A/N: So, I was going to end this series on part three, but ended up splitting part three in half and will be finishing it on part four instead. Let me know how I am doing with a comment, my readers are my bread and butter and I wouldn't have gotten so far without you guys. Thank you, is what I am trying to say and I hope I am doing Kimpach'e and the others justice. - Wyatt
"So, what did I miss," Voyce asked as he joined the table, smiling lightly at Kimpach'e and Fate.
"Everyone, this is Voyce Witte. He is one of the top alchemists in the region," Kim introduced him to everyone, unaware of the now missing Kanade. Voyce smiled and bowed slightly.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet those responsible for keeping Kimpach'e here," he gestured towards the Miqo'te before continuing, "safe while we were recovering from the ambush." Rasputin nodded in response.
"Likewise, it is nice to know a little more about the girl. But meeting Fate was the highlight of my evening," He winked sideways at the Hyur, to which Kimpach'e crossed her arms and smiled wryly.
"Careful, Ras. I still can use a sword," she joked. He gave a short laugh and raised his arms in response before taking another bite of food.
Fate took this chance to tap the Miqo'te on her thigh and motion her to the stairs with a nod of her head. The two women excused themselves and walked to the top of the stairs where Fate sat down on the top step with a sigh.
"I don't think it's fully sunk in yet that you are back," She said staring at the table they had left. Kimpach'e sat beside her love and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"The feeling is mutual," she said as she kissed Fate's cheek, "I never thought you all had gotten out of that ambush. I know that I will not let anything separate us again, I can swear my soul as a paladin on it." Fate's eyes widened as she dragged the Miqo'te into a deep kiss. It was a kiss filled with passion and Kimpach'e whimpered slightly as Fate broke it and led her back to the table and the dinner.
One Hour Later
Kanade was going to kill Voyce. No, not just kill; she was going to torture him first. She clawed her way forwards with her one good hand, pulling the rest of her body behind her. She had been at this for nearly three hours, and had finally reached the door after learning how to move her arm. She didn't know why her arm was able to move, with how strong the poison had been, but she didn't care. She was going to make that jackass eat his pretty lab coat. Kimpach'e be damned, Rasputin be damned; all she cared about was ending that man. Dragging her weight as far as she could go, she struggled to look up at the door, her neck still paralyzed heavily. After several very long seconds of work, she let her forehead thump against the wood door and groaned heavily in frustration.
Directly above where Kanade was trapped, Voyce lounged on the roof of the estate. He looked upon the stars decorating the sky and absentmindedly ran his thumb over a small pendant in his hand.
"I did it once, why do I feel bad about repeating it," He growled out loud. When there was no response to his question he rolled his eyes and examined the pendant still in his palm. It resembled a lion's head and was cut from onyx blacker than night. He allowed himself a small smile before he clutched his fingers firmly around the trinket.
"No point in wasting anymore time then," he yelled, tossing the lion pendant into the air.
It landed with a thud a few meters away and Voyce didn't skip a beat. He took a small vial of glowing purple liquid from one of the many pockets on his coat and threw it at the pendant; the vial shattered, spilling the contents over the lion's head. Voyce watched as the pendant began glowing white, and eventually he had to shield his eyes from its intensity. After a couple of seconds the light faded away, allowing the alchemist a quick glance. The pendant was gone and in its place was the crouching form of another Hyur man.
"It took you long enough," he grunted. His skin was dark and his dark-red eyes shone brighter because of it. He wore the clothes of a high-level scholar, and a grimoire rested on his hip; there was no mistake that the summoning pendant had worked.
"This FC is closer than we first thought, getting them to trust me has taken forever," Voyce said, slightly annoyed. The other man simply grunted his response.
"Let's waste no time then," he said taking the grimoire off his hip and turning to a marked page.
Both men were silent for several minutes as the spell was prepared. When the scholar was finished preparing the spell he was glowing with energy; his eyes shining white with power. Voyce then began drawing the summoning formulas that they would need. After that was done, the scholar kneeled in the middle of the formulas.
Voyce turned his back to the scholar and looked up on the night sky while he waited. The corners of his lips curled into rather sinister looking grin; he was finally going to finish what he started all those years ago. He had never voiced it to anyone but he kept a secret hatred for Kimpach'e dating back before the first attack by Lion. All the time and effort he had spent climbing the ranks of the FC, and in walks an attractive Miqo'te who marries the leader; Kimpach'e had soared to the rank of Second-in-command after the wedding, and Voyce was outraged. That's when he had an idea: contact Lion and make a deal to help them take Fate and the others down, and Voyce would start off as an Officer in Lion for his part in the plan. He was a little sad that he would be the reason all of their deaths, but only a little. He wouldn't stop this plan for the world; there were often times in the past where he would have given the world for this moment. The alchemist felt the air shift suddenly, like all the heat floating around the top of the roof suddenly was sucked into the summoning symbols; he smirked again.
