After getting lost within the dark depths of the Konohal Swamp, Delilah and her party of friends encountered undead monsters that rose from the very ground. They did battle these beasts and, during the fight, they were met by Ed's younger sister, Sarah and her friend, Jimmy. Together, the young band of travelers bested the monsters, and they made their way out of the swamplands safe and secure.

Now they march onward to the cornerstone of Konohal, Eden, but first, they shall have to pass through the border, where a new enemy has appeared…

Chapter 5: O Sister, Where Art Thou?

Deep in the pine forests of Konohal there was a large fort being constructed. The walls were higher than a man could climb, and if he did, the top was covered in spikes, making entry from above impossible. Behind the wall, there was a camp, where the soldiers kept their armor, weapons, and rations. There was a tent for the commander, who was outside perusing the fortress. It was made entirely of wood so far, but Commander Jacquel had high hopes for this construct. If all went according to plan, he would receive that promotion he had craved, and then he would be leading the army to power and glory.

A soldier in the traditional armor walked up to him. "Sir," the knight said, "we are escorting the arsonist to the stake. You are needed for the execution."

"Of course," he replied in his gruff voice. "I shall be down momentarily." When the soldier left him, the commander gazed out around him. The trees in the surrounding area had all been cut down, so has to avoid a surprise attack from any opposing force.

"This is perfect," he muttered, "absolutely perfect. The princess has no chance of getting by us now!"

The commander walked down the ramparts and down the stairs to the ground, where the soldiers were leading a prisoner to the stake to be burned. This boy was guilty of attempting to destroy Fort Jacqual, and would be put to death.

As he was led to his death, the boy was shouting bloody murder. "You killed him! You killed my brother! I'll strike you down, do ye hear?! I'll slay you myself, Jacqual!" He was in hysterics, but the commander did not heed the boy's threats. Indeed, he was almost laughing at the poor child as he was put against the stake and tied to the wooden post.

"You pompous Lorax! Do you honestly believe that you can defeat the might of the Twilight Army all by yourself?" Commander Jacqual got right up into the boy's face. "I destroyed the village that was here and built this fortress myself! The world is mine, do you hear me?! Mine!"

He turned to the guard who held the torch. "End this. NOW." The guard nodded and walked behind the boy.

Once behind the prisoner, the guard whispered, "Listen, kid, when I say "Death awaits you," you use your magic to get out."

"Why are you helping me?" the boy asked.

"Because I'm getting sick and tired of hearing Jacqual go on and on about how he will conquer the world. Now, do you want my help or not?" The boy made a sign with his hands that meant "Yes". "Okay, ready? DEATH AWAITS YOU!"

When the guard said those words, the prisoner tore out of his confines and shouted, "Fuego!" A ball of fire was summoned forth and cast into the crowd of soldiers, allowing him to run the other way and out the southern door, which had been left open slightly.

Jacqual growled in his fury. "No!" he shouted. "After him!" A small band of soldiers chased after the boy, leaving a good number in the fort. "As for you," he hissed at the guard who had helped the prisoner escape, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sorry, sir! The bonds must have been too loose!"

"Damn you, woman! How dare you insult me!" He struck the side of the guard's helmet with the flat side of his blade, knocking her to the ground and sending her helmet flying. She was young and had a very tough face, like a wizened soldier. Her red hair was very curly and abundant, and almost blocked her eyes from view. A white bandana was wrapped around her head.

She put a stern look on her face. "My apologies, Commander." When she said "Commander," she had said it with the most disgust she could muster. Jacqual stormed back to his tent to make plans to improve the security of the fortress, leaving the guard all alone. She picked up her lance and headed to her place on the ramparts. How much longer could she take being under that fool's rule?

***

Meanwhile, a similar question was running through Kevin's mind as he rode through the forest with his companions. How much longer was that pain-in-the-neck Eddy going to go on about his exploits as a scam artist?

"And so, thinking quickly, Hood-head and Lumpy hoisted me up and I leaped over the gate and let out my chums by picking the lock! Yes sir, you just can't keep the Amazing Garbanzo Brothers in prison!" Eddy was polishing his knives continuously as he told story after story. It seemed that no one else minded except for Kevin and Delilah, but they had their own reasons for not liking the story.

