A/N: Happy (Late) New Years!
And still not have too many reviews. Sigh. I told myself that I wouldn't let it bother me, yet it still does. So once again, I've concluded that I will put this on a hiatus at the end of this arc. This is mostly so that I may be able to write those other stories that I have been working on, so that perhaps I may be able to be better at writing this when I come back.
But yeah, sorry for the slightly late update. My interest in writing this chapter kept going off and on. Meh.
Either way, we don't have much longer. So until then... Enjoy. And review, if you wish.
Geoff
"Gorge, watch it!" I quickly dodge an incoming spell, before countering with a few arrows.
Gorge takes the spell straight to the chest, before falling to the ground.
A few more dark mages approach, each of them throwing firing more blasts of dark magic. Epona skillfully dodges most of them, safe for one that strikes her in the leg. She falls to the ground, sending me barreling into the crowd of Grimleal.
In a matter if seconds, the men disarm me and bind my hands.
"Probably here for that berserker." one of them mutters.
"Yeah. More sacrifices for Grima." a large one says.
And shit. That's what I was afraid of.
I stop and look ahead into the darkness ahead of me, searching for anyone else. Obviously Gorge and Wilson are down, though I'm not sure if that figure in front of me is Jafray or Calina. If I remember right, Ayla wasn't nearby, so maybe she's going to get the others.
As for Niro... Some of the Grimleal had sent Pegasus Knights, so I'm not sure if Niro and Rysor got away.
"Put him in the back with the others." someone else mutters. Almost positive these are all men, not really heard of many female Grimleal.
Welp, we'll have time. It's not like they're gonna- HEY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU-
"HEY! LEMME GO YA BASTARDS! I HAVE FRIENDS AND THEY HAPPEN TO KNOW THE SHEPHERDS!" I struggle in the grip of an axeman a bit, only for him to shove me into a nearby cage.
"After we're done with Ylisse, there won't be no Shepherds." the man grins and slams the door, pretty much leaving me alone in this cage.
I look up, only to see about ten other cages. Most of them are empty, though I do see Gorge, Wilson, and Calina here.
"Wait, where's Niro, Jafray and Ayla?" I ask the nearest figure, Calina.
She frowns and looks downward. "I.. I don't know. Jafray and Ayla ran off into the woods somewhere, I think Jaf got caught. As for Niro, I'm pretty sure Rysor was shot down. Chances are, they're fine. Even if Rysor is injured, they'll probably heal him and use him in battle." Great, if anyone comes here, we'll have to hope they don't kill any wyverns. Sigh. So we're stuck.
Wait, what's that?
A few Grimleal walk up, holding none other than Jafray and Niro. Fucking convenient.
They soon get dropped into the cage, and the troops leave.
I look toward the two. Jafray looks pretty much the same, but with a cut on his arm. As for Niro, he has a bit of blood on him, other than that, pretty much fine.
Jafray looks a bit... down, though.
"Hey, what's wrong, Jaf?" I look up to him, yet he simply frowns.
"I just overheard probably the scariest thing ever." He looks up to me, before looking back to the ground.
The following responses ranged from What/Huh/Hrm. Either way, we're curious.
"The Ylissean royal wedding is coming up in a couple of weeks. Thousands of people are going to be there." His frown sharpens. "Guess who else is going to be there?"
Oh shit.
"Who?" Gorge asks.
"The Grimleal are going to be invade Ylisstol." he answers for me. "The city won't be prepared, not on that day."
"It'll be a massacre." Niro mutters. "Thousands will die. Ylisse won't stand a chance..."
"Unless we get out of here." Calina nods.
So we'll have to wait? Ugh.
I know Ravel and Alyssa are gonna come, but we got smoked by these dipshits. Besides, they aren't too good at fighting, so unless we luck out, we could die here.
Jeremiah, can't you tell Ravel?
...
Jerry? DAMMIT! THE ONE TIME!
Ugh, forget it. I'll just have to play the waiting game.
Ravel
"Checkmate." OH GODS DAMN IT!
Just... How? "One more game." I frown at her.
"No, not now. I was planning on organizing our requests." Boooo. Boring.
I get up from the chair and proceed to drop down onto my own bed.
"It's starting to get boring." I groan. "Where are the others, anyways? They've been gone for three days." Yeah, they just left to get Wilson and haven't gone back.
"I cannot say I'm sure." she mutters. "Surely one of them will come soon."
Meh. Whatever. If they are in trouble, it's not like I'm crippled. I mean, I got better yesterday, thanks to the bunches of Elixirs here.
I simply yawn and roll onto my side, slowly drifting into sleep.
Huh? Jerry? You usually wait longer before talking to me.
Soon, the white void ripple, Jeremiah emerging out of it.
"Exactly." he explains. "But it's an emergency." Huh?
