A grim silence enveloped the three scouts, shivering against the rain. The weak glow of the flickering runes mirrored their quickly fading hope.
"Could we still...?"
"No. We've already sunk too far. I'm surprised the runes of maybe 5 square miles could hold anything up."
They lapsed back into silence.
"Wait..." Lucina exclaimed with an air of puzzlement. What?"
"I said," Link sighed, "That it's surprising that-"
"Nonono- what's that ?" Lucina eagerly pointed East, away from the rift, towards a hulking shape, gliding over the fields.
Behind the two, Falcon shot up. "An airship!" The three shot looks at each other before vaulting the trench wall and sprinting for the fields.
The field seemed endless, an unrelenting stretch of rain soaked green created to torment Link. The airship never seemed to get any closer - only move towards the rift. He grit his teeth and continued on, feet pounding against the spongy ground. Sheets of rain poured from above, pushing him back. Keep going, he told himself. But it's so far away, said another voice. Just go.
The hills seemed to blend together, an endless green expanse. Just stop. You'll never get there. Just a little nap... His resolve wavering, he closed his eyes for one second.
He felt the slick mud under his feet disappear and promptly reappear at his back, the wet substance doing nothing to help his already soaked uniform. Vaguely he noticed Lucina slide to a stop in front of him, and turn to help him up. Falcon slid to a stop too, but for different reason.
"Hey!" Falcon raggedly screamed into the air.
Link looked up- sure enough, the shadow of the airship had surrounded them.
"Help!" Lucina couldn't seem to muster the energy for a more detailed plea. With a click, a single rope ladder tumbled from the side of the gondola.
"Ladies first," gasped Falcon, gesturing to the ladder while leaning on his knees. Lucina shot him a livid glare but wasted no time in scaling it. Falcon followed, with Link behind.
Link could barely feel the rungs of the ladder. His hands, numb from the rain, had a difficult time supporting him on the swinging ladder. By the time he reached the halfway mark, he saw a Lucina hauling herself over the gondola edge, refusing the help of a crewman.
Directly above him, Falcon began to push himself over the lip when a voice, almost lost in the freezing wind, rang out. "We can only support one mo..."
"What?" Was Falcons reply, his arms wrapped around the gondola lip and his feet still resting on the wildly swinging ladder.
"We can only support one more person!"
Only a few rungs below Falcon, Link began to formulate a response. "Please, I'm beggi-" Link's plea was rudely interrupted by a flash of pain - Falcons boot. The pure shock of the attack caused Link to lose his grip. The figure of the airship seemed to recede in slow motion, becoming farther and farther away. He heard Lucina's scream, and felt the ground welcome him with open arms.
Then the cold. It enveloped him, beckoned to him. His eyes closed. He could just... sleep...
Really, brother? I thought you were strong.
No... You're not real.
But you weren't strong enough to protect our parents.
There was nothing I could have done.
You couldn't even protect me.
Heh. You never would allow me to sleep in.
Through sheer force of will, Link pushed his eyes open. The airship was still there. Falcon turned away from Link, and back to the deck- straight into the barrel of a rifle. A bang. Falcon limply fell from the ladder, a scarlet ribbon trailing his forehead. There was a meaty splash as he hit the mud, unmoving.
Strong. Link forced himself off the ground and to the ladder, blocking the searing pain from his mind.
Strong. He relished the feeling of rough wood beneath his numb fingers, the only thing between him and certain death.
Strong. An inhuman growl rose in his throat as he clawed his way up the ladder, rung by slippery, shaking rung.
He was strong, dammit. And the strong survive.
The cocky - looking soldiers' head disappeared from view. Red sighed, clicking on his rifles safety and holstering it, as per military code. He turned back to the semi - crowd of soldiers. The fragile silence shattered, and a wall of sound bombarded him.
"What the hell?! We could have worked something out, brought up them both!" Lucina shouted, trembling.
"Guys?" A man with short black hair interjected. He was ignored.
"I don't like bullies," was Red's terse reply.
"Well that hardly matters now, does it!?"
"Guys!" The man pointed to the lip with a shaking finger.
"What?!" Lucina yelled back, before following his pointed finger. She gasped.
A hand, shaking and white, grasped the gondola lip. Slowly, laboredly, a body pulled itself over the edge. His nose was gushing blood. Blonde hair was matted over his face, partially masking it. But underneath his soaked bangs, fierce blue eyes shone, animalistic and proud. Before the astonished mass Link sucked in his breath and, out of pure adrenalin, unleashed a feral scream. Instinctively, the crowd took a step back and rested their hands on their weapons. But he wasn't done. He gulped in air once again and tried to yell- but nothing came out but blood. It splattered across the deck, a crimson mural.
Link trembled once then collapsed into the gondolas soaked wood, the storm already washing away his his mark on the ship.