Yeah, it took awhile. Sorry guys, stuff came up. But to make up for it, I wrote a really long chapter... and rewrote it three times to make sure it was right. This is an epic chapter people... in my humble opinion.

Read, then reveiw, because reviews inspire me to write more |D

The door slammed open with bang, leaving a dent against the wall of the cabin. The room was lit, almost peaceful compared to the hectic scene of the captain's quarters. The lack of blood splattered across the walls was probably a good sign, but Ike's heart didn't stop racing until he saw Soren still lying in the bed, his body rising and falling softly in sleep. The swordsman shook his shoulder roughly, his body filled with far too much adrenaline for his movements to be soft.

"Mmm, Ike?" The mage turned so that he was lying on his back, looking up at the other. "What is it?"

"Are you okay?" His voice was a little strained, fearful.

"…I'm fine." He sat up, brows knitting as he looked Ike over, "What's wrong?"

"Get up," Ike turned away, grabbing one of Soren's tomes and handing it to him, "Something's attacked the ship. The captain's dead."

Soren jumped up, already ready for anything, the tome falling open straight down the middle in preparation to be used. "What? When?" He shook his head; this was why he was here. He was the tactician, he needed to assess the situation. "Tell me anything I need to know at this second. Any other details need to wait until we're in a position in which we know we're safe."

Ike nodded, "The captain was dead when we got back. Whatever it is, it's small enough to fit in a door without leaving any sign of entry. I left Bryant in the captain's quarters."

"Alright. Keep your guard up. We'll pick up Bryant and then decide the best course of action."

They left the room in silence, Ike with one hand gripped around the hilt of the sword on his waist, his ears perked and listening. Soren walked behind him, his amber eyes searching the area for danger. They were both silent, ready for the worst. The air was thick with tension.

The captain's door was still ajar as Ike had left it with Bryant, but the man was nowhere in sight. Ike looked back at Soren, who nodded, and then drew his sword, taking a few steps into the room. "Bryant?" Though there was a hint of question in his voice, he said it more as a command for the other to show himself. "Bryant?" No response.

Soren's eyes took in the scene. The room was wrecked, blood was everywhere, the mangled mess that was once a body still lied on the floor. He looked away, whatever had done this was not beorc. He scanned the floor. No footprints that he could make out, was this thing Laguz? Surely, what else could it be? What else could have done this?

The room remained eerily silent, save for Ike's calls for their companion. "Ike." Both boys nearly jumped at the voice behind them, turning to see Bryant in the doorway. "There you are," the berserker entered the room, his axe swung ready over his shoulder, but clean. "I checked the ship, it seems clean. Whatever was on it isn't anymore."

Ike nodded and looked to Soren. "What's our best course of action?"

"We shove off immediately… we'll have to manage without the captain. Our only choice is to return to Tellius, we have no idea what we're up against, and it's obviously not friendly."

Ike nodded, but Bryant seemed reluctant. "What about Celeste?" He asked.

"We have to assume whatever got the captain got her as well. It would be foolish to continue to risk our lives over the hope that she's alive," Soren said bluntly.

Ike nodded, "He's right. We return to Tellius. I don't want to, but it's time to admit defeat. We can return when we have more men and are better prepared for this."

"…" Bryant looked away, his eyes distant. "…"

"Come on," Ike placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's push off. We can discuss this more after we're in the open water, where it's safe."

After a moment the man nodded, "I'll prepare the sails. You should…" he looked at the body of the captain.

"We'll clean up here, you do what you need to set off," Ike nodded. "Actually…" He looked at Soren, "You'd best go with him, and we'll be able to leave faster that way. I'll raise the anchor as soon as
I finish up in here."

Soren's head shook, "I'd feel better stay-"

"The logical thing to do would be to help Bryant, right?"

Soren was silent; Ike was right. He nodded, following Bryant out. His hand met Ike's as he passed, squeezing it once. "Stay safe," he said simply, his amber eyes giving away the fear he felt. He wanted to stay at Ike's side; so that if this thing did show up, they'd be together.

Bryant didn't wait for the Mage to catch up, heading straight for the center of the deck. Soren ran after him, only slowing down when he was behind the other. Suddenly Bryant turned and walked to the edge of the ship. "Wha- where are you going?"

"To find Celeste," he answered simply, walking a plank that connected the boat to the land.

"Don't be stupid. She's long gone by now and you know it. If we spend any more time here then we'll all die." The bluntness to his voice returned, his amber eyes stone cold. "Suffering casualties for the sake of the group as a whole is only natural."

"Maybe to you," he said simply. "But I never leave a friend behind."