Wait for it... I spawn a pair of sunglasses out of the oblivion, and put them on. "What kind of emergency?" I ask.
"Hah. Very funny." he shakes his head before continuing. "Anyways, it's about your friends.
Oh... OH.
"Wait... Nevermind. Let Ayla explain." Huh, what do you-!
"Ravel! Wake up!" Guh, huh?!
Oh. That's what he meant.
"Hello... Ayla..." I groan.
"No time for greetings! It's an emergency!" Yeah, yeah. Been there, done that.
"Okay, what is it?"
"The others have been captured by Grimleal."
...
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!
"What is your plan?" Alyssa asks me.
What? She's asking me? Didn't she hear enough of how I screwed up?
"I don't know. I'll just improvise."
She looks up to me, her silver hair barely obscuring her face. "Not very able, for a tactician."
I just inaudibly grumble, not really caring about the excessive amounts of comments that had come out of her mount.
"It was about right here." Ayla announces. Alright then. Nothing out of the ordinary-
"There they are! Attack!" Oh shit. DARK MAGES! RUN!
"SHIT! INCOMING FLUX ORBS!" Duck! Pull out Draiotoll! RUNRUNRUNRUN!
Okay... OKAY!
There they are!
Alright! I'm getting close.
I dodge a spell from Alyssa, which proceeds to burn through some foliage. I hear a scream from behind the trees, probably a dark mage getting burnt by Arcfire.
I soon take a Flux to the shoulder, sending a numbness through my arm.
Ayla and Shadow gallop past me, treading straight behind the forest. I hear a few more screams, none female, however.
"Is that all of them?" I ask her.
"For now, yes. But stay wary. There's a camp ahead." Ayla nods and rides ahead.
Right... So... If they all got captured, then clearly these people are no laughing mater.
First... Wait for the numbness to wear off. Okay, good.
Now... I need to think of a way to get in there without getting caught.
Hrm... I look over to the corpses of the dark mages, an idea soon popping into my head.
"Are you sure that this is such a good idea?" Alyssa asks.
"Is it better than going out there and getting beaten up? Hell, at least I stand a chance." Is that valid enough?
She just groans. Good. Good. I think I actually stand a chance here.
Alright. Let Operation Infiltration commence. First thing's first. Did I put on the dark mage robe right? Okay... Wonderful.
Passing as one of them may be the hard part. Welp, it's worth the risk.
I sneak toward the camp, ignoring the gathering troops.
"Arlon, why aren't you at your post?" What? Er... What do I do..
I roughly cough into my hand in response. "Sick." I try to say as as possible.
The sorcerer in front of me simply stares, before shrugging and smiling. "Alright. You can go ahead to the med tent if you want."
Phew. Fell for it. I get up and walk deeper into the camp, avoiding eye contact with the other Grimleal.
Alright... I think that dark mage had the keys on him. Better check.
...
Alright. Good.
So.. Where are the cages?
... No, I should try and find their weapons first.
Alright... What's in-
"HEY! OCCUPIED!"
NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE!
Okay... Now what?
Hrm... That smell...
I think I'm by the kitchen. Hrm...
Need some help? Yes. That would be good.
Okay. First, take a right up here. Alright..
I creep past a few more tents, avoiding eye contact with any of the Grimleal.
Here.Really? Good.
I peek through the door, and there are some chests in here.
And the stable is to the right.Huh? Why would I-
Oh, DUH. Rysor and Epona, of course.
Fine.
I go into the stable, soon finding the two.
Rysor roars in delight while Epona simply neighs.
"SHUSH!" I yell-whisper. "I need to get you out of here. Just stay where I put you."
They simply nod... for some reason, and I open their cages/stables.
Er, better take the muzzle off of Rysor.
On second thought, I should wait.
I them out of the tent and lead them out of camp.
Finally, I guess things are going-
"What are you doing?" GUHWHAT!?
Oh.. Oh shit. Busted.
Er... Maybe I could...
"Going to give them a bath." I try to look as calm as possible, which isn't very easy when this man is shining a bright torch in your face. And it most certainly doesn't help to be wearing my Trickster outfit under the dark mage robe.
"Fine. Better be back in five minutes." he nods and walks away, earning a sigh of relief from me.
Anywaaaaaays...
I lead the two to the edge of the forest, making a mental note of where they are.
I then return to the camp, making my way to the weapons tent.
Okay, which chest is which?
Eh, just grab a few weapons and THEN they can come back for the other things.
I just open a chest and grab a few swords and lances before departing.
Alright...
Nope.
Nope.
There. There are the tents.
Ten people. I doubt the others are fighters, though I can't be sure.
Alright.
"What do you want?" I know that voice anywhere. It's Geoff.
In response, I lightly pull off my dark mage hood. This earns a few gasps from most of the prisoners, though the others are just sitting there confused.
