"Jasmine." Eliwood grasped firmly onto her arm, looking at her solemnly. "We don't know what to expect at the Water Temple. Gather up a few of our comrades, just in case."

She nodded firmly. "We'll meet you there." He nodded at her and turned around, quickly chasing after the other two lords. Jasmine jogged the other way. She wasn't sure how she quite felt about the entire situation—of Nino and Jaffar—but she leaned more towards Hector's side concerning Jaffar. She certainly didn't trust the man. She wasn't sure if she didn't trust him enough to leave him to die…but she knew she couldn't do that to Nino. She was just so young and innocent. She still had so much more time left in her life to spend it well.

Jasmine stopped at their camp, slightly out of breath. Marcus and Oswin, on night guard and also awaiting their lords, immediately shot up from their positions.

"Jasmine!" Marcus ran to her side. "What is it? What's wrong? Where are the lords?" Oswin caught up to them.

Jasmine looked up, still breathing heavily. "They followed after…Nino and Jaffar…to the Water Temple. I need to…gather up a small crew…just in case."

Marcus nodded. "Understood. Just give me the word and I'll gather them up for you."

Jasmine straightened up, glancing around the quiet camp. Everyone had already gone off to bed since it was so late. "Legault. I need Legault." He might prove helpful, since he'd been a member of the Black Fang. She paused, pondering about who else to bring along. She knew she would need to bring a variety of people because they didn't know what lay ahead of them. "And…I need Louise, Canas, Serra, Farina, Dorcas…Harken, Heath, and…you, Marcus."

He nodded dutifully. "I'll alert the others of the news."

"I'll help," Oswin said. The two split off to wake the people that Jasmine had just named off. Jasmine dashed to her tent to retrieve her maps (in case it showed the Water Temple, even though she highly doubted it), and came back in time to see most of her comrades gathered about. The noise had awakened many of the other army members.

"What's going on?" Rebecca murmured, stifling back a yawn.

"Don't worry about it. Just go back to sleep," Jasmine replied gently.

"That didn't answer her question!" Serra huffed, folding her arms across her chest. She was covering her nightgown with a long lacy white cloak. "I would like to know why my beauty sleep has been disturbed!"

"We've got a battle coming up—probably, anyways. I need to bring some of you guys with me to fight."

"Why couldn't you have brought Priscilla or Lucius with you?" Serra grumbled grouchily. "I'm exhausted!"

"We all are," Dart snapped at her. His usual bandana was gone from his head, and his brown hair was a mess. There was no hiding the irritation in the pirate's expression—clearly he didn't appreciate the sudden wake up call, and Serra's complaints were only further aggravating him. "Now quit complaining like a baby!"

Serra gaped at him. "That is not a way to speak to a lady!"

"Then good thing I ain't speakin' to one," he snapped. Farina snickered.

"We don't have time for this," Jasmine cut in, taking a step in front of Dart before Serra had the chance to smack her healing staff against him. "We need to go. Now."

"I'm going with you," Matthew said instantly, stepping toward Jasmine. She furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"No, you're not. I already have Legault; I have no need for—"

"I'm going with you," he repeated. His eyes were steely and his voice had grown more dangerous. She raised her eyebrows.

"I said no," she said sharply. Her patience was gone, and their time was running out. "Don't make me say it again." He narrowed his eyes at her, his jaw tightening. She turned her attention to Legault, who had his eyebrows raised at Jasmine. "Do you know the way to the Water Temple?"

"Like the back of my hand."

"Good. Let's get going, then." She glanced at Matthew for a second before looking away. He glowered at her, and took a few steps away as the group assembled themselves.

"We'll try not to have too much fun without you," Legault called out to Matthew as he jumped on the back of Heath's Wyvern. Matthew glared at him viciously. Legault grinned down at him as Hyperion took off the ground, followed by Farina and her Pegasus.

"We'll be back soon," Jasmine said to the others as she perched herself behind Marcus on his horse. Everybody was going either by horseback or were flying in order to get to the Temple quicker.

