A/N: If this story didn't seem AUish, then this chapter *should* fix that. Sorry for the tardiness... and for the fact that this chapter ain't as long as the previous ones – it could not be any longer 'cause anymore would've been forced. I wanted this chapter to focus on Neph and how the Radiant Dawn universe has been altered so far, which made me a little sad because I've been dying to write a scene with Pelleas and Soldat in which I tackle the subject of elder magic (dark magic) and his mark thingy (protection of the spirits or spirit protection?).

Enjoy!

Chapter 4

Laying face down on the filthy wilderness ground, covered in dirt from head to toe, cold from the night's chilly temperature, waiting to attack a larger group of trained Begnion soldiers, and his only companions were an insecure young archer and an overconfident boy with a sword. In his youth Nolan had never imagined he would've found himself in such an unfavourable position, especially when he had been a wealthy merchant and the idea of carrying a weapon himself was preposterous if he could afford to pay someone else to get their hands dirty. But years of experience had taught Nolan to solve his problems with his own hands and not with coin – he always got the job done right, and that's why he turned his country's future into his own personal problem. Nevertheless, he and his companions had limits, and a three-man team ambushing an ampler and better equipped force certainly felt like too much.

Edward laid next to Nolan with a thin sword on hand and gritted teeth. A few yards in front of them were the stone roads that connected Nevassa with the southern territories of Daein and with Northern Begnion. On the other side, opposite of Nolan's and Edward's, Leonardo waited alone, which immensely worried Nolan – and Edward, but he was trying desperately not to show concern. If Sothe had been with them his keen eyesight would have been a blessing in the dark; or if Micaiah had been with them, her light magic could have been used to offer a bit more visibility. Both of them were absent, and Nolan knew that it was pointless to think of the boons they could've offered since the Dawn Brigade divided themselves for this mission.

While Nolan had argued against splitting their forces, he didn't push the subject too much when he had the chance because he hadn't dared to doubt one of Micaiah's visions. The silver-haired fortune-teller's predictions had aided them to survive all of General Jarod's attempts on their lives... Yet Nolan had always been sceptical about relying on random visions Micaiah had on opportune moments. Nolan liked telling himself that he had his doubts about Micaiah's power because he was an educated man, and things like predictions were supposed to be absurd for a man like him, but he knew that the thought of fate being readable did not sit well with him. The possibility that their destiny had already been written in stone and that there was no resistance against it had kept Nolan awake for many nights.

Nolan shook his head. What a bad moment for my mind to go wandering around.

"Nolan?" Edward whispered.

Nolan had asked his companion to keep quiet for the entirety of the mission; nevertheless, he realized that had been a foolish and insensitive request.

"I'm listening," he whispered back.

"You think they'll be alright?"

"Laura, Sothe and Micaiah?" Edward nodded. "I think they should be more worried about us than we of them." Nolan figured that the separation of their team had started to bother Edward. He was the type that liked being close to his companions in order to watch over them.

"Sothe's with them."

Edward seemed more at ease with that little reminder.

Nolan was about to pat Edward's back as if he was a child, but he stopped himself before he could even move an inch. Such a gesture would have been an insult to Edward – in Nolan's mind. Edward and Leonardo might've looked like children, they were barely into their teenage years, but to Nolan, they were a couple of the most matured individuals he had the pleasure of meeting. Children played war games with each other. Children didn't actually go to war, like Edward and Leonardo had decided upon themselves – with the noblest of intentions.

Nolan made a mental note to shake both their hands when he had the chance.

About an hour passed. The sound of owls, the wind, and rustling trees were getting on Nolan's nerves. His worries about Leonardo returned. If he, a grown man with company, was feeling uncomfortable with the current ambient, he imagined his blonde companion must've been feeling much worse.

This is the one time I would've appreciated some very detailed specifics, Nolan thought with a little impatience getting the better of him.

Edward elbowed him softly on the forearm. When Nolan looked at Edward, his young comrade was pointing at his own nose. Nolan had been bewildered at first, and then concentrated on sniffing the air and, in a moment, he realized what it was that Edward was trying to tell him.

Smoke!

