Sosososososososooooo sorry that this is late! ;;n;; I haven't had access to the internet recently… ;;n;; Fuck my life… I spent the whole time playing video games like dynasty warriors and Jak3 to pass the time…
Third chapter and all I can say is… Love me love me! You know you do if you are still reading this crap. Um… yeah…
Warning: Fight scene, Extremely vulgar language from the Awesome one, Awesome loses and kidnapping… If this offends you, then suck it. I'm happy today and have been watching AWESOME movies all set in Japan like, The Hunted. FFFFF*cking brilliant. Gotta love Japan! Japan and… all it's Awesomess
Oh… yes… I do have a song at the start of every chapter… sometimes it will relate to the plot of that chapter and other times it will just be there because I say so.
And I just realized that I put the Sahara right next to Giza and the sphinx… Major geographical error… so my excuse is… there was a huge drought sandstorm thingy that expanded the Sahara to that point… . It's my story… so live with it. And I just thought I'd point that out before a reviewer did and that would make me feel stupid… so just letting you guys know that I am not stupid, just suffering clerical error. 3
Since U Been Gone ~ Kelly Clarkson
Here's the thing
We started out friends
It was cool but it was all pretend
Yeah, yeah
Since you been gone
Dedicated
You took the time
Wasn't long till I called you mine
Yeah, yeah
Since you been gone
An all you'd ever hear me say
Is how I picture me with you
That's all you'd ever hear me say
But since you been gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on
Yeah, yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get
What I want
How can I put it
You put me on
I even fell for that stupid love song
Yeah, yeah
Since you been gone
How come I'd never hear you say
I just wanna be with you
Guess you never felt that way
You had your chance
You blew it
Out of sight
Out of mind
Shut your mouth I just can't take it
Again, and again, and again, and again!
:::
As soon as reality seemed to catch up, Tino found himself being pushed down behind his stall. Civilians were running around screaming and crying for the palace guard.
And then he heard the noise of clashing metal and thumps as hand blows were laid on each other. But there wasn't the sound of tearing flesh or a cry of pain that indicated the sort.
The Fin couldn't help himself. He just had to peek around the splintering wood of his stall to see what was going on. And so he gripped the edge lightly, and poked his head out the side of his stall, low to the ground so he wouldn't be noticed.
Ludwig had procured a sword with carvings of ancient and forgotten runes up and down the blade. He was holding off the axe wielder who still kept the fool hardy grin across his Scandinavian features.
Gilbert was dodging the platinum blonde's blades, which was hard as he couldn't simply knock them out of the way and had to dodge mere punches and swipes. This would have been embarrassing in his books to be beaten by such a technique.
And so, to Tino's surprise, the albino seemed to be sending below the belt jibes and insults at the placid platinum blonde, as if to make him lose his temper which would make him lose any technique which he held. And even though it looked dismal in weaponry choices, he seemed to deliver his blows as if in a dance.
He spun down low so he was crouching with his stomach inches from the ground and his midnight blue cloak still moving with the momentum of such a smooth fluid movement, and he swiped out with his left hand and set of blades, tearing through the pants and skin of Gilbert's right lower calf.
The albino cried out and sneered, stepping back.
"You little mother fucker! Where'd you get that clip from bitch? Your mommy…?"
The feminine man sneered ten times worse than Gilbert ever could and he threw his blades aside, swinging punches at the albino in a fit of anger, losing all grace he had had and becoming sloppy. Gilbert had hit the right nerve it seemed and he was fighting in his own genre now.
He swung back the punches double time with double the amount of force and ended up holding the smaller man up against a wall with his arm pressed against his throat, still hitting punches at his face and stomach. Tino saw a little trail of blood run down his chin, which painted Gilbert's knuckles and yet the platinum haired man never gave up his own onslaught.
He had ceased punching and was now kicking at Gilbert and clawing at his face.
"You fight like a girl." Gilbert grinned maliciously and swung a particularly hard punch at his face. He fell limp and the albino dropped him to the ground. "Be thankful I don't like killing unless I have to bitch." But the other male was already unconscious and slumped against the wall awkwardly.