"Will you pipe down, you little twit?" asked a frustrated Kevin.

"I can't believe you have any acrobatic skills!" exclaimed Delilah.

"Oh yeah? I'll show you! Soon as we reach Eden, I'll give ya a show unlike any yet!"

Eddward hunched over when Eddy said this. "Dear lord, my poor back!" he cried. Nazz laughed and walked alongside him, helping him to straighten back up. She had been concerned about him since the battle in the swamp, and she wanted to make sure he didn't get hurt again. An image of the powerful Eddward flickered through her mind like a nightmare, and she shuddered. What was that dark power she felt? It certainly was not human. What kind of a secret was Eddward hiding? He would tell them on his own time.

Up above, in the sky, May flew on her winged horse with Ed, who was toting Sarah in his powerful arms, despite initial protests from the little girl. They were chatting excitedly, the three of them, until Ed asked, "May, where are your sisters? The last time we saw you, you were tight as could be!"

The blonde girl grew melancholy at the mention of her sisters. Sarah slapped her brother across the head for asking such a question. "My sisters and I…" she whispered, "…we were split up when a small army ravaged our town. They killed our father and our mothers. Marie went off to hunt them down, while Lee went missing. I decided that it would be best to find some powerful people to aid me in fighting them."

"Who were they?" asked Sarah.

"They called themselves "The Twilight Army". I'll never forget what their leader looked like. He was emotionless and did not care at all that there were people dying all around him! All I remember is the scar across his face…but I will find him and make him pay for what he did!"

Ed put a comforting hand on May's shoulder as she cried and Sarah wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her. A cry from the forest shook them from their sadness.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" It sounded like a young boy. May turned Marigold and had her dive down into the trees. They soon found a young boy surrounded by three soldiers. The boy looked up at Ed and the others and smiled.

"Thank goodness! Help me, please!" he exclaimed. He appeared to have been badly beaten.

"Don't you worry, wee one! I shall avenge you!"

"He's not dead, you oaf."

The children split up and took on one soldier each. Ed quickly slew his opponent with a downward slash that broke through his armor, while Sarah managed to slice her opponent's throat open with her daggers. May had a little more difficulty, but she impaled her enemy on her lance. With the boy safe, they could rest.

"What's your name, little boy?" asked May.

"I'm Johnny of the Forest! Thank you for saving me from the Twilight Army!"

May froze and began to quake. The Twilight Army did this? They were here, and had slaughtered even more innocent victims? "NOOOOOOO!" she screamed as she ran over and began to stab the dead body of her opponent over and over again until her arms were completely drenched in blood. It took both Ed and Sarah to pull her off of the soldier's body, but once they did, she began to bawl again.

Johnny stared at May and asked Ed, "Should I not have said that?"

"I don't think so. Come on," he said as he took Marigold by her reins, "I'll take you back to our group. We're going to help you out!"

"How?"

"By defeating the Twilight Army!"

***

"Wow, Eddy, I suppose you really ARE acrobatic after all!"

"I told ya so."

The party had stopped for lunch and were sitting down in the shade of a large tree when Ed came up with a crying May in his arms and a young boy at his side. This boy was slightly older than Jimmy and Sarah, but no older than Eddward or Delilah. His hair had been shaved off, so all he had was some fuzz atop his crown. He had tanned skin, like a traveler, and wore a simple white tunic, blue shorts, and black shoes. A navy cape was wrapped around his body.

"This is Johnny," said Ed. "He said that there's a fortress up ahead controlled by someone called the Twilight Army. I said we could defeat them. Who's in?"

A resounding "WHAT?!" bombarded Ed's ears, and immediately, the party was in an uproar. "How could you say such a thing?!" "There's no way for us to take down an army by ourselves!" "When will you wake up and realize that we are not as strong as you might think we are, Ed?!"

Delilah held up her hand to silence the group. When that did not work, she clanged her sword against its metal sheath. "Listen," she shouted, "I don't want to hear any complaints until I know just what this Twilight Army is! Now little boy," she looked at Johnny, "tell us what happened."

