The Final Twilight
A/N: I've been wanting to do a Seto and Kisara fanfic for the longest time, probably since seeing the Millennium World season of yugioh. But I held it off and after running through the several settings I had chosen this one. And now the chapter is finally finished but I felt that it could have been better but that's me.
Summary: Prince Seto Kaiba of the Terran Imperium is entrusted by his father to quell the elven rebellion to the north. If he can accomplish this task he will be the next in line to become Emperor of the Imperium. But fate would have other plans for the young prince, soon he finds himself tangled in a web of lies and corruption, his only salvation - a woman with white hair and eyes of blue. And together the two will shake the very foundations of Terra...
Chapter One: Defeat
Outskirts of Alfheim, Human War Camp...
The young prince looked up at the morning sky, it was more like whatever wasn't blocked by the plumes of smog produced by the Imperium's combat walkers or steam-driven war machines. Before him stood over 100,000 soldiers of the Imperium gifted to Seto in order to crush the growing elf rebels hiding in the Alfheim forest. Today would be the day that humanity would reign as the ultimate species. Yet there was a deep feeling inside the young prince that brought slight uneasiness to him.
"Seto!" A voice caught him off guard.
Turning around was an all too familiar face, messy black hair, sterling blue eyes and short stature - Mokuba. Mokuba had begged his brother to tag along on this mission, to which Seto reluctantly agreed too.
"What is it Sir Mokuba, what business do you have with me?" Seto asked trying to remind Mokuba to adhere to proper etiquette. "Are you inciting you're on equal status with me?"
"Forgive my rash comment your highness I did not mean to instigate such a farce." Mokuba replied as the nobles of the war tent sent furious glares Mokuba's way.
"All is forgiven Sir Mokuba, now what did you have to report?" Seto asked as the nobles reverted their gaze.
"My scouts report that the rebels are marching towards our camp, they'll be at the edge of the forest in a few hours." the young knight's response quickly brought upon a flurry of questions.
"What are their numbers!"
"What is their equipment like?" The questions poured out but Seto silenced them.
"From what my scouts tell me they number roughly 500 strong armed with basic wooden shields and iron blades. There is no competition between our forces." Mokuba said with confidence.
Something was telling Seto this was a trap yet all the facts and intel bared before him, was enough to convince himself to push down his instincts. Slamming his fist onto the table he drew the immediate attention of everyone in the tent. They all paused for a moment realizing that it was the Prince's decision to decide if they carried out the assault. It took just a few seconds for Seto to silently nod to his commanders and immediately they rushed into action. The prince took a seat in his chair then began to wonder into thought; and what ran through his mind at that moment was - did he make the right decision?
Fields of Alfheim, 2 hours later...
Seto stared at the massive army that had been assembled. It would be considered the 5th largest force to ever march in the Imperium's history and for what - a measly group of lightly armed elves. At the forefront stood massive men in steam-powered suits of plated steel, in each of their hands a massive pike and shield, spewing out a massive quantity of smog. Behind these imposing Juggernauts, were thousands of thousands of other armored knights and soldiers. But each and every one of them were lax at what awaited them upon the hill.
A makeshift army of simple elven farmers and laborers would be no match against the battle tested Imperium forces. Yet on the edge of the forest looking down at the massive Imperium army they stood. Every elf in attendance displayed no hint of fear and their leader's fierce war cry pierced the heart of every Imperium soldier. Weapons and shields raised they united in a single cry as they futilely charged towards the juggernaut line.
"Your majesty, should we have our combat walkers march forward and annihilate them?" an officer standing beside Seto asked.
"No there's no need to waste any coal for this." The young prince replied keeping track of the elves' foolish charge.
Seto sighed as he signaled the juggernauts to lower their massive pikes. The massive men lunged forward with their pikes and awaited the elves to impale themselves. Within a matter of minutes nearly 160 of the rebels were impaled. The remaining 240 had broken through the lines, only to be greeted by the second line of juggernauts. The sound of hissing steam and pistons in perpetual motion became louder than the screams of the rebels as they were slaughtered like cattle, at this point it wasn't even a battle - it was a massacre.
Another 2 hours later...
However short the skirmish had lasted the tenacity of these rebel elves caught the eyes of the young prince. Complete victory for the Imperium, the elves had fought to the last man and to everyone's surprised they had brought down several juggernauts. The young prince let out a sigh of relief as he surveyed the pile of 500 elves stack high an Imperium flag planted beside it to set an example to all who'd oppose. Next to it was a single severed head belonging to the rebel leader, is mutilated corpse in dangling from several smaller poles. It was barbaric but it was the orders that Seto's father Gozaburo had given him. What caught his attention next shocked not only him but every Imperium soldier on the field.
The earth itself shook as Seto and the rest of the soldiers stared at where the rebels once stood. Atop that hill where just two hours ago stood the rebel forces was now an army that no mortal eyes had ever seen. At the front was what seemed to be their commander whom adored a dark grey armor emitting a luminescent red glow. The commander stood in front of a wall of massive shields and halberds, behind the shield wall stood infantry wearing armor similar to the commander and were about evenly sized with the juggernauts. But what worried Seto the most were the constructs that stood beside the heavy infantry and dwarfed even them. Each and every man and woman holding a weapon in that army wasn't a simple farmer or laborer but battle hardened soldiers.
