WARNING: Some intense violence during the siege of Delbray. This chapter is not intended for people under fourteen, but you probably already expected that. XD

Chapter 5: Refuge

The tears fell from his eyes for the first time in so many years.

He did not cry, not even when King Ashnard ruined his nation and forced so many of his brothers to fight for a disgusting cause. He did not cry when tens of thousands of his brothers and sisters died in Crimea's hands... Hell, he had even helped those Crimeans kill the Daein soldiers who did not question Ashnard's foul judgment. No matter how much he regretted killing his own siblings, he knew that it was for the best... He was fighting for Daein's future, not for its present.

But now he was crying.

Daein's future would be no more...

His country could survive one crushing defeat, and Ashnard's fall was that crushing defeat. Because of that defeat, the nation of Daein was weak and ill protected, and its people were forced to live meagerly in order to allow King Pelleas to attempt to restore the nation. He stood by King Pelleas, and though everyone scoffed at General Tauroneo for leaving the Daein lines and assisting the Crimeans in their attempt to restore their nation, they eventually praised the former Steadfast Rider for returning to his ruined home and doing everything in his power to help it rise again.

But to have King Pelleas murdered at Prime Minister Izuka's hands, to have so many warmongers roaming the streets of Nevassa, forcing these poor boys who have witnessed so much death to take up arms and battle for Begnion's sake... These were unforgivable sins... Izuka was forcing the people of Daein to fight for Begnion and go to war once more. So many sons of Daein would die meaninglessly, and he, General Tauroneo, would be powerless to stop them.

He had sworn to live and die as a warrior of Daein... He had turned arms against his former King because that King had betrayed Daein... That King let so many of his brothers and sisters die so pointlessly, all because that King had his own mad, unfathomable ambitions... But now that King's heir, Daein's hope, was dead, and with that fallen hope these Daein loyalists no longer had anywhere to turn to.

The lavender-haired swordsman who marched beside Tauroneo saw the devastation in the old man's eyes, and spoke up.

"Though... Though we were enemies once, we can always turn to Crimea. Queen Elincia would recognize you, General, and Jill and I are also part of those veterans who fought for the Greil Mercenaries..." Zihark mumbled.

"Crimea..." Tauroneo mumbled that name with uncertainty. "Why would Crimea shelter a high-ranking Daein commander?"

"Because you are no ordinary Daein commander." Jill answered for Zihark, smiling.

"But... But wouldn't the Crimeans resent..."

"They didn't when you were among the twelve who stood beside Ike when he took down Ashnard."

"True... But our men..."

"I'm sure you know what kind of ruler Queen Elincia is. Do you think she'd let our brothers die simply because they are Daein warriors? Surely you have turned cynical, General."

"True... I guess it's our best option now. Very well... All units! Head for Delbray! There we can contact the Crimean army and, through them, Queen Elincia of Crimea! Within the borders of Crimea, we can plan our strategy for saving our beloved Daein!" Tauroneo yelled, and his men raised their spears in support.

"We will reach the outskirts of Delbray city in about half an hour, if we keep the pace of our march." A Crimean sergeant announced to Soren and the other officers.

"Very good, sergeant. Thank you for that report." Titania nodded, letting the officer return to his unit.

"This is strange... The lands around here do not look damaged. That means that the Daein troops have not had the time to leave the Delbray area..." Oscar stroked his chin.

"Could that mean that Delbray might still be contested ground? Geoffrey and the others might be alive!" Titania smiled, hope shining in her eyes.

"Or maybe those Daein soldiers have gotten exhausted from their victory..." Soren mumbled bitterly.

And Titania frowned.

"Soren, stop being so..." Ike scolded, but was cut off.

"Stop being pessimistic? Hah! Why would I when there's a chance that some of our old comrades are likely dead right now, have you thought of that?! Why assume that we're going to see the best scenario? You should always assume the worst, that way, when the road proves less bumpy than you thought, you'd be happier than if you expected an easy ride and had it full of pebbles." Soren scoffed.

"It looks like only an eighth of the troops Elincia had in Melior reached our sides in time. Can we give these Begnion warriors a beating with so few of them?" Oscar thought aloud.

"Whatcha 'fraid of? We'll kick them into next week! We'll make them run back to Sienne and tell their friends that the Greil Mercenaries are the scariest people around!" Mia laughed.

"And we'll feather those who are too slow to run." Shinon added with a smirk.