:::
Still at his vantage atop the roof, Berwald saw the Norwegian fall to the ground, slumped against the wall. Looking to the other fight, he saw that Mathias wanted to yell something but had no name so remained silent, still with his axe being pushed back, step by step he was being forced into a corner where he would be trapped and forced to surrender or die.
The Swede would have shot the blonde that pushed him back and ended this all sooner, but he knew he would get a mouthful from Mathias later.
Not to mention that he was not without honor and would not shoot someone who had their back faced to him. The same would have happened if he had shot the albino man full of arrows to save the nameless man from him. They all liked to hold their own and keep their pride. So he remained the neutral bystander until given the order to shoot.
But at the same time he couldn't do nothing. So he had to wait and monitor things closely.
And then a strange conversation struck up that would alter the Swede's opinion and affect his future beyond what he could imagine.
"Why do you fight so hard!" The tall blonde yelled at Mathias with a German accent.
"Because I can't let followers of the Shadow King win! That would be failure and bring the world closer to darkness!" Mathias yelled back, grinding his teeth together as his back was pressed into a tight corner.
"Why are you so sure he's evil!"
"Because… Because he kills families and burns villages! That's what he does! HE'S EVIL!"
And then almost quietly, the large German spoke, Berwald only just catching what he had to say.
"You haven't even met him… you couldn't be more wrong about them… Your savior is the one ruining this world. He calls for slaves and orders executions if one of you fail… THAT is why you fight so hard."
"What…? I… How the hell would you know you sick son of a bitch!" Mathias basically screamed the words at him.
But Berwald heard nothing else said. He sat there in thought. And now that he came to think of it… If a troupe of soldiers did fail horribly, the Savior had them… wait… he couldn't really quite remember… he tried to recall all the executions he had seen and the only ones he could recall was of prisoners. And… he had seen this blonde and the albino in the execution line. But he was pretty sure he'd seen them somewhere else before it…
But before he could so much as recall, his mind told him to snap back to reality and he did, just in time to see Mathias slump like his lover against the wall, unconscious. It appeared he hadn't listened to any of the words said by the blonde German. His axe clattered to the ground beside him and the blonde walked away.
He walked BACK to the broth stall and helped a young boy… maybe in his late teens, out from behind it. Were they protecting him…? Were they here to take him somewhere…?
And then the palace guard arrived and the blond and the albino had to turn away from the boy and forget about him to deal with this new obstacle. And they looked like they wouldn't be able to hold of twenty to one each…
And Berwald continued to observe. HE knocked an arrow into his bow and aimed it at the blonde… He had been on the execution line which meant he was to die.
But then the albino was calling out to HIM!
"You! Tall dark and gruesome! Get the boy out! Get him out now!"
Why would he trust him? One who had obviously shot at them earlier and was preparing to do so again. It appeared no one else had heard the albino speak as the fighting assumed without delay.
One of the guards made their way over to the boy that had been hiding behind the stall and pointed his sword at him, muttering something about him being the third of the party.
Berwald glared as usual and continued to observe the chaos for now.
:::
Tino felt the tip of the blade press to his throat and he closed his eyes tightly shut, praying for the last time before being sent to the afterlife. He was prepared for death when the blade fell away from his throat, scratching his chin slightly and he opened his eyes one at a time to see the once offending soldier at his feet with an arrow through his temples.
Fear wracked his body and he turned to flee when he walked straight into someone and he fell backwards, landing on his ass.
He flinched and looked up to see the same icy glare that belonged to the person who had shot the arrow at his booth. By the midnight blue cloak he wore and the black leather vest with a white shirt underneath, he knew that he was an officer for the Savior.
"Traitor!"
Tino looked to the group of soldiers that were assaulting Ludwig and Gilbert and now it seemed, were charging for this stranger in front of him. Had he been the one to shoot the soldier that wanted to kill him?
But before any questions could be asked he was hoisted up off the ground and slung over this stranger's shoulder and then he was running.
Tino saw Ludwig and Gilbert one last time before he was taken around the corner and they disappeared from view.
The tall scary stranger carried him as he ran and quite soon he found that they were leaving the city behind and were running straight into the desert. Was this guy an idiot? Was he lost? The desert was certain death if you didn't know what way to go.
And then the situation dawned on the Fin and for all his fear he began pounding at the other's back and kicking his legs to be difficult.