"Not much longer then," Voyce asks while already knowing the answer. The scholar does not respond.
"What in the seven hells are you doing," Nick suddenly appears, having climbed the ladder from the second story. Voyce spins on his heel to face him, surprise switches to confidence as he learns who the first to die shall be.
"Ah, I see it is finally time for you to join me. I was beginning to wonder, Nick," The alchemist said dryly. Nick's frown only deepened.
"Voyce step aside I need to stop that man's summoning," Nick said, making a move to step past him, which Voyce easily stepped in front of.
"I am afraid I cannot let you do that, old friend," Voyce said as he drove a small dirk laced with generous amounts of clouds kiss between the paladin's ribs. Nick gasped, which is all he had time for, before Voyce kicked him square in the chest and sent him rolling to the other side of the roof. He rolled into a ball and screamed. Not for help, but in complete agony. It was a pure animalistic scream of pain; the clouds kiss poison already spreading through his blood, robbing the platelets of oxygen. Voyce approached his prone form and knelt to clean the blade of his dirk, wiping the blood away with Nick's navy blue trousers, which stained them red. Nick could only groan as his muscles tightened him further into a ball.
"I didn't want it to be you first, but I will do what needs to be done. You'll all be dead soon enough anyways," Voyce casually stated, checking his dirk for blood he may have missed.
"Nick!" Voyce glanced up to see Kimpach'e quickly approaching flanked by Fate and Rasputin.
"You are too late, Kimpach'e, my dear. I stabbed him with a dirk laced with clouds kiss," Voyce announced dramatically as he glanced towards the scholar. It was almost done, he just needed to stall them for a little longer. Kimpach'e turned her blue eyes from Nick to Voyce, and he saw a slight layer of tears forming.
"Why are you doing this, Voyce? We fought together so many times, I trusted you," She screamed, which he remained calm throughout.
"Ah, my dear Kim; I was destined to do this all along, and if you and the others couldn't see it then I suppose it's your fault," he said as if scolding a child for getting a math problem wrong. Every hair on her tail actually bristled with his words, and he noticed something else creep into her blue irises: rage.
"You will pay, I only want you to know that," Kim whispered, "If everyone here dies except me, I will make sure you pay dearly for all you have done." Voyce knew she was telling the truth, so he decided that she had to die next.
"It's ready," yelled the scholar. Voyce jumped back beside the scholar, standing next to him in an identical summoning formula. Both men were enveloped in light as Kimpach'e rushed to Nick's side. She brought her slim fingers to his neck but found no pulse, and let the hand fall to her side as she visibly began to shake.
"Finish your summoning. PRAY TO MENPHINA YOU SUMMON AN ARMY! IT WILL TAKE NO LESS TO KEEP ME FROM DRINKING YOUR BLOOD, VOYCE," Kimpach'e screamed, her weapons and eyes glowing silver.
When Voyce's summoning completed Kimpach'e and the others stood in front of two groups. Voyce's group consisted of ten men from Lion Company, mixed between pugilists and black mages. The scholar's summoning had brought fifteen warriors of varying races; the combined force from both summoning's was more than enough to take TLC without much trouble. Fate ground her teeth together in frustration.
Come on, think! How can we turn these odds around? There is always a weakness… Rasputin thought as he flipped the grimoire open to a marked page and began filling in the summoning formulas. Fate glanced back to find Rasputin running back down the stairs.
"I have an idea, hold them off for a couple of minutes," He shouted over his shoulder. Fate nodded confidently. She could do this.
"Enough," Kimpach'e's voice was low, dangerous, "This ends now." Her eyes still held the silver overcast that blanketed her weapon. She lept into the air without another word, soaring straight towards the enemy.
"Kimpach'e wait," Fate yelled in vain. She was already falling towards the center of the group.
"Now," Kimpach'e whispered, closing her eyes as she came within ten feet.
"MENPHINA GUIDE MY BLADE," She screamed landing in the direct middle of Lion Company. She unleashed the energy that she had gathered, throwing everyone around her in a display of holy flames. She didn't waste a second as she pivoted on her heel, her blade gliding through a man's neck like a hot knife through butter. She sensed a strike at her right which was easily blocked and countered with a bash of her own, breaking the man's jaw. She knew battle like a well-practiced dance; she didn't miss a step as her sword was sent rotating end over end into a black mage on her right. Kimpach'e then grabbed a second attacker by the wrist and snapped it with a flick of her own, caught the sword that fell from his hand, and sent it flying into an archer. She then pulled the second man by his broken wrist and threw him into another group of three.
Fate simply stood in awe as she watched her lover fight. She would only get in the miqo'te's way if she were to join in, so she decided staying back and picking off strays would be how she could help. She tightened the grip on her lance as she parried an overhead strike. Fate knew that she would just have to trust her lover to come away from the fight alive.