"I wonder if there are any fine la..." Gatrie was cut off when Titania slapped him in the face.

"Such disgusting thoughts at such an inappropriate time. Then again, I doubt that half the words that come out of your mouth are ever appropriate..." Titania sighed.

Gatrie bowed his head like a punished dog, while Soren sighed.

"Only fools let themselves get so easily distracted. We are here to rescue however many friends still live in that carnage, and if your attention wavers we will fail in that mission. Stay sharp! Stay vigilant, and victory may very well be ours." He declared.

"I'm sorry, Lady Lucia..." Astrid mumbled as both women stood on the battlements of Delbray.

"Why didn't Geoffrey let me fight with him and Kieran at the gate? Why did he make me stay here? Even Bastian was allowed to stand behind him and serve as fire support..." She mumbled.

"It's probably due to the fact that armored knights and calvary are able to handle attacks better than lighter units such as yourself, Lady Lucia. To send someone who does not know how to use a bow or throwing weapon and has light armor on the field is a foolish endeavor, and I'm sure the General realized this..." One of the snipers stationed at the battlement answered.

"If only I had a Storm Sword, or a similar weapon... I would not have to watch my brother die without being able to help him." Lucia snarled bitterly.

"The gate is holding, milady, and your brother and Kieran are still..."

"That's not what I meant. If we are to die today, I would rather die by my brother's side than watch him fall without having been able to do anything to prevent his death!"

"Do not talk of death so lightly, Lucia..." Astrid dropped the formal tone now. "Our forces are completely surrounded and so many of our comrades have fallen already..."

"I... I must go to him..." Lucia hissed, making a move towards the stairs.

"There is little you can do to help, milady... You should stay here and wait for further instructions from the General..." The Sniper protested, and Astrid nodded. (1.)

With a sigh, Lucia looked at the horizon. "Will Elincia send reinforcements in time?"

"I see the Crimean flag! The castle is still in our hands!" Titania cheered as they finally entered Delbray's outskirts.

"Or it could be an elaborate trap..." Soren mumbled, but his comrades, all overjoyed at seeing that flag, refused to listen.

"Ok, I see an ocean of foes... It looks like the castle has not been breeched, but more and more Begnion warriors are clogging the castle's entrance as they try to get in. If we don't hurry now, they might actually have a chance at breaking through..." Oscar nodded.

"Then we cannot let that happen. Everyone, charge! Show these Begnion warriors that Crimea never abandons its own warriors!" Titania yelled as she rushed forward. The entire army followed, despite Soren's protests for stealth and tactical restraint.

"General, more Crimeans have arrived. They are coming from the west, and are approximately six thousand strong..." A Begnion halberdier bowed.

"That's all? What a pity. I expected them to send tens of thousands of reinforcements. Do they intend to taunt us? Still, those warriors in Delbray are skilled, and I should hope that, on the field, these reinforcements will be just as entertaining. All units! Enemy reinforcements have arrived, and now we find ourselves facing foes in multiple areas! Prepare yourselves and strike accordingly!" General Rolan of the Confederacy thus called to his troops on the field.

"It... It's the Crimean flag!" A Crimean archer yelled to his comrades.

"Reinforcements? Now?" Astrid ran over to the parapet's sides to look out into the distance, despite the fact that an arrow or two went flying towards her head.

"Will... Will they make it in time?" Lucia mumbled uncertainly. She had believed that they'd make it out successfully when this battle began, but after weeks of being forced to hole up in Delbray, with more than three fifths of the comrades who were with her in the beginning of the battle dead, Lucia now had a different point of view of the situation.

"Milady, the Crimean army has learned from the mistake known as Daein's invasion. We are a much stronger people, and the soldiers that her majesty has sent are likely the finest she could muster. I'm certain that they will be here to help us." The sniper nodded.

"I wonder..." Lucia mumbled, staring at that distant flag as it moved closer. "Are you among them?" She spoke at it, despite the fact that the man she was talking to could not hear her.

A pegasus knight with white armor flew low over the central battalion of the Begnion troops. She was carrying one passenger, who quickly leapt off her steed and landed on the ground.

The man carried a single large sword, and the various Begnion lance wielders who closed in on the Begnion intruder smirked. This fool had no idea what he was doing, did he?...

Until they saw his face...

And upon seeing their terrified stares, Ike smiled.

As the commander of the Greil Mercenaries tore through his foes like a knife through butter, the rest of the Crimean forces slowly ripped apart their Begnion counterparts.