I take out the key and stick it in the lock. Of course, this may or may not have earned the attention of a myrmidon.
"HEY! ARLON! WHAT ARE YOU-?!" Impale.
Cool, now he's a bloody heap on the ground.
Wonderful.
I yank Draiotoll out of his body and continue to fiddle with the lock. It's not working, so I may have to try some of the methods that Jafray taught me.
Hrm..
Pull door, turn clockwise.
Counter-clockwise?
Hrm...
Push?
No.
Er...
Pull out key slightly, and tuuuuuuurrr...
Yay. It worked.
I then proceed to toss all of the weapons into the cages, before turning and pulling out Draiotoll.
"Let's kick some cultist ass." Puts on metaphorical sunglasses.
"HRAAAAGH!" Geoff does a spin slash and leaves a rather large cut on the guard, before kicking him in the stomach and spilling out his entrails.
Guh... That was sick, actually.
Just... BLEECKKK!
...
That's new. Just... Step around the vomit.
"Let's go find Rysor and Epona." Niro nods. We already have the rest of the stuff, so... Why not?
I lead them through the forest, and to their mounts. And who else would await us than Ayla and Alyssa?
'Course. We're the A-team. Or we would be, if I still went by Alan. Eh.
"Rysor! Buddy! I was afraid you were dead!" Niro nearly tackles his wyvern to the ground, who simply roars in glee.
I place a faint smile on my face. Sigh, why can't I be that close with someone?
Hell, I have crazy trust issues. Welp, not really as much issues, as I just am not too trusting. I don't even trust Geoff that much... Or at least I used to not.
Sigh, I think so many things about myself, yet I hardly ever live up to my own word. Just... Stupid...
GAH!
I am knocked off of my feet by a dark spell that blasts a few feet away from me. It ricochets off of a tree, before running out of energy and fading.
Ears ringing. Crap.
Just... Try to get- Ouch...
Please tell me I still have an arm.
... Good. Alright. So my luck isn't being very sucky this time.
WAUGH!
I'm on the ground again.
"Sorry!" Shadow gallops past me and impales a dark mage, before turning toward me. "I didn't thought you were someone else."
"Don't worry about it, just keep fighting." I wipe some blood off of my face and get back onto my feet, before looking toward the horded of Grimleal standing before me.
Could this be? THE CHANCE TO BE A BADASS?!
I pull out Draiotoll, which glows a bizarre yet faint purple light.
Wait, why is it doing that...?
SHIT! MAGIC! I hold up my sword in defense, bracing for impact.
...
Impact? Helloooooo...?
I open my eyes and look at my sword.
Holy shit. It's glowing. Not faint, I mean GLOWING.
Draiotoll can absorb magic? Talk about overpowered!
But just what I need.
I take the sword and hold it in the air, before pointing it at the crowd in front of me.
I lean back and swing it in their direction, sending a powerful blast of dark magic barreling toward the front lines.
"GAH! DEFENSIVE POSITION!" I hear a voice from the back of the enemy crowd.
The Grimleal mages shuffle back to the center, and some generals come to the front. They simultaneously pull out stupidly large shields, blocking pretty much all potential for physical damage.
"Ray, what was that?!" Geoff and Epona gallop up to me, both of them actually looking surprised.
Alright just sheath my bla...
I'm not sheathing it.
What's going on?!
Now I'm running! SHIT! SHIT!
TRY TO TALK! TRY TO TALK!
OH GODS, I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF!
I CAN'T-!
"Die, Grimleal scum!" A voice that sounds nothing like mine yells.
And with that, Draiotoll breaks straight through the armored wall.
Jeremiah
"Ravel?! RAVEL?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I yell into the monitor.
"I am doing what I must, Jeremiah!" Oh gods, this is bad! That's not Alan's voice!
I hear footsteps, and look up to see Sygil rushing into the room.
"I heard yelling, what's wrong?!" He looks just as panicked as I probably do.
"Alan's other persona is starting to show! The real Ravel is taking control!"
A/N: Mwahahah! I did it again!
I feel proud for making this cliffhanger. Cliffhanger aside, most of this chapter felt a bit boring for me to write. I guess it's because my subconscious REALLY wants to get past this arc. No big deal.
Anyways, yeah, I will put this on hiatus after the arc.
One thing though:
I will have to delete and repost the chapters, mainly because this won't be very easy to follow, 20 chapter in.
That, and it will give me a chance to rewrite this story. Trust me, there won't be too many changes. I'll just add some more description and more interaction, as opposed to being mostly story-oriented.
Will I gain control of my body? Will we be victorious?! Will Gorge ever not be an idiot?! Find out on the next chapter of Dra- I mean, Change of Fate.
Sorry. But yeah, next chapter will be the twentieth chapter, where I reach the 50k words mark.
Constructively criticize away, my scarce amount of reviewers!