling relieved and alive.
"What a woman!" Boey exclaimed in amusement, and then he turned to see Roxas's cheeks slightly going red. "Um, Roxas? You're blushing."
"Wh-what? No, I'm not!" Roxas stuttered trying to deny his statement.
"Ooookay…" Boey replied in a funny voice.
But yeah, just like Celica, Mathilda was a strong and beautiful woman and this made blood go though Roxas's face as Boey said.
"I'm Roxas, this is Celica, Mae and Boey." He introduced himself and the others.
"Mathilda, it's nice to meet you." She replied introducing herself too. "To be a young boy with these black clothes you do have a good heart to carry out dangerous missions. I would not be alive if not for your fine leadership. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Roxas. And with your permission, I wish to take up arms at your side. Will you guys have me?"
"Of course, Mathilda! You are safe with us." Celica welcomed her to the team.
"That means we will fight together." Roxas agreed to have her as a partner.
"It will be an honor to get along with you, guys." Mathilda smiled as they walked out of the prison cell.
[Mathilda has joined your army]
As they walked out if the prison cell, Mathilda talked about how she ended up being captive by Grieth's henchmen.
"I was on a mission with Fernand and Clive here in this whole desert, but I was so careless that I got separated and dragged here, after they shoved me inside, I began to lose hope and blame myself for the whole stupidity." Mathilda said remembering how she ended up there. "But what really let me down is that Fernand turned his back on me, on the Deliverance for Lord Berkut."
"Berkut? Who is it?" Roxas asked about him.
"He… He's the lord who leads the Rigelian army." Mathilda answered his question, another important Intel for the keyblade wielder. "And Fernand is part of it too. It really saddens me that we have to solve this through blows."
"Sorry to hear that, Mathilda." Celica offered her lament. "I wish there was simple way to reach a peace accord between Sofia and Rigel. But I think this can be quite difficult to achieve… I don't want a senseless bloody war to be honest."
"I share the same thought with Celica, she wants to save Alm from his secure death by Rigel's hands." Roxas seconded remembering the conversation with her.
"Why is that?" Mathilda asked them out of intrigue.
"You see, Alm is the leader of Deliverance, this put his life on the line." Celica answered remembering the biggest risk he's been taking lots of times.
"Alm as a leader… I never heard about it until now. I just hope Clive gets acquired with that guy's leadership. I'm sure he must be giving him sort of guidance." Mathilda said showing sort of expectation towards Alm. "I could try to wander around Valentia by myself and try to reunite with Clive and the Deliverance… but I guess I can't do it alone."
She was right, Mathilda could not walk out of the desert by herself, as she was very sure she would get swarmed and killed by thousands of Rigelian soldiers, especially Fernand in betrayal or even worse, Berkut would be capable of making her life in hell before murdering her, so she didn't have a choice but to stay with Roxas army, at least until both Alm's and Celica's respective armies met somewhere.
"We're gonna help." Roxas offered his aid. "I'm sure you will come to reunite with Clive some time."
"I appreciate it, Roxas." Mathilda accepted his suggestion. "I know we will survive if we all fight any foe together."
/
GRIETH'S CITADEL
Meanwhile, one of his henchmen came to reunite with his boss Grieth only to give bad news nervously. "Say, boss? I got some… uh… news. Kinda bad, like."
"…WELL?!" Don't just stand there, idiot! Spit it out!" Grieth spat in intimidating voice, putting his henchman in fear.
"The desert stronghold's been… taken." The guy finally said giving his boss the worse news, making him go mad.
"WHAAT?!" Was it deliverance? It was, wasn't it? These lousy, stupid motherfu—" Grieth snarled about to lash out at Alm's army when his henchman interrupted him. "Actually, it was a girl and her friends. Some kinds priestess or something? Kind of an odd mix if ya ask me. A mercenary, couple'a kid mages—"
"KIDS?! You're telling me that Wolff lost to a girl and some CHILDREN?!" Grieth lashed out in disbelieve. "Who is she? I need information. All of it. GIMME THE GOODS!"
"I got nothing, boss, I'm sorry. All I know is what I told ya!" the henchman admitted not having any more information on Celica and the others. "Kid's a priestess, yeah? Oh, and she had a mark on her right hand. Not only that… a boy in black coat is with her. Er, so whatta we do now, boss? Our men are sayin she's coming here next! She's gonna come here and kill—"
"Shut up for a second." Grieth interrupted him after hearing about Celica's mark on her hand. "Did you say she has a mark on her right hand?"
"Yes, boss. That's right." His henchman affirmed his question.
"Well, I'll be dipped in hog fat…" Grieth understood the situation. "That's the lass Desaix was searching for! That mark is proof a member of the Sofian royal family is still alive! And you say she's headed here now?" he let out an evil and wicked laugh, he finally got the chance to take down Celica and the others. "Looks like lady luck finally decided to let me take her to the barn dance! Working with Desaix was good business for a while, but he's finished now. But if I serve that girl up to Rigel on a silver platter… then even if they take over Sofia, we'll still be sittin' pretty. Deen! Sonya!"
"You called?" a serious-but-dangerous dark purple hair man, Deen, spoke.
"Did you need something?" a tall and beautiful but deadly woman in the same color as Deen, Sonya, seconded.
"We're expectin' guests. Some little girl and her merry band of friends." Grieth assigned them the mission. "Deen, set up in the northern desert. Sonya, you take the south. I want the girl alive. As for the rest… Well, have some fun. You earned it. YOU GOT IT?!"
"You don't need to shout, sir." Sonya said in disgust after hearing him raise his voice on her face. "There's nothing wrong with my hearing. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
"Understood. I'm off as well." Deen said in monotone voice before leaving.
"Bah! Impudent louts." Grieth spoke in expectation for the two. "Still, I suppose they get the job done. And once they do, I'll have a Sofian princess in my collection."
Grieth wanted to have Celica at his collection so bad, but… little did he know is that it was the worst mistake he had made of having to face either her, or Roxas. This would lead him to his downfall.
END OF CHAPTER 7
So… this is the updated list of the members of Celica's army:
-Celica
-Roxas
-Boey
-Mae
-Genny
-Kamui
-Leon
-Saber
-Valbar
-Atlas
-Mathilda (Newest member)
-Palla
-Catria
They have just gathered three new allies on their quest to Mila's temple, and now they are heading to Grieth's hideout, but not before having to face either Deen or Sonya. I think Deen would be suitable for Roxas since they both are swordsmen and can deliver the best sword fight between the two.
Who is the mysterious hooded woman who aided Celica's army? We don't know at this moment. So I ask you to stay turned for more of Roxas's adventures in Valentia.
Also, I have been thinking about trying to write the fight scenes with the same intensity as in The Raid movies.
It's not to say it's gonna be ultraviolent and have scenes of huge amounts of blood and gore here and there, but hey, even fantasy genre series like Bleach and Super Sentai franchise for example have mild-to-moderate blood scenes, anyway, I'll make sure to do everything to keep it at the T rating.
See you next chapter.