"Hyaah!" Titania charged in between the various armed warriors surrounding her. As bones cracked and screams filled the air, her axe drew blood from many a red-armored foe.

A series of foes clenched their chests, howling as gaping holes let the blood drain from their bodies. Oscar rode along, skewering enemy troops left and right. Though he was not a particularly swift target, the enemy still found it impossible to cut him down.

But the greatest monster of the Crimean lines proved to be their old champion mage.

As a wall of red armored troops closed in on him, Soren smirked.

"Some of you should recognize me from the war of Crimea's liberation. And those of you that do, well, I wonder why you're even willing to attack me. Those of you who have not have heard of 'Master Soren,' I should hope. And if not, well, I would not like to be you at this very moment."

But even as he taunted them the Begnion warriors continued to close in on him.

"Fine. If you want to die, you should have told me earlier." And with that, he raised his arms.

In seconds, the sky cackled with golden lights, and thunderbolts of various sizes plummeted down upon the advancing Begnion tide. Hundreds of Begnion soldiers shook violently as the electrical energy ran through their bodies. The lightening cackled eagerly, frying every single one of these warriors, and soon their charred bodies littered the ground before the black-haired mage.

"Hmph, and I was expecting a far greater challenge. What a pity." Soren scoffed.

"That's... That's cruel..." Mia mumbled as she hacked through a Begnion armored knight who dared to duel her.

"And slaughtering Crimean soldiers without provocation is not?"

"Two wrongs don't make a right, Soren!"

At those words his eyes widened. "You... You may be right on that... But your hands are just as bloody... That is the fate of us warriors. We see death so often that, for many of us, it no longer triggers our human sympathies."

Mia decided to ignore him on that. Clearly, his heart had grown rather cold.

Lucia watched in awe as Ike, leader of the Greil Mercenaries, continued to hack their foes like nobody's business. "I see that his swordsmanship hasn't waned at all since last we met." She smiled.

Then she saw that thunderstorm in the distance, and yelped. "Soren! That's got to be Soren! There's no other mage who could possibly blast foes with such a huge radius."

Astrid smiled at Lucia's enthusiasm, but frowned when she noted that the Begnion army was still persistent in its attempt to storm the castle.

"Those of you who have felt the pain of battle, come along! We archers must help Geoffrey and Kieran hold the line, or death will give us its cold greeting." She spoke as her steed galloped down the steps towards the castle gate. Quickly, several Snipers followed her.

"Forgive me, lady Lucia, but you will have to stay on the battlements a little longer..." One of them called back to her.

Lucia sighed as she continued staring out into the distance... There had to be some way she could help...

"Commander, our rear guard has been annihilated, and the left flank has taken massive casualties... Our right flank won't hold out for long if these Crimeans continue to push towards our central battalions..." A Begnion armored knight reported with head bowed.

General Rolan's face turned bright red in rage.

He would have received countless awards from Lord Lekain himself had he taken the fort, yet these reinforcements started to worry him.

But, of course, he could hardly afford to show these emotions.

"What madness is this? Begnion troops unable to hold off Crimean scum? Do you enjoy insulting your glorious comrades, men?! Beat them back! Break them! Force them to repent for having betrayed our glorious nation!" The General yelled, yet his eyes widened in fear as he watched Ike cut through dozens of his finest veterans.

"It seems that a pincer maneuver followed by the hammer formation is not enough to phase our Begnion foes. They've taken many casualties while we're mostly unscathed, but they still outnumber us greatly... I wonder what measures I must take to finally crush them..." Soren stroked his chin as he watched the two armies shift about along the plains.

"Master!" A Crimean calvary rider clattered to a halt beside him. "Reinforcements have arrived!"

"Of what sort?" Soren asked with an amused tone.

"Pegasus Knights, sir!"

"Air support? Excellent. It looks like the enemy ballistas have been compromised too. Have them dive into the enemy ranks. The enemy still has quite a few snipers, but upon seeing aerial reinforcements I'm sure our ground troops will engage them accordingly." Soren smiled.

Sword, axe, and lance waved in the air as Crimean and Begnion troops hacked away at each other, but soon the pegasus knights, the calvary of the sky, came hurling down upon the unwary Confederate troops.