Her eyes were searching the camp as if she was looking for somebody, and there was a hint of disappointment in her expression when she apparently couldn't find him. She turned around and looked straight ahead as Marcus ushered his horse forth.

Raven poked his head out of his tent, and he took a step out when he saw the group leaving. Lucius exited the tent after him, eying Raven worriedly.

"Lord Raven," he said softly, "are you alright?"

Raven didn't respond immediately. He sighed softly, tilting his head back toward Lucius. "No."

"They'll be fine," Lucius reassured, knowing that Raven was worried about Jasmine's safety since she was out of his sight and care. "They're all skilled soldiers; she'll be safe."

Raven turned back to watch the group disappear from his view. "I don't know, Lucius. I just don't have a good feeling about this one."

And he stayed out of his tent well after they had departed, still staring off in the direction they had left in.

Marcus's horse let out a sharp neigh as one of its hooves fell into the water.

"Whoa, boy!" Marcus tugged on its reigns, reeling it back on the pathway, and soothed it by petting its mane.

"It's too cramped around here!" Serra shouted in frustration, struggling to heal Hector as lightning flashed around her. "Jasmine, do something!"

"What d'you expect me to do?" Jasmines shouted back heatedly. "Ask Sonia if she could kindly stop flowing the damn place with water?" Angrily, she surveyed the area. As if hearing her request, a new pathway emerged from the water, leading to the archers that had been sending ballistae arrows their way. "Lyn! Eliwood! Canas! Head down that new pathway!" she ordered immediately, pointing in its direction. "Everyone else try dispersing more—Marcus and Hector, stay in the back—Harken and Louise, I'm going to need you to head back to deal with those Wyvern riders."

It was hectic, to say the least. Pathways would appear and soon disappear, more and more enemies kept approaching, and not a single pathway leading toward Sonia herself had risen. It was difficult trying to keep a safe distance from one another when the pathways barely allowed enough room to do so.

Jasmine sighed in frustration, running her fingers through her hair. She took a few steps back to survey the area and her comrades. Even though she had brought along barely a handful of soldiers with her, their fighting was, as always, exceptional. It never ceased to amaze her how strong and persistent her comrades were.

She thought she saw something move in the corner of her eye, and she turned in time to watch a sword fall upon her. It struck her in the shoulder blade and dragged across her chest, leaving a long and deep red gash. Her shirt quickly became drenched in her blood. She let out a surprised shriek of pain, staggering back. Pain shot through her like knives constantly stabbing her.

The myrmidon made a little 'tsk'ing noise. "Leaving a harmless tactician unattended?" He sounded amused. "I think you need to work on your tactic skills more, young one." He stepped toward her. She tried to take a step back, but found her foot in water. "Too bad you'll never have the chance."

And he stabbed her in the stomach.

She inhaled sharply, her eyes wide in shock and pain, and let out an ear piercing scream when he yanked the sword roughly out of her. Blood splattered everywhere.

Everything around her was becoming blurry and moving in slow-motion. The shouts of her name were lost in the pounding of her ears. She reeled back in pain—the ground beneath her feet was replaced by water, and she found herself falling into it with a splash. A long trail of red followed her as she continued to sink through the once-clear water.

It barely registered in her brain or body that she'd just hit the water—the pain had overtaken any thoughts of that whatsoever. It bit into every part of her body, making her want to scream and scream until she could no more. Her eyes stung as the cold water entered them, and her lungs were beginning to hurt from holding her breath. She wondered if she could try swimming back, but she didn't have the strength in her to do so. So she stayed limp, tilted her head back, and watched the trail of blood she was creating.

It was over. Done with. She knew she was going to die. So she didn't struggle. She just let the water take her deeper and deeper. As her vision darkened and her chest began to swell her immense pain, she wondered when the entire 'life flashes before your eyes' nonsense was supposed to happen. Then she realized she didn't want to relive most of her life—it was only the memories that she had since she'd first met Mark that really mattered to her.