"I have lived by myself in this forest for many years now, and I lived with a tribe of people who dwelled in the center of the forest. They were very kind, and would give me food and shelter whenever I wanted. They taught me to read and to speak the tongues of humans. When I wasn't with them, I was in the forest, where I communed with nature and learned the ways of the world from a tree. I learned everything from that tree spirit.

"The Twilight Army came and destroyed everything. They cut down the trees and turned them into a fortress. They enslaved the men and women and made them work as their servants in the fortress. They cut down my tree, and so I set fire to that tree, so that it might not be a part of their fiendish plans. I made a promise that I would free the people from Commander Jacqual, but I was just one boy. What was I to do?"

Delilah reached out a comforting hand and touched his head. "Johnny, I can promise you this: we will destroy that fortress, and we will save those people. Let's move out, everybody!"

"Is this such a good idea?" Jimmy was very afraid of what would happen to the party if they were to face against an army. "We'll be murdered!"

"Jimmy, these people murdered innocent villagers. This happened to those swamp people." Sarah grabbed her friend roughly by the shoulders and shook him. "We have to do this!"

"Let's go!"

Ed walked along with May and Marigold. He gazed at May in sorrow and asked, "May, will you be able to fight?" She nodded and so Ed helped her onto her saddle. Before she lifted off the ground, Ed put a hand out to stop her. "Don't fly for now," he said, "here, there be archers."

***

A lone guard stood on the ramparts of the south wing of the fortress. He stared deep into the trees, hoping to find some sort of activity. Suddenly, a child ran out from the trees, carrying a sword.

"Halt! Who goes-" He was cut off by the arrow that imbedded itself in his skull.

Nazz ran out after Delilah and said, "Good plan." She was joined thereafter by Kevin, who grunted his acknowledgment.

"They usually are. We have to hurry now. I sent Sarah and Eddward to handle the west gate, Eddy, Rolf, and Jimmy to the east gate, and Ed, Johnny and May to the north. Kevin, let's destroy a wooden gate!"

Delilah drew her twin swords and Kevin readied his lance. When the two of them were prepared, they ran straight for the door and attacked it with ferocity. The combination of savage sword strikes and powerful lance blows was enough to splinter the gate with ease. One final hit from the lance was enough to break through the door, and the three rushed into the fort, where they were met by several soldiers and fighters.

"Got a plan for this?" Kevin grumbled.

"Give me a moment…"

***

"Sounds like Kevin and Delilah made it into the fort, Double D!" Sarah was striking at the door she was standing at, while Eddward fired off a Flux spell to crush the sentry that watched them from above. "We need to step it up!"

"When did I become Double D?" he asked.

"Well, you're name has two Ds in it, so, therefore, you are Double D!"

Eddward was unsure if he liked the nickname or not. He did not have time to ponder it, however, as the door was broken by Sarah. The two of them charged inside and began to combat the enemy soldiers that were attacking Delilah and her group.

***

While the others were breaking into the fort, Rolf and Eddy were busy dealing with an archer who sat atop the ramparts. Since Rolf had used up his hand axe against a bandit party a few days ago, Eddy lacked skill with a throwing weapon, and Jimmy only knew healing magic, they basically had to draw the archer's attention away from the north wing, where May was.

"Well," Eddy murmured, "what do we do, boyos? We're pinned here unless we can get up there and get rid of the archers."

"This is quite perplexing, yes? Jimmy-boy, have you a plan?"

Jimmy was sitting in thought. He finally snapped out of his trance and said, "Call me crazy, but I think I know how to beat the archers. Rolf, how much can you lift?"

"Ho-HO! The son of a shepherd can easily carry a stone boulder and hurl it a great distance!"

"Perfect." Jimmy looked at Eddy, who was already shaking his head.

"Oh no," he shouted, "I ain't doin' it!"

Rolf grabbed the thief and picked him up. "Too late for talk, greedy Eddy! He who hesitates is lost!" There was a lull in the archer's volley, which meant that they were readying their bows again. The fighter took advantage of this and threw Eddy as high as he could, sending him right over the wall and onto the rampart.

Eddy twisted his neck from left to right and grinned. "I am goin' to kill that hairy beast!" He drew his swords and stabbed the two archers next to him in the gut, and then leaped out of the path of the next arrow. The thief swiftly ran to the next archer and stabbed him in the gut and cut upwards. With the archers gone, he could leap down and unblock the door, allowing his companions to run inside and join the ongoing fray that was quickly growing out of control. When Jimmy ran by him, he grabbed the boy and locked his head with his arm.