The scent wasn't too strong and Nolan couldn't hear any clanking, meaning the group of soldiers weren't very close to their position. The warrior grabbed his trusty steel axe from his back and held gripped it as tight as he could. They had agreed that Leonardo would be the first one to strike, so all Nolan and Edward had to do was wait for him. Nolan wondered if his archer companion was up for the task – and at the same time, he realized he picked the absolutely worst moment to doubt Leonardo's skill. While the Dawn Brigade's archer had proven himself to an accurate and reliable marksman, his experience consisted on providing ranged assistance to the rest of the team during close combat skirmishes. To the best of Nolan's knowledge, Leonardo had never shot a moving target in the dark.

"Move it, you horrible lot!" Nolan` heard from a distance. "Or do you prefer to that we move up the execution to right now?"

It's definitely the group we've been waiting for. The man spoke had the unmistakable mixture of brutish yet cultured accent that was commonly found in most of Begnion's soldiers.

It wasn't long before the group came into view. On the front of the group marched three soldiers with their shields strapped to their backs and carrying lit torches with their left hands and lances on their right hands. Behind them, the three prisoners with their hands cuffed behind their backs followed: two slender young men with long hair tied up in ponytails, and a large and muscular bald man with a thick beard and moustache. And the rear of the group consisted of two archers and an extra soldier pointing his lance at the captives. To Nolan, the prisoners looked like ordinary people, and while the warrior encouraged rescue missions regardless of whom they were rescuing, he couldn't understand by just looking at them why Micaiah had insisted on saving these men in particular – even she didn't know.

Before Nolan had a chance to get impatient, an arrow struck one of the archers in the chest.

Excellent choice, Leonardo, Nolan thought when he saw the archer collapse.

'Get the other one,' Nolan mouthed to Edward before heading out to attack.

Abandoning their already dying comrade, the rest of the soldiers had turned their attention to the direction where the arrow had come from, and the prisoners threw themselves at the ground. The soldiers had been so focused on finding the person that had attacked them that they didn't even notice when Edward and Nolan were right behind them.

The much faster Edward had reached the still-standing archer before Nolan had the opportunity to fend off the rest of the soldiers. Nolan cursed under his breath. The warrior had told his younger friend to always wait for him, but like most of the time, impatience got the best of him. Nolan unclipped a hand axe from his belt with his free hand, and he threw it as hard as he could at the nearest lancer to Edward.

Edward slashed a mortal wound on the lightly armoured with an upwards arc as Nolan's hand axe lodged itself onto another soldier's shoulder. The soldier Nolan wounded screamed for a healer and fell on his knees, clutching his injury.

Three left! Nolan thought optimistically.

The remaining soldiers grunted angrily and charged at Nolan and Edward with killing intent. One of them tripped clumsily on the ground. Nolan saw an arrow on the back of the fallen lancer's leg – Nolan guessed it was courtesy of Leonardo.

One soldier fell due to being overwhelmed by Nolan's superior strength, and the second one died moments after being stabbed by Edward's sword in the stomach.

Nolan blinked a couple of times after the adrenaline of combat slowly left his system, and he prayed silently that Micaiah and Sothe would be just as successful as they were.

XXXX

I was feeling much stronger after a few days, although thoughts about how I played a part in Daein's destruction still made it hard for me to sleep. Which is why I left the inn I had been staying during the middle of the night, and it felt great to no longer need a chaperone to ensure I wouldn't go around and fall like a toddler that was learning how to walk for the first time. But to be honest, a very small part of me did enjoy that I was being watched over for once, instead of the other way around.

The chilling night's air had been a bit unbearable the first few nights I had gone out alone, but I had learned to slowly enjoy it as much as I could – especially since I had to deal with the intense heat during the day.

How can people live like this? I already had an answer the moment I made myself that query. They don't have a choice, do they?

I felt like so bad about myself because I've spent most of my life envying the city folks and nobles, taking for granted all the good things I had been blessed with, not caring about anything outside my little country village, and not cherishing the fact that my family and I have always enjoyed our freedom. If I were to compare Begnion's occupation of Daein to Daein's occupation of Crimea, King Ashnard would look like a saint in comparison to what the leaders of Begnion were doing to Daein.

Back when Ashnard ruled over Crimea, he had been a tyrant, but we at least had enough freedom to fight back. In fact, for a time I felt like he wanted all Crimeans to oppose him.

But Daein...