Somehow Soren saw Ike in those words; yes, Ike was the same way. Foolish. Yet…

"I'm going, with or without-" The berserker was cut short as a shadow loomed over them both. Though Soren saw that something was above them, he didn't look up, his eyes locked on Bryant's expression; it was an expression of pure fear. His eyes were wide and his mouth had opened as if to scream, though no sound came out. Perhaps it would have, had it had time, but the creature that owned the shadow had fallen on him long before it had that chance. Everything happened within only seconds, the thing had grabbed the berserker in its fearsome jaws, his axe falling useless into the sea. Blood splattered as it tossed him aside and onto the land, the red liquid streaking across Soren's face. Bryant didn't get up as the creature jumped from boat to land with ease, towering over him. Perhaps he was already dead, but if he wasn't, he was when the thing threw its head down and took the berserker's skull in its teeth. The next thing Soren heard was the sickening crunch of bones.

He took a step back, opening his tome and quickly flipping to a page, "Raki."

Flames engulfed the beast, but it stepped through them as if they weren't even there. The mage could now see the thing clearly, it was a creature Soren would later describe in his diary as:

Dreadful. A beast that doesn't belong on this world. Its pitch black eyes and milky white pupils staring into your soul as if it could somehow see that as well. It had long fangs that reached below its jaw much like the tiger laguz, the rest of its teeth jagged spikes protruding from black gums. Its skull was surrounded by a rigid fan, with two horns protruding from its temples and reaching back. Its body was skinny, its cheekbones, spine and ribs blatantly clear. It had no fur, nor scales, but rather a tough yellow-brown skin that covered its whole body. It was lean and long, its tail at least three times the length of the body, and ending in three curved spikes. The tail whipped back and forth with such speed that I feared being impaled by it. Likewise, the underside of its forearms and legs were spiked. It had three toes on its forelegs, the two outermost toes forced upwards by large rounded claws, leaving only the middle toe on the ground, its claw short, but still as sharp. The toes on its hind legs fell naturally, like a cats, but longer, with another toe sticking out from the back of its calve. As I looked into its eyes, I felt as if my last moments had come; it stalked towards me like a hunter toying with its prey before killing it. The thing dared me to move, to try to run, but I knew that there would be no use in doing so. It would be on me before I could turn around.

Indeed, the beast did stalk towards Soren, its tail lashing through the air. It reminded Soren of something he had seen in Galia when the Greil Mercenaries had first ventured there. Within the capital a few cat laguz children had been playing. The game was a simple one, and a common one among animals as well. One of the cats would attempt to stalk the other, his tail high in the air as he stepped forward slowly. Once he was close enough he would leap and tackle his opponent to the ground. The two cats would wrestle around for awhile until one admitted defeat, and then the whole cycle would start over again.

This however, was much different. This thing was not playing, or perhaps it was. Perhaps to it this was but a game; but to Soren it was a life and death situation. There would be no wrestling, as the mage stood no chance against such a beast, and it would be over in a second. He took a step back, and the creature took a step forward. And inaudible sound left his lips, a cry, perhaps, but far too soft for anyone to hear. The creature took another step forward, its mouth agape. Death waited for him in those jaws, he took another step back.

Forelegs bent as it readied to pounce, the mage could have sworn that he saw laughter in its eyes; as if it was taunting him. What good are your brains now? Soren imagined it saying. Tactics are of no use in the face of death.

It lept, and Soren fell back, throwing his arms out in front of him as if he thought that could protect him. Sharp teeth impaled thin skin, the mage crying out as the pain shot up from his arm. The creature thrashed his head, and there was a sickening pop as Soren's arm dislocated from his shoulder, and then he was against the wall, feeling wetness on his skull where he had collided with it. A growl left the beast's lips, and it crouched to jump at him again when it suddenly cried out in pain. As it jumped aside the mage saw that a deep gash had been ripped through its side, exposing flesh and bone. Blood spilled upon the deck, and in the center of it all was Ike, his blade gleaming crimson red. Blue eyes stared forward with concentration and anger, locked on the thing. They clashed, and for a moment it seemed they were evenly matched, but suddenly Ike was thrown backwards, stumbling against the side of the ship. He quickly pushed himself up and went at it again.

"Ike!" The word left his lips, his mouth still open afterwards. This would be the where Soren would yell out some tactical advantage Ike had over the thing; helping lead him to victory. However there was nothing for the mage to say now. The only chance Ike had was with brute strength, and even that might not be enough. Perhaps with help… he moved to grab his tome, only to realize that his arm wouldn't move. Instead he reached over with his other hand and grabbed the blood-soaked book of magic, letting it fall open to a random page. The words on it were blurry, the pages soaked red, but he had memorized them long ago. "Uzoika!"