"Let go of me! Kidnapping is illegal! You're breaking the law! PUT ME DOWN!" Tino kept yelling and kicking. "I have to go back and help Ludwig and Gilbert! You can't kidnap people in the middle of a fight!"
And then to the Fin's surprise he was dumped on the ground with a thump and his kidnapper stood tall and towering above him.
Tino suddenly felt as afraid as he had been on the day he had been passed around the slave's quarters. The look on the other's face was so terrifying and dominant, it was like instinct to know what he wanted. He had only kidnapped him to take him out to the desert where no one would hear him or save him and then he would…
Tino knew how it worked. Even if it had been almost a complete year. Do as told or be hurt.
He relaxed and lay submissively before the taller male, wanting it to be over with.
"W't 're y' d'in'?"
Tino knew that accent immediately. The stranger was Swedish. His village in Finland had had many Swede's pass through and he had grown accustomed to the heavy accent.
"I… I'm giving in… Isn't that what you want…?"
The other shook his head.
"Th'y w're g'nna k'll y'."
His glare deepened at the other's confused expression and he crouched down, drawing words into the orange sand.
They were going to kill you. The albino told me to take you out of there.
"Oh… Gilbert… So… You turned sides for me…? Because you thought I was going to die…?"
I'm not on any side.
"Well what are you doing then…?"
I don't know what I'm doing.
Tino was silent for a moment before frowning at the other.
"You have to take me back. I'm not leaving Gilbert and Ludwig alone to fight that battle. It's because of me that they're in this mess."
I'm not letting you go back there.
"You can't tell me what to do."
The Swede frowned and knocked an arrow into his bow, pointing it at Tino.
"ALRIGHT! Gah! Don't point it at me!"
He lowered the weapon and wiped the writing out of the sand.
"N'me'?"
"Um… T-Tino…"
Berwald.
:::
"Dammit!" Mathias slammed his fist down on the table. "Those two Germans got away AND the person they were after. And now Berwald has changed sides."
"Calm down. As he says all the time, he isn't on any side. He is a neutral character in all of this." The Norwegian said, sitting beside him and tending to both of their wounds which was a great relief that they were all only minor cuts and bruises.
"But he shouldn't be neutral! He wears our uniform. He trains with us. He even took the first strike against the Germans today. Why the Fuck would he take the guy they were after and run into the desert…? He'll die in there and so will that boy."
"Do you want them to die…?"
Mathias sighed and put his head in the other's lap for comfort. "… No… I don't want Berwald to die… He's our friend and he hasn't even come to terms with what the Shadow King did to his wife and kid… He needs revenge on them before he'll smile or cry for them… I just… don't know what he's doing… I can never understand that guys motive."
"Well he is pretty intelligent…" Mathias looked up at his Norwegian lover, with a frown of confusion on his face. "… Maybe, just maybe… He hasn't changed sides… Maybe he is after his revenge… Maybe he's doing what he does to get closer to the Shadow King and take him out… it is really the only opportunity that has ever presented itself to us… He's taking initiative and if this boy is important to the Shadow King, the reason he sent the two Germans to retrieve him, then he'll be the perfect ticket into the enemy lines."
There was a moment of silence before a grin lit up the Dane's face and he chuckled. "The cheeky bugger found a way in!"
:::
Katuyasha paced her house. Ludwig and Gilbert sitting with grim expressions on her lounge chair.
"How could you lose Tino… I can't believe it… after so long he really has become my son… And you lost him…" She wiped the bitter tears out of her eyes and continued her pacing.
"We didn't lose him…" Gilbert said. "He was taken into the Sahara by the third party member of the Savior's troupe."
Katuyasha let out a sorrowful wail. "That's even worse! He'll be executed!"
"Not necessarily Katuyasha…" Ludwig said, clasping his hands together. "The ran into the SAHARA… We know that better than anyone… When the city is asleep tonight we will bypass the guard by traveling over the rooftops and make our way to the oasis… It should only take two or three days to make it and then from there we will be free to send out a search party compromising of us, Sadiq, Gupter and your brother. Tino has enough knowledge on how to survive in the desert for at least a couple of days Katuyasha."
The tearful woman sighed before nodding and sitting in her wicker chair.
"If you say so Mr. Ludwig."