I had asked – and pleaded a little – Zihark and Jill to describe to me in full detail what had happened in the last three years, and what they hesitantly told me was the same scenario the Dawn Brigade had painted me when I met them. It was horrible to think that none of them had even exaggerated a little. I had imagined a lot of horrible outcomes for Crimea if Ashnard had been allowed to stay as ruler of my country, and none of those supposed outcomes were as bad as Daein's reality.

I...

I once despised Daeins.

I thought most Daeins were evil as a whole for what they tried to do three years ago.

I really wanted Daein to be punished for all it did.

But after hearing and witnessing what Daein had gone through, I came to realize that the people of Daein didn't deserved to be punished just for one man's madness.

Children starving on the streets, women being abused by male soldiers, men being tortured for the sake of preventing them to rise against Begnion; and someone were getting rich out of all this misery. I asked Zihark if the soldiers prevented the citizens from leaving, and he told me that they didn't need to because Daeins are a strong and proud people... and they won't abandon their country even if it costs them their lives. I know that Crimeans aren't as passionate about their country as opposed to our Daein neighbours.

What of it? Was the conclusion I kept coming back to.

What can I do? I'm just Nephenee, the daughter of farmers and former militiawoman.

I should've stayed in Ohma because I couldn't just return and pretend everything was just an unpleasant trip in a fouled-up country.

I-I don't know what I wanted to do. Actually, that's completely true; I wanted to bash my head against the wall until I stopped thinking.

I sat on the sandy ground when I somehow reached the town's gate. I kept coming to Hackdirt's entrance every night since the view of the moon was pretty good. It sure helped me clear my mind and it also served as a reminder of the nice things the world had to offer.

But before I could relax, I heard clanking from behind me. I instantly thought it was Jill, but I couldn't see anyone when looked back. The clanking continued, and I was very surprised that someone was spying on me while wearing armour.

I got up and dusted some sand off myself. "I know yer there."

"It is ya, Nephenee!" My eyes widened when I recognized that voice. A moment later, Brom's daughter showed herself.

"Meggie!" I was very happy to have finally found her, but it tore me to see her with her orange armour nicked and a sheathed sword in her hip.

I raced towards her, dropped down and hugged her as tight as I could. Meggie! What have you gone through? Is what I wanted to say, but was holding back tears of joy.

"Neph, what's the matter?" She didn't sound sad or troubled, just surprised at my reaction.

"Nothin', nothin', I'm just glad to see ya in one piece." I released her and looked at her. "Meg, you should go back, yer father's gotta be worried about ya."

"But I'm so close to finding my future husband." I shook my head. Silly girl, she ain't a woman and she's already worried about marriage. "I also have to warn the villagers."

That caught my attention. "About what?"

"Soldiers are coming this way. I heard them say somethin' about an attack."

"Attack! These people have can hardly survive their day-to-day hardships!" Were the Begnion soldiers so cruel that they would strike a village so needy like Hackdirt for no apparent reason?

Don't panic, Nephenee, I told myself so I wouldn't do anything too foolish.

"Meg, meet me at the inn as soon as you can. Please don't say anythin' about an attack just yet." She nodded.

Even though I was still recovering, I sprinted through the town to reach the inn once again, and I really felt like I was pushing myself. But I needed to reach Jill and Zihark as soon as possible, for they would know what to do.

XXXX

She smiled, something Micaiah didn't do too often because of the world she currently lived in, but knowing that her friends had survived as she had predicted was an excellent reason for a mage to feel happy. She would've liked to let them know that they were also fine because she knew they worry a lot – especially Nolan. This moment had been one of those rare times in which she felt blessed for having her powers, but this had been a time were she received news that relieved her instead of getting visions of bad things to come.

"I take it they're fine," Sothe said, bringing her back to reality.

"They are."

She and Sothe had gotten rid of the few remaining soldiers stationed in Kisca, and they were helping Laura tend to the beaten villagers that had revolted when Begnion took away all their medical supplies. They had moved all the wounded men and women to the deserted Kisca Manor. The former residence of a once powerful noble was in shambles due to the battle that took place there a while ago between the Dawn Brigade and the Occupation Army, but it was the best place for the wounded villagers to rest as they recuperated.

Micaiah put her hand in the shoulder of a pained woman. She was about use Sacrifice to heal the woman when Laura slapped her hand out of the way. She saw that the healer had stern look on her youthful face.