He was a gentle-looking man, unlike the armored soldiers he was surrounded by. He stepped out toward her, extended a gloved hand, and smiled warmly.

"I won't hurt you," he promised. "In fact, I want to help you."

She eyed his hand warily.

"You can trust me." He stayed put, still leaving his hand outstretched. She looked up into his eyes and slowly took the hand he offered.

From that day on, her life had changed. And although it had been Mark that had rescued and helped her, Jasmine could also think of another person who had greatly influenced her life.

"Are you awake?" She was a pretty girl with long green hair and forest green eyes. Her smile was welcoming and kind. "I found you unconscious on the plains."

Without Lyn, Jasmine wasn't sure where she would be right now.

She paused. If she hadn't met Lyn, perhaps she wouldn't be falling to her death right now. But even if she could rewind time, she wouldn't change a thing. She would still do the exact same things she'd done since she'd met Lyn. She had regrets about the choices she'd made in life, of course she did. But she didn't regret this experience. She never would. The past three years had been an adventure she wouldn't give up for the world. She'd grown so much—she'd made friends, she'd learned how to be more trusting, she'd learned how to stand up for herself, and she'd even learned how to have a little more fun. Yes, she was proud of herself and how far she'd come. It might have been all over now, but it had been great while it had lasted.

She noticed a blob of black heading her way, and wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her. Then she realized that it was Death coming to take her away. One last memory flashed before her eyes:

Jasmine tried not to snicker as she took a peek out from behind the tree. Raven was standing a few feet in front of her, looking every which way. There was a snowball in his gloved hand.

Snowballs were flying through the air as giggles and shouts echoed throughout the camp. The army was having a snowball fight (which had initially begun with only a few people, until said people accidentally began hitting others, and soon enough the entire army had gotten involved), and Raven was trying to get Jasmine back for smacking a snowball into his face. Little did he know that she was hiding right behind him.

He found out a moment later when she pounced on him from behind. He was knocked down into the snow-covered ground, face-flat, as Jasmine howled into laughter. He sat up, and she laughed even harder at his deep scowl and furrowed eyebrows. His hair had become white from the snow, and his clothes was covered in it.

"You cheated," he growled, wiping snow off his shoulders.

"Did not!" she huffed defensively. Snowflakes accumulated in his corkscrew curls. "I just used a different tactic."

He scowled even deeper. He stayed where he was, still sitting on the ground, fingering the snow. She stared at him, thinking about how much his red hair and eyes stood out from the white all around them. He looked exceptionally handsome.

"Well, if you want to play that way..." Jasmine never had the chance to react; he tossed a handful of snow at her, leaving her covered in it.

"Hey!" she shouted after him as he ran off. He stopped, looked over his shoulder, and gave her a wicked smirk.

"Just using a different tactic," he teased.

And he ran off with his hands over his head as Jasmine began to assault him with snowballs.

Jasmine smiled a little to herself. That had been a fun day.

She wondered what he would say to her if she had the chance to see him again. He would probably roll his eyes and scold her. "If you'd been paying attention to your surroundings," she could almost hear him saying, "you wouldn't have been in that position!" She wished she could hear his voice again, even if it was just to yell at her, and see that angry scowl just once more…

But she knew her time was up.

She took one final, deep breath that caused her lungs to fill up with water and her heart to feel as if it was being compressed by a thousand rocks. As she closed her eyes, only one name and face clouded her vision.

Raven…

And then everything went black.

That'll be the end of my story. Thank you all for—

Oh, I'm just messing with you! No, this story is not over yet! I still have about 5 more chapters, maybe more, and the next one will be about as short as this one but even more important.

Now I know it seems like Jasmine probably should've died quicker (wow that sounds terrible!). What I mean is that it seems like she's underwater and also bleeding for quite some time, but yet she has enough time to think about her life and whatnot. But time it actually going by much quicker than it seems like to her, so she's actually not underwater for that long of a time—not even a minute. Just wanted to clear that up.