:::
Tino stared at the small fire that had been lit to keep him warm. The other, Berwald, had left him there and he had no idea if he'd return and if he did, would he bring those other two people with him and the palace guard.
He could just sneak away now and douse the fire in sand before so the other had no beacon to guide him back.
The guards had seen him as an enemy so he couldn't return to the city if he wanted to. His best chance was to make his way to the oasis.
He had three days to make it there. He should be able to do it as he did know how to travel in the desert when there were no provisions available.
Walk by night, sleep by day. Covered in a cloak or blanket to keep the sun at bay.
But he didn't have a traveling cloak to keep him warm at night or shaded in the day. So he would either freeze or burn to death.
And then his mind returned to the nagging thought, maybe it would be best if he cooperated with Berwald. If he saw that there was any threat to his life by staying with the glaring Swede, then he could always flee and lose them in the dunes.
A leather bag was dumped next to him in the sand and he jumped out of his thoughts and let out a small yelp. He looked up to see that the subject of his thoughts had returned, as terrifying as ever with the same constant glare set in his face.
"What… What's in the bag…?" Tino asked, trying to contain the shaking of his breath and wavering of his voice as Berwald sat on the other side of the fire and stirred the base of the burning ash with an arrow to keep the flame alive.
"S' f'r y' s'lf."
Tino nodded and pulled the bag closer to himself, popping the little wooden toggle out of the loop and lifting the cracked leather flap up to see inside.
There were two cantinas that were obviously filled with water when he picked them up because he could hear it moving around inside the metal container. And then there was dried meat wrapped in clothe. They were provisions. But not near enough to last a three day trek across the Sahara.
"Um… there… there aren't enough to last more than a day…"
"I kn'w. Th'r's a b'se n't f'r fr'm h're."
"… Alright then…" Tino nodded and put the bag aside, closing it once more. He just hoped that base wasn't a place loaded with the Savior's Soldiers or he was dead. And then a question popped to mind. "Um… Berwald? Do you know your way around the Sahara well…? Have you traveled it before?"
The Swede shook his head sending relief AND dismay Tino's way, before the taller blonde wrote in the sand again.
I was told its north from the city so we'll leave shortly and use the moon as a guide. Rest at dawn and we'll be there by noon.
:::
He looked out the window, his chin resting on the back of his hand in a bored posture.
He was thinking about cleaning himself up and heading to bed when there was a bird's call and a black eagle flew through the window, landing on the back of a chair where it began to preen its feathers.
"Huh…" He stood and walked over to it, holding out his arm. The eagle eyed him before hopping onto his arm. Thank god he wore leather cuffs or his arms would be in ribbons. "if you're here I guess you have a message from Gilbert and Ludwig."
The bird did nothing but stare at him with gold eyes and a slight cock of its head. He smiled and shook his head before unclipping the little roll of paper that was attached to its leg. He unfurled it and read it.
We were attacked. Almost lost Tino but we think one of the Savior's troops has deserted because he's taken Tino into the desert. We'll go to the oasis and send out a search party for them. And whether or not he wants it, we're bringing the Swede back.
The writing was rushed and messy, which only clarified it as Gilbert.
The eagle nipped his finger at the sudden lack of attention.
"Ow! Bloody bird… Gilbert shouldn't have spoiled you so much when you were a chick." The eagle simply cocked it's head to one side and gave him an innocent look, assuming birds could give off expression. Maybe it was because its master had fed it beer when it hatched that it thought it was human.
He shook his head, ridding himself of these thoughts and quickly scribbled a note, tying it to the eagle's leg and it was off and out the window. He smiled as he watched it disappear into the inky sky, save for the silver outline produced via the moon light.
"Things are going to get a little more interesting around here." He mused.
"Hey Arthur!" Another blonde poked his head through the door. "When are you coming to bed?"
"Soon you git! You ruined my chapter ending!" He pouted and the other male laughed.
"Whatever Artie."
:::
Yes… I had to put that last bit in… Don't ask me why… I'm tired and brain dead and have been cut off from the internet. I DON"T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!
.
Anyway, thanks for reading and still reading if you didn't get bored with the wait for this chapter. I really appreciate it. And can anyone tell me how to view the hits for a story? I'm a little befuddled.
~~~PM~~~