The beast screamed as an explosion ripped through the air, Soren had targeted its open wound. Its scream was a loud, high pitched squeal; one that would continue to ring in their ears even after it had ended. Ike took the moment to his advantage, dashing forward and dealing another blow to the creature, this time to its head. He cut a gash from the top of the fan down to its brow, but the creature still stood, even with blood running into its eyes and leaking onto the deck below. Its jaws opened an a growl escaped its lips, black eyes locked on Ike.

Soren could see the hatred in those eyes; the beast's wish to rip the swordsman to shreds. It sparked fear in him. "Ruteshirate wo shitawa de kana no ruyo iraku!" The words left his mouth without him really thinking it, as if some power had suddenly possessed him and forced him to speak. He had never uttered this spell before, had never even known of it; yet somehow he did know it. Was this his dragon blood taking hold? Could it be?

The ship rocked with the explosion, Soren's eyes closing as a sudden flash blinded him. When amber optics reopened the beast was gone, the deck where it had been standing charred black. Before anything could be said, Ike was running to the other side of the ship, lifting the board that connected the ship to the land and letting it fall into the sea. Soren's eyes followed him, soon resting on a strange lump in the sand. It didn't take long for the mage to realize that it was the body of the creature. Had his spell really thrown it so far? Was it dead? Were there more of it? He didn't want to find out.

Somehow he pulled together the strength needed to lift himself up and stumble forward a few steps; regardless of the blood that trailed behind him. With his good arm he released the ropes holding up the sails, and pulled in a feeble attempt to hoist them. Soon Ike was by his side, pulling the rope and lifting the sails high into the air to be caught by the wind.

They worked quickly and in silence, not a word was said between them until the ship was beginning to float away from land, Ike at its head. As soon as he was sure that the boat was indeed heading away from land and into to open sea, Ike left the controls to find Soren collapsed against a wall, blood soaking into the floor beneath him. He quickly pulled the headband from his own head and wrapped it tightly around the mage's bleeding one, flinching every time Soren did. Next was the arm, limp at the mages side and full of teeth marks. Soren chocked back a scream as Ike wrapped the wound with the shredded and bloodied remains of his sleeve.

The swordsman now stood, looking down at the mage with worry and concern. "Ike," Soren's voice was barely audible. "I need… you to fix my arm." He paused, amber eyes looking up at Ike with full seriousness. "I need you to put it back into place."

For a moment it seemed Ike would deny this order, his sapphire eyes gleaming sadly; but then he nodded his head softly and bent back down. "W-wait," Soren spoke again as the swordsman reached out for him. "A... towel... p-please." Ike understood. He rose and left, returning less than a minute later with a washcloth that had been rolled into a cylinder. Soren took it in his good hand, placing it between his teeth and biting down. "Okhay," he said, voice muffled by the towel, "Ium reay."

Once again Ike nodded in understanding, bending down once more and taking both of the mage's shoulders in his hands. Soren flinched at the touch, his eyes closing in preparation. Ike pushed the bad shoulder into place, using the other to hold Soren still. A muffled scream filled the air as he did so, tears of pain pouring down the mage's face, but he held still until he felt the bone pop into place.

Even as Ike let go and dropped his hands to the side the scream continued, eventually falling into soft sobs. "Soren..."

"Im fine," he managed to choke out after letting the towel drop to the deck and lifting his good arm and wiping the tears from his face. "Fine." The next thing he knew he was in Ike's arms, being lifted up and carried. He didn't complain, resting against the swordsman's chest as he walked. "We're the only ones left," he said as Ike set him in his cot. The swordsman nodded sadly. "Do you know how to sail a ship?" A shake of the head. Soren sighed, "I thought not."

"We'll… figure something out," said Ike softly, but there was doubt to his voice.

"We should be safe from that thing in the ocean," the mage mumbled, "Maybe we can make it back to Tellius…" his words became softer and softer until he fell silent. For a moment all that could be heard was the ocean outside. "Ike…"

"Yes?"

"C-can you sing that song? The one you use to sing when we were young?"

"The lullaby?" a soft smile touched the swordsman's lips. "Of course." Softly he hummed the tune his mother had taught him, the Galdr of Release. After his mother's death Ike had begun to sing it to his sister at night in his mother's place. And after that to Soren when he had arrived as a young child. Years had passed since then without this song leaving Ike's lips. As he hummed the mage's eyes closed and eventually he drifted off into a deep sleep.

Day: 28

There has been no sign of the beast's return, my eyes constantly scan the land for it; as if I expect to see it there, watching. We head south, when the winds are on our side… and often we start heading south only to find by sunset that we are heading another way entirely. I fear we shall never escape this place. My arm heals slowly, I am now able to move it, though not without excruciating pain. I try to hide this from Ike, but he knows.

There is nothing else to report. We are lost… this ship will be our grave.

Soren.