"Juggernauts get into formation!" Seto shouted with haste as the troops rushed to their positions. "Engineers get our walkers up and running!"
Even then Seto knew that there wouldn't be enough time to get their walkers up and running before this new foe would have them locked in combat. A war cry ten thousand times stronger than any Seto had ever heard emanated from the commander as they lead a charge that shook the very earth around them. In a flash the charging army collided with the Imperium wall of tempered steel and held briefly. But even with the Juggernaut's armor giving them inhuman strength, the enemy's advance eventually broke through allowing their heavy infantry to flood into Seto's unprepared forces. It was over, the young price could feel it as he saw the wall of plated steel fall moments later overwhelmed by the might of this unknown foe.
Seto dodged to the right as a halberd struck where he had once been. His foe quickly reset his stance with his shield effectively blocking any chance of Seto striking back. Yet there was on distinct feature that caught Seto's eye - the pointed ears.
"Impossible! The elves never had anything like this!" the young prince thought as he parried the incoming halberd.
Taking advantage of his opponent's momentum he sidestepped them planted his long sword into the back of the elven warrior. The warrior stumbled before he collapsed, though one warrior down didn't change the fact the humans were getting slaughtered. Surveying the scene around him Seto saw his forces in complete disarray, only the corpses of his comrades littered the field. The only elf to have fallen was by Seto's hand.
"FALL BACK!" a noble shouted just as an elven Great sword impaled him.
"This is a lost cause!" another shouted as they fled.
Swallowing his pride the young prince finally gave the order - Retreat. Red signal flares lit the dawn sky as the elven army continued to annihilate the Imperium. What remained of Seto's forces hastily withdrew abandoning most of their equipment, only concerned with their lives. As for the prince he was not in a position to retreat, in the mass retreat the elves had cornered and encircled him. Several of the elven heavy infantry traded blows with him, yet his own blade bounced harmlessly off their armor.
The prince was exhausted yet he noticed, the other warriors backing off as the commander took to the scene with weapon he'd never seen before, it had seemed to integrate the concept of a rifle and sword - a gunblade. As the commander charged at Seto he immediately noticed that their movements seemed sloppy almost novice compared to the warriors before them. Continuing to dodge the commander's wild swings he noticed a pattern in their actions and waited. The massive blade came crashing down from above forcing Seto to sidestep, but this was the moment he was waiting for.
Once again taking advantage of his opponent's momentum he slipped to their blind side and easily took the elven commander hostage. In his violent grab the helm of the commanding officer flew off revealing a stunning image. Locked in a hostage hold he found in his arm a woman of astounding beauty. Her silky white hair fluttered in the wind and came up against his face. While her azure eyes burnt deep into his soul. Despite her fragile demenor she struggled to free herself, but Seto refused to lessen his grip. Yet in her struggle she revealed something that disturbed him even more - she was human.
"Don't worry about me just kill him! Protect our home!" the commander cried, her orders falling on deaf ears.
The heavy infantry immediately laid down their arms and stood at attention as if someone of great importance arrived. There was a still silence in the air as a path through the massive army opened revealing a series of elven commanders. Two female officers walked through the massive army. From the distance Seto could instantly tell that one of them was an experienced cavalry rider while the other was a swordswoman of great skill. Within a few moments they stood in front the Imperium prince. Seto simply held his blade closer to his hostage's neck.
"If you want me to let her go and beg for my life I'd sooner kill myself and her!" Seto yelled as his threat unfazed the two women.
The cavalrywoman stepped forward and looked into the captive's eyes, then at Seto.
"You set yourself up for this Kisara." the woman said as glared at Seto. "You know how the high council views someone like you leading the army."
Before Kisara was able to utter anything the swordswoman immediately stepped forward, her body language alerting everyone she was pissed.
"You sully your family name donning that armor and leading you're house's soldiers! Not to mention you also trick the other houses to lend support to a half-breed led army." the swordswoman shouted. "Typical terran behavior, only thinking of yourself. It would have been better if you die here amidst the filth."
"Leone!" the cavalrywoman yelled trying to stop the other. "You may be sisters but I cannot allow you to say such things to Lord Arahael's heir!"
The swordswoman drew her blade a pointed it towards her sister. "Renae, have you no shame for allowing this half-bred creature to live among us as equals!"
Renae responded by raising her weapon to her sister's throat. "Do not forget the debt we owe."
The bickering between the two sisters continued as Seto sensed something move. The young woman had revealed a small dagger. Instead of trying to kill Seto, Kisara was prepared to take her own life. He immediately knew even if he stopped her he wouldn't survive; so he shoved Kisara towards the sisters.
"Take her..." Seto said as he placed his blade to his throat.
The next thing Seto knew was that he flat on the ground, his vision blurred and body ached. From what he could see there was another figure standing before him. Through blurred eyes Seto noticed all the elves around him bowing as if in worship. A single figured had knocked him over and demanded the attention of the elves.
As his vision returned all emotions were replaced with a single emotion - fear. Before him stood a radiant figure. A woman with flowing silver hair, a slim build and extravagant figure; but what stood out the most was the onyx angelic wings protruding from her back. In her hand rested a weapon known for nearly destroying all of human civilization.
She was suppose to be just a myth, yet what stood before him couldn't be anything else but the greatest threat humanity had ever known. One of the two goddess' that governed the balance of the world, the goddess that had complete authority over death and all the evils of the world - Melissa, the Fallen.