"If you ever have me thrown again, I will gut you like a fish!" he hissed before charging towards the first enemy he could find. Jimmy was left shivering in fear and trying not to get hit by an axe-man.

***

Ed pounded away at the giant gate with his sword while the others were attacking the gates, and Johnny was getting rid of the lone archer atop the ramparts. May was shivering with anticipation, and she flew upwards once the archer was slain. She could not wait to kill those Twilight bastards, and she would start with that knight in the crimson armor.

She stabbed at the knight with her lance, but her attack was blocked by the sturdier unit, who grabbed her lance and wrenched it from her hands. May was pulled with her weapon and hit the ground hard. The girl was picked up by the knight, who cocked a fist and almost hit her, but held back at the last second.

"May? Is that you?" asked the knight in a familiar voice.

"…Lee? Lee, could it possibly be you?!"

The knight removed her helmet and revealed her tough face to her sister, though tears flowed freely from her eyes. May was crying as well, and the two sisters embraced each other openly. They cried into each other's arms, even as Ed and Johnny broke through the gate.

May let go and asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you had been kidnapped!"

"I'll tell you later, May. Right now, we're killing the man in charge!" She put her sister back onto Marigold and passed her lance back. "Come on!" shouted Lee as she ran forward and rammed into a soldier with her armor. In their hearts, both sisters felt right at home again fighting side by side in the heat of battle.

***

In time, the number of soldiers dwindled, leaving only a select few. These were dealt with by Delilah and the others, while Commander Jacqual was left to May, Lee, and Johnny. The fight would not be easy, for Jacqual was a skilled swordsman in his own right, and not just some fool. He would not be taken so easily.

"Come, taste your death!" he shouted as he charged May. The blonde girl blocked his attack with her lance, but she was still thrown back by the force of his blow.

"Leave my sister alone, you ass!" Lee engaged the commander in combat and managed to swing her lance so that she cut into his chest with a mighty blow. The commander howled in agony before coming at Lee with his own sword, which left a gash on her arm. While he was busy with the knight, he did not notice Johnny had snuck up behind him.

"Fuego!" he cried as a bolt of fire was shot at the commander. It badly burned his back, but still he stood.

He cackled in madness. "I will rule the Army! Bow to your ruler!"

"No." May stabbed him through the back with her lance, while Lee picked hers up and gored him through the front. Blood spilled from the commander's mouth, and his eyes began to glaze over.

"I…rule…" He fell to his knees and then to his side. The sisters took their lances from his body and rejoined their comrades, who were finished with the last of the soldiers. Everyone was tired, but in good spirits, for they had truly accomplished something great today. One by one, the captured people came out from hiding and gave their thanks to the party, with Eddy taking most of the glory.

As the day went on, they buried the soldiers out in the forest, although May and Lee wanted to leave Jacqual's body out for the wild animals. The night saw the party staying in the fort with the villagers, and they held a feast in celebration. There were some, however, who were not enjoying the feast.

May and Lee were up on the ramparts, staring up at the stars in the evening sky, wondering if their polygamous father could see them now. The pegasus knight asked her sister, "So, why did you join the Twilight Army?"

"I wanted to see if I could rise through the ranks and take it apart from the inside-out. Kind of silly, now that I look back on it."

"…Do you think we'll find Marie?"

"Undoubtedly. Now, if you'll excuse me," she got up from her spot on the ramparts, "I'm gonna give my greetings to Eddy."

May giggled at her sister, but then she turned back to the sky, wondering where her sister could possibly be.

***

Delilah was on the ramparts as well, sipping berry juice from a wooden bowl. She was joined by Eddward, who had said that he wanted to talk to her about something. "Well, what is it?"

"Delilah, this is something that has been bothering me since we first met. From the moment I saw you, I thought you looked familiar, and now I know." He held up some papers that had belonged to Commander Jacqual. "Why didn't you tell us that you were the princess Alaby?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

***

Name: Johnny

Class: Mage

Level: 4

***

Name: Lee

Class: Knight

Level: 6