Indeed, Begnion's pegasus knights were far more renowned than their Crimean counterparts, but these Crimean Pegasus Knights had originally been founded by General Tanith of the Begnion Holy Guard, and thus they were given the most stringent training possible. Furthermore, now that the Confederacy had betrayed the Empire, the Holy Guard, which consisted of the most elite of Begnion pegasus knights, were not on their side. The Confederacy, robbed of its trump card, now found itself pelted from above by these brave women.

Sure enough, Crimea's calvary divisions immediately surged into the Begnion ranks, taking down as many enemy archers and fighers as they could before their air support wrecked havoc from above.

Overwhelmed by this flow of enemy troops, the once proud legions of Begnion screamed and flailed about, trying to find some form of shelter from those sharp aerial spears.

"Commander! We won't be able to hold our position much longer!" A Begnion halberdier wailed as he ran to the Begnion General's side.

"Curse them... These dogs have sharp fangs indeed. All units, cut your way through to the castle! If we focus our energies on seizing it we might develop a strong enough position for reinforcements to arrive... Then they can assist us in driving the remainder of the horde away from Delbray. Our foes within and without the castle are skilled, no doubt, but they cannot hope to succeed when faced with the full might of the Confederacy!" Rolan raised his spear and yelled at the survivors of the carnage.

As they say, old habits die hard.

A spear, when thrown correctly, can force the victim to reguritate large amounts of blood, thus terrifying said victim's allies.

An arrow, on the other hand, is almost guaranteed to make anyone cringe when fired at point blank range.

And when a sea of red-armored knights get arrowed in the face only a few feet away from the archers who fired said arrows, one can easily tell that something is terribly wrong with Begnion's chain of command.

"Commander Richardson, our frontline soldiers are getting blinded, skewered, and blasted by spells from those Crimean dogs, and yet the General continues to order a charge... If I were less loyal I'd be requesting a mutiny... Rather, I believe we should retreat and contact Lord Lekain... No commanding officer should be this incompetent when leading his troops." A halberdier reported to a nearby mounted knight.

"You may be right on that, Lieutenant Duran... I cannot bear the agony of watching our brothers and sisters die so pointlessly in their assault on the castle. Castle Delbray is a critical strategic location, and is not particularly easy to storm... One must tactically annihilate its defenders and not charge head on, for the chokepoints that castle holds and the various parapets from which snipers can cut down our troops are far too many... Our soldiers are witnessing this firsthand, yet Rolan does nothing to spare them. Lieutenant, gather the men under your command and I'll gather mine. We will leave this pointless battlefield and make sure that some Begnion warriors will stay alive to tell Sienne of the horrors that have arisen here..." With that Richardson began to ride away, and Duran immediately began yelling at various soldiers to follow him.

"So a mere Commander and a Lieutenant show disdain for my command. No matter. Captains, Commanders, Lieutenants, Sergeants, guide your respective battallions and squads and strike the Greil Mercenaries and the Crimean reinforcements. Those of you who are in charge of purely calvary groups, and those of you who have many calvary troops, come to me immediately. I have a special mission for you..." Rolan yelled across the field.

Ike swung his blade and another soldier came crashing on the ground, his arm lying a few feet away from his bleeding side. With a few more swings, entire squads of Begnion soldiers collapsed, their lives having been cut from them by that sharp blade. The commander of the Greil Mercenaries did not say a word as he slashed down those who stood before him. He had nothing to say to them... What could he say to these men who probably were forced to engage their Crimean neighbors in this bloody contest? What would be appropriate? Even Soren might not be able to give him a straight answer to that.

Even Rhys found himself staring an enemy fighter in the eye. And as the fighter raised his giant axe, Rhys raised his hand and from his palm a blinding flash of light forced the fighter to scream and collapse on the ground. His face had been burned by the sheer intensity of that light, and the figher could only cover his face and howl. Rhys crossed his hand against his chest as he sent a beam of shining energy down upon that unfortunate soul... May Elmine forgive him for causing such misery. At least he had ended it with that final stroke...

Three squads of Begnion soldiers surrounded Soren, and with a single tornado tome these same men found themselves slamming into the ground countless yards away from where Soren was standing. This blow was, perhaps, a mere warning shot considering that Soren could have torn them apart with his spells.

Yet another halberdier was not so lucky. As he rushed at Soren with his lance outstretched, the mage raised his hand in that direction, and suddenly the halberdier's armor was torn off, and the warrior screamed as his body was slowly ripped apart by the slashes of wind...

Soren closed his eyes as a stream of blood hit his arm. There was no joy in seeing your foe die so horribly before you, even if it was hard proof of one's prowess.

