Sorry about the previous chapter, it was more of just a filler. I don't own any of these characters, they belong to Nintendo.

Two days had passed since Shinon had apologized and two days since Midna had resigned from her throne. To say things had been peaceful would be more of a wish than a lie. Just yesterday they had been attacked, again. Sheik was already sick of playing defense. Zelgius had yet to return from his scouting mission, Ike had even suggested he might not. Not surprising considering the events that had taken place recently. From the outbreak of war between Ike's family and hers, discovering what had happened in her absence, Zelgius's sudden appearance and the drama that had ensued, then his sorta confession about being the Black Knight, news of Ike's fast approaching death, Reus's surprise visit, and then her fight with Shinon. She wanted to believe things couldn't get worse but she knew better, things could get much worse. These were her thoughts before she rested her head on her cot and fell asleep.

Sheik's dream started well enough: she was a child again, with her mother in the castle garden, the day was sunny with nothing but a slight breeze. The garden was colored with tulips, chrysanthemums, roses, snapdragons, and many other bright flowers that scented the breeze. Sheik clutched her mother's hand and looked up at her. She seemed so confident and regal. Her brown hair matched Sheik's but it flowed elegantly down her back, a crown placed on top. Despite the beautiful day Sheik couldn't shake a strange feeling away, like a stone was weighing her heart down. It wouldn't be till later that she would discover this strange feeling as dread. She had called on her mother for help, wanting to know why she felt so weird. Now here they walked, not a word shared yet but just simply soaking up the moment, how many would there be left? Each day held something new.

"Is there something wrong?" Her mother said as she stroked Sheik's hair. A soothing gesture that assured all would be well.

"I feel weird, like something's wrong, I feel like there's a weight on my chest," she answered quickly, the whole sentence coming out like one word.

She waited for her mother's' response, unsure what she would say. Would she tell her it was nothing to be worried about? Was it something life threatening? Was there something wrong with her? Her seven year old brain was working quickly, trying to understand what was happening. Her mother smiled softly but there was a sadness in her eyes. She had hardly parted her lips to speak when four guards came running towards them, the clanking of their armor disrupting the peaceful air. They both turned their attention to the fast approaching men, it was then that she noticed the smoke curling up into the sky from the castle, like it too wanted to escape from the devastation. Only now did she understand her heavy heart and the feeling of suffocation. The guards grabbed their arm gently.

"There's been a breach in the castle's inner walls! Your Highness, Princess, we must leave immediately!" One of them explained.

Neither of them said anything, they just followed the men back inside. They still held each other's hand. They ran through the maze of halls through the castle, never slowing their pace as the smoke clung to the ceiling above them. Only when they neared her parent's bedroom did they slow, one of them even stumbling and falling to the ground. He didn't get up. The other men wrapped their hands around their necks and fell to their knees, undergoing some unseen attack. She turned to her mother, her blue eyes wide with fear. Her mother pulled her into the bedroom and closed the door, her eyes set on the window next to the bed. The room was lavished in cream and light brown silk. Her mother made no attempt to break open the window, instead she turned to her daughter and pulled off one of her favorite bracelets, a silver band that curled outward where the ends should have been welded together. Sliding it onto her wrist, she gave Sheik the same sad eyes from the garden before kissing her on the forehead. The meaning was more than the three words, 'I love you', would ever mean.

"You have much to live for," she said softly. Whether she was about to say something more is unknown to Sheik as her mother was pulled away. She cried out and reached out for her mother only to be grabbed from behind by two men. She squirmed and shouted, glaring at the man who had pulled her mother away. He was tall and broad, his skin color labeling him as a man from the desert. His red hair was pulled back, suggesting his high class. His hazel eyes staring back at her. His black armor covered all but his head and hands, one of which was wrapped around her mother's throat. He smiled at Sheik like she was some sort of prize.

