Four of a kind

Author's notes

Please not that there is violence in this chapter. I did however take out some to save anyone who reads this from being completely grossed out. I have also discovered how hard it is to know when to stop typing, so this chapter is the longest yet.

Nobody questioned the angel. All three ran for the inn, for they all knew Marth might not make it at the rate things were going.

Gorleth was startled as there came a pounding on the door; he quite nearly fell right out of the chair he was sitting in.

"Gorleth!" Ike called. "Open this door before I break it down!" Gorleth recognized the voice and came quickly to the door. Unbarring it he allowed the three to enter. Ike wasted no time in leading Pit up to Link's room were Marth still lay motionless. They did not bother to stop and explain anything to the old man; they simply pushed passed him in there rush upstairs.

--

Link remained downstairs to help Gorleth bar the door once more. Link figured that the angel and Ike could handle it for awhile. He was tired and just wanted to go to sleep for awhile undisturbed, but that wasn't going to happen. Besides, Marth needed help more than Link needed sleep.

"How is he doing?' Link asked as they finished baring the door. Gorleth shook his head in dismay.

"Not good. He has become delirious and seeing things that ain't there." Gorleth paused before going on. "I stayed upstairs with him until he started saying something about 'them' and then he leapt up and attacked me. I barely got out unscathed, but I did get him back to bed again. I only just came down when you came knocking."

Link slowly nodded, though said nothing for a long moment.

"I hope he will be alright." Was all he could think to say.

"Don't worry so much, young Link. I am sure everything will be alright," Gorleth said in an attempt to comfort the young man.

"You hardly even know who the boy is. You have no reason to worry as much as you are," Gorleth continued.

"I know, but I can't help it. He is just too young to die; he has a life ahead of him," Link said with a sigh. Gorleth said nothing for a long moment. He seemed to be studying Link.

"I can't figure you out" Gorleth finely said.

"What do you mean?" Link questioned looking at the old man.

"You are still young Link, yet you have the eyes of a warrior," Gorleth paused before continuing on. "I have seen many a warrior pass through here and all of them are the same. They fight for honor, they fight for themselves; there is always something in it for them. But not you, your eyes are different. What do you fight for, Link?" Gorleth watched him curiously. Link did not answer right away as he pondered the question.

"I fight to protect the innocent and I fight for those who can't help themselves. You are right, but you are also wrong. I do get a reward for fighting other's battles." Link let a small smile cross his face.

"Have you ever seen the faces of loved ones when their husbands, wives or children are returned to them safely? Or when they are saved from certain death?" Link did not wait for an answer. "The looks in their eyes, the pure joy, is enough of a reward for me."

"Well said," came Ike's voice from the bottom of the stairs. Link and Gorleth both looked up at him.

"It took me awhile to figure that out. I just fought because I could, but not anymore. I fight too see that look you speak of in other's eyes." Ike said as he walked over to the other two.

"How is Marth?" Link asked, changing the subject.

"Much better now, thanks to...well, I didn't catch his name." Ike responded.

"Pit." someone else said. All eyes turned to the base of the stairs. Pit stood there looking back at them.

"My name is Pit," he repeated before walking over to them. His steps were so light that he hardly seemed to touch the ground as he walked.

"Your friend Marth will be alright now by midday tomorrow," he said. His voice sounded young yet sure. Simply by his tone anyone could tell he was sure of himself and did not doubt his abilities.

"That is good to here," Link said. He could not help but notice that the uneasy feeling in the air vanished with the news.

"Link you look beat. Go on up to my room and get some sleep," Ike said as he looked over Link, who did in fact look as tired as he felt.

Link nodded. "Thank you, I think I will," he said then went upstairs to rest.

Ike looked somewhat tired as well, but he shook it off for he wanted to talk to this Pit a little more. Gorleth seemed to desire the same.

"You're like nobody I have ever seen before," Ike stated looking at Pit

"What do you mean?" Pit questioned in the same almost child like voice.

"You are so young yet you have the eyes and senses of a seasoned warrior." Ike had always had a way of getting right to the point; he never beat around the bush.

"I am commander of Palatuna's forces. Is that enough of an explanation?" Pit said as he found a chair and sat in it. Ike and Gorleth took seats around the same table.

"Commander, eh?" Gorleth said.

"Seems like a man's job if you don't mind me saying," Ike added

"Age matters not in times of war. Size and strength are useless to one without courage, and without a willing heart one cannot win a battle," Pit said looking at the other two.

"Spoken like a true warrior, and those these days are hard to come by, so how is it I come across three such courageous men in one night?" Gorleth said looking at Pit, then at Ike.