The horde of Bengion soldiers finally entered hand to hand combat with Geoffrey and the other knights, and with three more Crimean warriors falling before the enemy blades, the General realized that he might finally die here, on this battlefield, despite the fact that Ike had come with reinforcements and was crushing their foes in a nearby place.

Turning his head, he yelled at a mounted archer: "Call my sister. Tell her to run to the highest point of the castle and do what she can to get the attention of an allied pegasus knight... I will die here, but at least she can live on to avenge me and continue to help Elincia..."

Elincia, my beloved, I have failed you... Geoffrey thought to himself as he rammed his spear into a charging enemy soldier.

"General Geoffrey, we are honorable knights of Crimea, and thus we will die gloriously here today! Lady, no, Major Astrid, it was an honor fighting for you for so long, but today you and I shall die as sister and brother in arms here..." Kieran spoke without a trace of regret in his voice. Raising his axe, he plunged himself into a batallion of foes with long spears, hacking away merrily at them despite knowing that his end was near.

The moment she heard the news, Lucia screamed. "That bastard! Does he think he can die while I merely watch?! We are family, and if we die we die side by side... I will not watch my brother die while I flee to safety like some selfish coward!" And with that she ran down the steps of the castle.

Finally, when the first two waves of Begnion soldiers perished, Geoffrey breathed a sigh of relief. Kieran and Astrid, along with a handful of other veteran knights, were still alive...

And, perhaps unfortunately, so was Bastian.

"'Tis a glorious day! It makes me want to go roll in some hay!" Bastian laughed.

At that moment Lucia came charging down towards her brother.

"Lucia? I thought..." Geoffrey muttered.

"You weren't thinking! We are siblings, Geoffrey, and if you die I shall die beside you. How can you expect me to live seeing you fall, knowing that I did nothing to prevent your death? If we die here, we shall die together as siblings should. Kieran, Astrid, thank you for watching over him... Now we four must stand and face the end together." Lucia raised her blade.

"My, my, the lovely Lucia is truly an inspiring persona indeed." Bastian smiled.

Lucia sighed as she turned to the distance, and her eyes widened as a sea of warriors appeared again, but, this time, they were calvary riders.

"They will arrive in minutes, General Geoffrey, and as honorable Knights of Crimea we shall charge forward and give them no quarter!" Kieran raised his axe.

"Grandmother... My brothers... Now I must raise my bow against my homeland once more. The Confederacy must be stopped, and I will die standing against it..." Astrid mumbled as she put her bow to her chest.

The riders came ever closer, and these warriors of Crimea readied themselves for the end...

But then a curious occurrence showed up before their eyes.

The entire army of calvary shock troops that were charging towards them suddenly flew far to the left. Though the winds were fierce, Lucia could make out their screams. They were totally caught off guard.

From a distance Soren had his hand raised, and he was panting furiously.

"That... WAS AWESOME, SOREN!" Boyd called with a smile and a thumbs up.

"Boyd... Damn you... DON'T GET DISTRACTED! I... I cannot continue... I... Need rest..." And with that, Soren collapsed.

"Soren!" Mist yelled, watching their tactician fall unconscious.

And with their tactician no longer able to fight or give commands, the Crimean army was forced to fend for themselves. Thankfully, by putting all his energy into that single casting of 'Smack,' the Begnion army had lost a good third of its surviving soldiers with one move...

With the final assault on Delbray thus compromised, the Begnion army found itself short on troops and surrounded by all sides. Rolan's eyes widened as more Crimean flags came waving from the horizon. What seemed to be such an easy mission proved to be a disaster...

His red eyes opened quickly.

The green flap of the tent was all that he could see, and he shook his head. What was going on? By all rights, enemy troops should have closed in on him and killed him by now. He was defenseless, and as the strategist of the Crimean Army, his death would have made their efforts so much more difficult.

But their foes were already crushed. They had taken so many losses while in comparison the Crimeans suffered relatively fewer casualties. Their foes were basically beaten.

That, and even if their foes were steadfast, the Crimean army had General Titania... And they also had her.

No matter what, he could not let her die. That girl, the Duchess of Delbray, was far too important to him. For her to die would prove his failure as a man, and as he turned his head to the right, he nearly jumped out of his bed. Speak of the devil!