"So you're one of the children that's been giving me so much grief. I expected you to be older, both you and your brother. It seems my trip was worthless, I knew I should have asked for more details. How foolish of me," he said in a tone that was far from being disappointed or even frustrated.

"Then maybe you should take your leave, there's nothing left for you," her mother managed through his grip.

His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip. His smile vanished as he turned towards her.

"Quiet, bitch!" He snarled.

"Let her go!" Sheik screamed at him, her cheeks already wet from the tears of anger.

"What's this? You love your mother, do you? Well, of course, why wouldn't you? Maybe my visit wasn't a complete waste then."

He looked Sheik's way and chuckled, as did the men holding her back. The desert man forced her mother down to her knees, facing her towards Sheik. Grabbing her hair and pulling her head back, he removed a knife. Sheik turned her head away. Resting the knife below her jaw, he said three simple words that would burn in her memory for the rest of her life.

"You will watch."

One man put his hands on either side of her head forced her to look at her mother. She watched in horror, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks as his hand began to glide across her mother's throat.

Sheik's eyes flew open, her chest heaving and her face wet with tears. She pulled herself upright and reflected on the dream in the dark of her cabin. It was worse than a nightmare, it was a memory. A memory she had stored in the deepest part of her mind, one she had tried her best bury. Her whole body was shaking as she recalled the following events: The man had thrown her mother's body to the ground, laughing as she stepped over it and approached her. His face just inches from hers.

"I will come back, if you try to evade me I will kill any and all who come close to you," he said with a smile.

He walked away, motioning for his sleazy men to follow. They released her, both bursting into hysterical laughter. She heard the click of the door and they were gone. She crawled towards her mother's lifeless body, her whole body shaking like a leaf. A puddle of blood surrounded her head like a halo of death. There was a small pop followed by a crack. Sheik looked to her left and saw the doors now flickering with flames. It quickly began to spread, sending her into a panic. She glanced one last time at her mother then grabbed a goblet from her father's stand and ran to the window, beating it with the gold cup. It shattered into hundreds of pieces around her, showering her in glass. The fire seemed to chase her, spreading to the bed beside her. The flames flickered at her, like finders reaching for her.

She grabbed into the window sill and climbed, the glass cutting deep into her hands. Gritting her teeth pas the pain she continued to pull herself up until she fell to the ground on the other side, coughing and breathing hard. While she recovered she waited for someone to find her. She was in no shape to go looking around at the moment, she could care less if anyone found her anyway. She laid on the grass, sobbing and hoping her father would find her, hopping he would soothe her. He never did come though. It took her a while but she eventually picked herself up and began to wander the castle grounds with no destination or purpose. It wasn't until late I the evening when a maid found her and took her to her family, or what was left of it.

Sheik looked down at her hands now, small scars crossing over one another covered her palms. A fresh wave of grief washed over the walls of her heart, sending another stream of tears down her cheeks. She was reminded now that this world was a dark place that was unfair and unforgiving. That day had set a pattern for the rest of her life, having something dear ripped from you, cry and grieve for it, pick herself up and push on. She had been on her own for so long, it was strange to have someone like Ike there, willing to help. Ike. The name rang through her head, reverberating off the walls and coming back again. Ike was going to die soon and there was nothing she could do about it, nothing she could do to stop it. The world was indeed cruel to rip away the life of someone as kind and caring as him. The world seemed to dislike them the most as they never lived for very long. She only had one question: how? How was someone going to murder him, Ike, the one who nearly matched his father's own great strength? There wasn't many who could match either men, except one.

She felt a shiver run down her back at the thought of the man from her dream coming after her, his threat fresh on his mind. It may be a challenge but he was one of the few that might be able to kill Ike, the most likely candidate. She knew Ganondorf would gladly rip away Ike, Shinon, Midna, Oscar, anyone she had created a friendly bond with, if it meant her suffering.