"Heaven smiles down upon you Gorleth of Gelenteth. The Goddess has seen your willing heart and true spirit even more rare are those found. You have aided many a man and woman without a thought to yourself. Without you many would have perished, but because of your sacrifices the Goddess has sent me and these other men to protect your home in this time of war." Pit paused a moment.

"That, my friend, is why good deeds never go unnoticed by the heavens." Gorleth seemed dumbfounded by this and could not find words.

"Loosen up kiddo you are far too serious for anyone's good" Ike said giving Pit a good strong pat on the back. This made Pit fall forward slightly.

"It's not good for a kid of your age to be like that. Loosen up and have a little fun," Ike said, a smile crossing his face.

"Anyway, what's this war you mentioned?" Ike said, abruptly changing the subject.

"You will know in good time my friend," Pit replied.

"You speak in riddles, boy," Ike said bluntly

"If it's riddles you want, then what has the strength of an ox, the speed of a falcon, and sly as a fox, but can still be undone by the gentle hand?" Pit questioned, a half smile crossing his face. Ike did not answer for a long moment; however when he opened his mouth to speak another voice interrupted from the base of the stairs.

"Simple," everyone turned to see Marth standing there, one arm wrapped round his waist as he leaned against the wall for extra support.

"A warrior," he said in answer to the riddle

"A warrior is strong, fast, and sly, and they serve the hands of the innocent." Pit smiled a little more at his response

"Correct," Pit said, satisfied.

Gorleth, during the whole exchange, had been rather quite, but he then spoke.

"When four of a kind be gathered in mind, the gentle hand will call their aid and all be well again," Gorleth said, almost as if in a trance.

"That doesn't rhyme" Ike said bluntly.

"That's not the point" Gorleth said shaking his head a bit.

"The point is, you four are meant to save this village from destruction and certain death," Gorleth continued, his spirits seeming to rise some with this realization.

"Hold on grandpa, what are you talking about?" Ike blurted before anyone else had time to consider his words.

"Pit here even said you and the others were sent, it's destiny, it is" Gorleth glanced at Pit.

"He is right, my friend. Part of war is to protect the innocent people, and were you not just discussing the duty of a true warrior to protect the innocent?" Marth pitched in.

"Yes, but your little royal butt should be back in bed," Ike said looking at him.

Pit could not help but smile at the two.

"I, as you so keenly pointed out, am royalty therefore I do as I please," Marth said with a grin. Ike rolled his eyes and was about to speak, but Pit beat him to it.

"That might be so, Prince, but if you want to live to see a war you had better get back upstairs before you do something to reopen that wound," Pit said with all seriousness.

"Alright, alright, I'm going. I can see where I'm not wanted anyway," Marth teased, then turned to go back up the stairs. Before disappearing up the stairs, however, he turned back.

"By the way, I agree to stay here and protect this town with what strength I have left. You have my word on that," Marth said looking at Gorleth. Then he was gone around the bend in the stairs and would not be seen again until much later that day.

"Well his mind is made up, and I sure can't leave him here to fight on his own," Ike said with a sigh. "You can count me in on this war of yours," he finished with that.

Gorleth nodded his thanks to the taller man, and then looked at Pit; though he already guessed Pit would also stay

"As you know, Gorleth, I was sent for you and your village, and I too will remain and fight."

"All this talk of war is making my belly ache. What say you to some late breakfast?" Ike broke in

"Yes of course I forgot. I still have breakfast ready to eat, just let me heat it up again," Gorleth said, and bustled off back into the kitchen area.

"Haven't you got anyone to work for you?" Ike asked having noticed, undoubtedly like the rest, that there were no other staff on hand and Gorleth had done the work, cooking and cleaning, all on his own.

"Oh yes I have, but they don't come in till afternoon. Till then I'm on my own, but it's no problem. It's not that busy 'round here as you can imagine," Gorleth called from somewhere in the kitchen.

"'Course, it wasn't always like this. I used to run round all day busy as a bee with at least four cooks and six waitresses at a time," he continued from the kitchen.

"When we're all done here it will be that way again, old friend," Ike said, then turned his attention back to Pit who sat across the table from him.

--

By the time the three had eaten, Link had come back down for he had been unable to sleep any longer. He finished off the last of breakfast, which left less for cleaning up. Ike, Pit and Gorleth then explained what had transpired while he had been asleep.

"Count me in as well Gorleth. I know what they can do and I will use my knowledge to save this village," Link promised him. "I could not refuse after the kindness you have shown to me and these others" he said glancing at Ike and Pit, who both nodded in agreement.