She was sleeping there, her blue hair cascading down the sides of her body. Apparently, she had been sitting here by his bedside, waiting for him to regain consciousness. He looked at her shoulders and saw no cuts. Perhaps she was able to make it out with few wounds? He was alive, and so was she, and apparently there were enough healers in their ranks who were able to heal him... Did that mean that they were victorious?

Soren couldn't believe his eyes. Lucia had not fallen in battle as he had assumed. Rather, she was alive, and judging by her peaceful expression Geoffrey was alive as well. As long as those siblings were breathing, Delbray, their hometown, would be in Crimean hands. This proved that they were victorious... Lucia looked so serene, and she wouldn't be so had they failed to hold that castle.

He smiled to himself. It was foolish of him, really, to have spent all his magic energy on that one spell... Smack took much of his magical reservoir, no doubt, but an intense casting of that spell was unnecessary to allow Smack to deliver a devastating blow to the enemy. He had designed Smack to allow for one spectacular release of that spell, to allow for the fist of a last stand to strike the enemy and crush them, and he had used it then, knowing that if the enemy found his unconscious body, he'd be easy prey.

It was a miracle indeed. A miracle that he had survived, and a miracle that she had survived, and a miracle still that they had won without having her frown in her sleep. He smiled, if only future battles could turn out like this... Perhaps they could end it quickly and almost everyone could live...

But then he immediately frowned. That was a fool thinking just now. Wars were not meant to end swiftly. Vengeance was a powerful force that almost always arose after a war. Hatred, deceit, greed, these flaws of human nature would always resurface, and war would erupt once again. To hope for a better tomorrow was folly. Yes, one may experience peace, prosperity, and happiness for years, but even those years would come to pass, and the horrors of the battlefield would echo in everyone's mind again.

But why? Why did humanity have such follies? It made no sense.

He heard the tent flap open, and immediately closed his eyes.

"Lucia?" Ike's voice.

He heard her mumble and shake a little. "Ike?"

"Lucia, how is he?"

He heard her shuffle in her seat. "I've been at his bedside since yesterday afternoon, and he hasn't regained consciousness since then..."

"That's strange... Rhys said he should be just fine, and should be waking up any moment now."

"Well, he's still breathing, that's for sure... But... No, he shouldn't have any health problems, right?" He heard concern in her voice.

"None at all, and I regret not being able to celebrate our victory with the two of you." Soren spoke, and he heard Ike stagger and the chair lurch.

Soren opened his eyes and smiled. "So, Ike, I guess I don't have to be around for you to do just fine. Say..." He began to frown. "How many casualties did we take?"

Lucia stared at the ground, and decided to let Ike give him the news.

"Soren... You want the good news or the bad news?"

"Bad."

"In total, about 40 percent of the Crimean army, which consists of the troops originally at Delbray before we arrived and the reinforcements, of which we were a part of, were slain... Among the survivors there are a lot of wounded. Furthermore..." Ike turned his head towards the tent flap and leaned closer to Soren. "Bastian is still breathing."

Soren's eyes narrowed. "Ha, ha. No. He's still an old comrade of ours."

"Lighten up." Ike smirked.

"And the good news?"

"None of our old comrades from the Mad King's War fell. Thanks to you, Astrid, Geoffrey, Kieran, Bastian, and Lucia here were saved by that one stroke. The rest of us were able to hold our own... And you should have seen how fast Lucia ran to your position."

"You did that for me?" He laughed a little, turning his head to face her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She pouted.

"Lucia... Come here." He motioned for her to come closer, and that she did.

She grasped his hand with her own. "How are you feeling?"

"Fair enough... But don't worry about something like that. We can't let discomforts distract us from what must be done."

"C'mon, Soren. You need your rest. There's no point in overworking yourself when it's difficult for you to physically handle that workload to begin with." Ike sighed.

"The fact is, I can handle it, Ike." Soren sighed in response as he got up. "Lucia, Ike, let me change and prepare myself. I will be able to meet with you shortly in the war room. Delbray may be safe today, but I'll bet that they're planning a second attack."

Lucia and Ike glanced at each other. Was it right to let him work himself to death? But they both knew that he was too stubborn to listen.

"Alright then..." Ike shook his head as he left.

"See you soon." Lucia nodded as she followed him.

Soren shook his own head. There was no time to waste. They had to prepare for the flood, or it would consume them all.

1. If you insist on giving this nameless soldier who will not appear in the fic ever again a name, he shall hereby be called Billy. That's a nice, generic name for a generic character. XD