(Ike)

The stench of warm, dead bodies filled the air as he stared down into the eyes of the woman dying in his arms. Tears dripped down onto her face, mixing with her own. Her black hair was matted with sweat and blood, her face covered in grime except where her tears had run. Her pale blue eyes looked up at him sadly, a matching smile on her cracked lips. She reached out a weak hand, gently touching his jaw. Her smile widened, the white of her eyes growing until her irises disappeared leaving nothing but her pupil. Her fingers dug into his cheek and neck while she used her free hand to rip the arrow out from her stomach and stabbed it into his side. Blood streamed down his side, he heard her laugh, exposing rotted and blackened teeth. Her nails drove deeper yet into his skin, almost making him scream.

Ike bolted upright in his cot, creating a searing pain in his side. He looked down and saw blood slowly streaming down, Armageddon's horn had gotten a little bit to close apparently. He brought a hand up to his face and found nothing the matter with it, no nail marks. Ike sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his dream having gone better than others he had before. He stood, arousing the ever peaceful hell-dog. Armageddon jumped down and followed him outside, sniffing the open wound on his side and nudging his hand. Ike patted him in the small space between his horns and continued, it wasn't the hell-dog's fault, just an accident. He walked past the infirmary, past Rhys's cabin, all the way to a black, oddly shaped tent where light from a lantern casted a single stream of light onto the grass. Ike let himself in, waiting for the figure to notice him.

The figure was dressed in black robes, with long, black hair that hung at mid-length. Ike looked around to see if anything had changed, not much had. Books were still pilled high in corners while odd powders in beakers sat on a seemingly random table to the left. The cot to the right looked like it hadn't been used in days as it was neatly made with pillow and blanket folded at the bottom.

"It's awfully late, you know," Ike said at last.

"You know I hardly sleep," Soren responded, still focusing on what he had in front of him.

"True enough. How did the meeting with the Laguz go?"

"You now have the decency to ask me that now that you're not drooling over that new girl?"

"Oh c'mon Soren. You know it's not like that, she's a friend."

"A friend? Are you sure? You seem pretty obligated to spend time with her."

"She doesn't have many friends and neither do I anymore. We just sorta hang out, I guess."

"I feel a sense of déjà vu coming along. Didn't we have a conversation similar to this when Dawn joined our little camp here?"

Ike was silent, his dream coming back to him, giving him a wave of nausea. At the silence of his friend Soren turned to his an unexpected sight. Ike stood there in nothing but his pants, blood on his side and a Hellhound sniffing around his tent.

"Oh God. Alright, tell me your problems this time after you call of the beast," he said.

Ike sighed and sat on the cot, about to start.

"I didn't say you could sit on my bed."

Ike stared at him.

"That was sarcasm."

"You need to work on it," Ike said.

"Yeah, I suppose. Go on."

Ike relayed his nightmare and the cause of the blood but paused, unsure what to say next.

"That's not that's bugging you, I've known you for too long."

"Unfortunately," Ike added.

"Exactly. You better tell me what's going on before I start guessing," Soren said, folded his arms across his chest.

"I'll tell you when I find out. For now I just feel sick, not like 'I'm going to throw up' sick but more like a disgusted sick. I'm not even sure why. Like I'm disgusted with, not really myself or the things I've done but... I'm not sure."

"Disgust, huh? I know a lot about that feeling."

"I'm sure."

"I have a feeling it has to do with conflict inside of you. You want the honest truth?"

"Why else would I have come to you?"

"Excellent point. I believe you can't let go of the past long enough to move on with your future. You're wrong by the way, I think you are disgusted with yourself for not having the ability to move on. Everyone can try to help you but they can't do it for you, you have to make the decision to move on yourself. Once you move on, I have a feeling you'll stop having nightmares and possibly, may stop coming here late at night," Soren said.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because you weren't ready to move on. Something's changed, it's about time."

"You were being sarcastic about visiting right?"