"Lady Micaiah, it's bad that you and Sothe are helping me after fighting such a large group of soldiers by yourselves, please leave the healing to me." Micaiah laughed nervously and moved out of the way to let Laura do her job. "You two should rest, I can take it from here."

She was about to protest before Sothe grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"You're going to collapse if you continue on."

"But..." She stopped herself knowing that it was no use to argue against Sothe. Besides, she hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep after leaving Nevassa almost three weeks ago. Maybe Laura and Sothe were right.

XXXX

I found Zihark near the entrance of the wooden two-story inn where he had been staying for the last couple of days. He looked like he had returned from taking a stroll, and was surprised we he saw me run up to him. I tried to speak to him, but all that I could do was pant rapidly, which made me worry and think I wasn't as well as I thought. Running across a tiny desert outpost wasn't supposed to exhaust me so much – or at all.

"Zi... hark..." I ungracefully managed to say. I bent my back forward and held onto my knees for support.

"Whoa, Nephenee, what have you been doing?" He came closer to me and offered me his arm. I waved it away.

"Running," I said, slowly starting to breath evenly again.

"I should've guessed." I didn't look at him, but I guessed he must've rolled his eyes at my obvious answer.

"I found the person I was looking for." I composed myself. "She said that Begnion soldiers are headin' this way. We have to tell Jill, Kurth, and then the villagers."

Zihark's first reaction was to look around as if making sure no one had heard what I said. He seemed pleased that there was no one else walking around were we were.

"Jill and Kurth left a while ago," he informed me.

"Why?" They couldn't have left at a worse time. I needed help alerting everyone of the danger that was approaching them. And Jill's wyvern would have been helpful to confirm what Meg told me.

"Kurth said he needed to go back for personal reasons, and General Tauroneo is going to get in trouble if at least one of us didn't return soon," he said calmly.

How can you be so calm?

"Then you have to help me..."

He grabbed my shoulders. "Nephenee, calm down, you're worrying over nothing."

"How can ya say that? These people are in danger."

Zihark released me. He closed his eyes and sighed. I got the feeling he wanted to say something important, but was deciding if he should tell me or not. "Begnion has done some pretty nasty things, but trust me when I tell you that this place isn't their target. Don't go around causing a panic."

"What else is there? All there is 'round here is just sand and some vultures." I wanted to slap myself after saying that because I remembered that there really was another place in this forsaken desert. I had few recollections of the place where Zihark and Jill had cared for me since I was unconscious most of the time, though I realized that it's important or it guards something of value if two veterans – plus General Tauroneo - like them were guarding it to the point of not mentioning it to me.

"You sure they won't come around her and stomp on the people?" I didn't want to cause an unnecessary panic, but I'd rather do that than live on knowing I could've prevented a massacre.

He shook his head. "I've dealt with these guys before; they won't do anything if there isn't a profit to be gained. If they do pass through here, the worst they'll do is spit at someone."

I had no way of knowing if Zihark's words would turn out to be true or false, but I sure felt much more at ease after hearing him. I inhaled deeply and tried to exhale my paranoia away.

I looked at him straight in the eyes. "Zihark, whatever you're doin', I want to help out."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've been beatin' myself for what has happened in Daein, and I know that you and I ain't at fault for fightin' in the last war, but I won't be happy unless I do something," I said, and I was a little proud of myself for speaking so much.

"Nephenee," he started.

"I know I'm Crimean and all, but I feel that I have to help out... y'know."

"Nephenee."

"And Ike said to always do what we think it's the right thing to do."

"Umm..."

"Ya know I can be handy in the battlefield."

"Nephenee!" He startled me.

"What?"

He smiled. "We have to get you a lance."

A/N: Finally! She joined! I kinda tread carefully on that subject. I didn't want her to say, "On, I'll join on the side of justice!" from the beginning. I think my mistake was not finding a way to somehow add this on the last chapter, because then the kickassery would've started on this chapter.

Such is life. Again, sorry for how brief this chapter was, anything else would've been either unnecessary or redundant, and I don't want people to get sick of Tauro and Soldat's little comedy duo too soon.

I think I'll write something in my LJ account, I mean, there's no need for notes for this chapter, but I think I'll quick walkthrough of how this story has deviated from canon so far.

Hope you've enjoyed!