--

Meanwhile, Marth slept; though it was not easily, for he tossed and turned in bed, lost in a nightmare.

"MARTH!!" a woman's voice pounded through Marth's mind. The voice seemed so near but yet so far away; he searched but could not find the source of it.

"HELP ME!" the voice reverberated off the sides of Marth's skull, making his head pound painfully.

"Where are you, I can't see!" Marth called out in his dream, though his mouth remained closed.

"I am here!" The voice was nearer now and more clear to his ears.

All at once, a light eliminated the endless dark of his dream. He could then see streets and streets of dusty, dirty and deserted homes. The yards were unkempt and the trees and plants were dead; covered with the same strange grey dirt that clung to every inch of Marth's dream world.

Again and again Marth tried to hear the voice call out to him, but it had vanished with the darkness.

Yet the darkness had not all gone, for the light that shone was dim and not quite like a pure ray of sunlight.

Without any warning the ground shook violently beneath him, as if a massive army had stepped in unison to unheard music. Again and again the ground shook beneath his feet, causing him to fall. A puff of grey dust sprang up around him and quickly drifted down again, as if it was magnetized to his very being, for the dust clung to him like so.

All at once he was cast in a strange, thick shadow that shrouded everything in blackness; it seemed to swallow all that it covered. An odd chill ran through Marth's entire being and he felt the dread of certain death fall over him. Fear swept over him like a blanket, covering him and tying his legs, keeping him from running far from the shadows of death. Then he saw it. The great, scaly creature crawled like a spider towards him; towards its stuck victim. Marth could not move, it was as if the creature's white eyes had petrified him.

Then he felt it; cold and lifeless breath froze him from behind. Another creature had come to claim its prize. He felt the presence of the second seven foot thing behind him, but he only stared at the first, still frozen in place. The creature moved ever closer till it came to be no more then a foot or so away; then it rose to a hunched position so it could look Marth in the eye. Marth's whole being shook with fear but he could not move yet, with one of them behind and another in front. The creature reached out with its long scaly back arm and wrapped its icy cold finger around Marth's upper arm. The grip was like that of a dead man's, cold yet firm and hard. Marth felt as if the creature would break his arm in half. But the grip of the hand was nothing compared to what happened next.

The creature behind him leaned closer until Marth could feel its matted hair against his throat and the cold, deathly breath against his neck. He knew then that in moments his life would end. Surely the two creatures would snap his neck and it would be over.

Marth pulled his eyes away from that of the creatures, and at the same moment he regained his senses. In a last desperate attempt to save himself he pulled his sword from its sheath; the sound of metal against scale rang in the air breaking the still silence that had fallen. The sword did nothing to the creature's thick scales; it only bounced off. The creatures let out a gurgling laugh at his futile attempts. The young Prince was helpless against the strength of the two seven foot monsters.

Something happened then that Marth would never forget. He heard ringing in his ears; the screams of innocent people as the houses around him were flooded with the monsters.

"This is just the beginning Prince," the creature hissed in his ear. The next moment he felt the slime and needle covered tongue slide across his neck. As the creature did so he felt each needle inject something into him. The next moment he dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground, completely paralyzed. He could still hear and see everything in front of him.

The two creatures bounded away, one catching a fleeing woman with its strong iron grip. The woman's shrill scream rang in Marth's ears; he wanted to rise and save the woman but could not. He could only watch as the monster threw her to the ground and pounced on her, pinning her to the ground as it tore at her with tooth and claw while she still lived.

Marth lay still on the bed as if he was paralyzed, sweat beaded on his for head and his hands were clenched into fists.

It was over. Silence had again fallen and Marth was the only living thing left. He could clearly see the blood splatters on the ground; the grey seemed to be replaced by red blood mingled with green slime from the creatures' mouths. Finally he could move, but he rose only to his knees. His hands clenched into fist, letting out an agonized scream that was filled with anger, sadness and hate. The scream echoed through the empty streets.

--

Ike, Pit, Link and Gorleth all looked up as they heard Marth's tormentedscream. All but Gorleth rose and bolted upstairs to see what the matter was; Pit was the first to Marth's side. Gently Pit put a hand to Marth's shoulder and spoke softly to him in a calm, gentle voice.

"Marth, your dreams are troubled. Come back to us and all will be well," Pit said earnestly. His words seemed to pry Marth from sleep, for he suddenly sat bolt upright his forehead making painful contact with Pit's. Both fell back with a groan and a hand to there foreheads.

"Remind me to let Ike wake you next time," Pit said, rubbing his forehead and glancing up at Ike. Ike smiled slightly at the comment.