"Hmm? Oh, maybe. I don't mind your visits considering you're always busy in the morning but you do need to get some rest too. By the way, why is there a Hellhound with you?"

"Armageddon? Well, I met him the other day when Death was talking to Sheik. He's alright, just keep your mead away from him. He snuck some from my father's cup the other night and had fireball hiccups."

"I see," Soren said dismissively. A shadow crossed his face as he stared at the hell-dog, his eyes becoming a shade darker.

"You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Ike, you should go get some rest, it's late and you have to start rebuilding your life tomorrow."

"Uh, alright. Night Soren."

"Good night."

Ike wandered back to his cabin, Soren's words weighing heavy on his mind. Three years had passed and he was just now ready to move on with his life? How could it have taken so long for a change to come into his life?

"Ike!" Someone shouted.

"Ranulf?" Ike said.

"What happened?" He said, pointing to Ike's bloodied side.

"That? It was an accident, don't worry about it."

"Okay, well, what's that?" He asked pointed to Armageddon.

"My new pet, Armageddon. A present from Death," he explained.

"Ah, that's normal."

"Yeah, because everything's been real normal around here lately," Ike said sarcastically, then added, "You on the night patrol?"

"Yeah, with Kieran, but you can imagine how that went."

Ike nodded, he didn't need to imagine it, he knew what had happened. Kieran had probably sent Ranulf one way while he patrolled the other. Not a bad plan but it was the motive behind it: to be far away as possible from Ranulf.

"What are you doing up so late anyway?" He asked.

"Couldn't sleep," Ike admitted.

"Alright, well you'll probably end up wandering around, might as well join me," Ranulf said. It wasn't a suggestion or even an invitation, it was more of an order. Ike just nodded, following his old friend into the beginning of the tree-line. The night was peaceful enough, never letting the feelings or struggle of humans ruin its beauty. That's the way it always seemed, a tragedy would strike along with a streak of good weather. He supposed that when something fantastic happened it would be the opposite, it was never truly in his favor. He sighed, his thoughts coming back to Soren's words. Something had changed, he had said. What exactly had changed? Maybe his view on life, the outbreak of war, and some new arrivals to their band of mercenaries had been a change but other than that, not much else. Well, there was that little flame in his heart that he held for Sheik but it nothing more than a small flame, one that could easily be extinguished.

Suddenly Ranulf stopped and turned his head to the left, someone was stumbling towards them. After a moment Ike noticed it was Zelgius, he was breathing hard, his body shaking from exhaustion. Ike ran towards him, helping him stay upright.

"Zelgius? What happened?"

"I… I tried to outrun… Outrun them. They're coming…" he said breathlessly.

"Damn it!" Ike spat. He turned to Ranulf, "Take care of him, I'll go wake the camp."

Ranulf cringed in disgust but did as he was told, Ike running past him with Armageddon on his heels. Ike came to his father's cabin first, he pounded on the door as hard as he could before moving on to the next few cabins. Some poked their heads out and glared at him, he told them three words, "Prepare for battle." They immediately retreated into the cabins to dress, the ones who finished early came out and helped Ike wake the rest of the camp. It occurred to Ike they should probably get a giant bell to signal incoming forces but that could be taken care of later. Ike went back to his own cabin, slipping on a shirt and putting on his own armor, finally arming himself with Ragnell. He stepped out and found the first line of Malum's army already running into the camp. Shinon and his archers had already taken their places on the rooftops, their arrows taking down the thin wave of soldiers.

"Ike," a voice called.

He turned and found Sheik, she approached him, her eyes slightly red.

"Hey Sheik, you okay?"

"I'm fine. I heard you were the one who woke everyone up, I also saw Ranulf taking Zelgius to the infirmary," it was a simple statement but an even clearer question.

"I couldn't sleep, I came out to clear my head, talk to Soren, and then I ran into Ranulf. I joined him on patrol and then we found Zelgius, he told us your father's army was coming after us," Ike explained as they walked towards the ever growing mass of bodies.

"Sheik, you should wear some armor," he said.

"We both know I'll be fine. Watch your back out there, okay?" she responded quickly before running ahead of him.

"Sheik!"

She was already gone though, lost in the fray. He sighed and charged in after her, wishing the day would be over already.

(Sheik)

This was their third time playing defense. Why didn't they just pick up and go? That's what they had done before. Sure the best offense was defense but that wasn't the case for everything, certainly not now. It made them look weak; sheltered. That's why they kept attacking, they believed they were wearing them down. Greil needed to rethink his strategy a little bit. She had a long, curved knife in her hand already, meeting a heavy soldier head on. He was armed with a spear, a weapon that did surprisingly well against knives if used well. She ran at him, hoping he would make a move; he did. He swiped the spear down hoping to knock her off her feet, she jumped as it came towards her. She knew what would happen next and stopped, brought her hand up, the knife blade protecting her forearm as he brought the spear shaft down to smack her. There was a smack as it made contact, making Sheik shrink against the pressure. She wasted no time in removing a second, smaller knife and plunging it into the weak link of his armor. The pressure slowing began to lessen as his strength seeped out, Sheik ripped out the knife and used what was left of the pressure to balance herself enough to kick him in the stomach. He fell back with a thud, clearing a small portion of the crowd so she could get deeper into the fight.

(Ike)

So this is what happens when someone doesn't want to live the lavish life style of a royal, Ike thought to himself as he fought. It seemed easier to just roll with it if this what swimming against the current did. Sheik was willing to fight for her freedom, as long as the mercenaries were too. He deflected another blow, stabbing his sword into the abdomen of another soldier. How long would this go on before Princess Elincia became annoyed with the Hyruleans invading her Kingdom? He hoped it was soon, the sooner this war ended the better. Ike had hoped he would only have to live through one war before his life was some sort of peaceful bliss. His hopes were crushed, as per usual. He swung Ragnell, cutting a soldier just above the waist, ignoring the cry of agony and moving on. His mind was on other matters. Ike glanced over and saw an enemy archer take aim at Shinon's group. He ran towards him.

(Sheik)

Sheik noticed Hyrule had brought in their archers to combat the mercenaries. She watched as they released their arrows, each having a specific destination. She couldn't help it, she turned and sprinted back out of the fray, her movements becoming mechanical as she cut down those who got in her way.

(Ike)

He cut the archer down too late, all the archers had released their arrows. Ike turned and watched as they rained down a little short of their archers. He breathed a sigh of relief before joining his men as they cut down the archers to prevent them from advancing.

(Sheik)

Sheik ran to the cabin where Shinon was stationed or, rather, was stationed. His body was lying on the ground, having fallen off the roof. She kneeled down next to him, she wasn't about to let her brother go. She lifted his head, he let out a groan.

"Careful, would you?" he muttered.

She looked down at the arrow sticking out of his shoulder, and looked back at him.

"I'll be careful when you stop being a baby," she retorted.

"I don't think I can shoot a bow for the time being, what about you?"

"Yeah, you should go find Rhys, he'll fix your boo-boo," she teased.

"Help me up."

She pulled him to his feet and sent him away, telling him to watch out for any renegade soldiers. She took a deep breath, it had been a close call. Losing Shinon would have been like losing her mother all over again. She shook her head, trying not to imagine what that would be like, instead she jogged back into the battle.

(Ike)

Ike squinted but as far as he could tell no one had been seriously injured from the failed arrow storm. He heard a below to his right as well as something whistling through the air, time seeming to slow down as he turn. His eyes widened, a soldier was swing his axe, its blade coming straight at his head.

"No!" Someone streamed from behind him.

(Sheik)

She heard her own powerless scream rip from her throat, her hand releasing a knife that would be too late. Then it was over, Ike fell to the ground.

Another cliffhanger, you're welcome. =)