Chapter 10! That is all I have to say.
Thank you Blackchain119 for editing!
-s2-
The chill afternoon air caused everyone to shiver. However, the harsh wind could not dampen the spirit emanating from Tibarn's face. His eyes shut and his nose twitching, he smelled the breeze, smirking towards the horizon. With his opened vest flapping in the wind and his black locks brushing against his cheeks, Tibarn took in a calming breath. Upon opening his eyes, the smile on his lips dropped, as he noticed Takashi walking his way, the beast Laguz staring at the ground.
"How are you holding up?" Tibarn questioned, concern filling his deep tone. Takashi didn't reply back, so the hawk assumed he just wasn't interested in conversation at this point in time.
Ike and Ranulf came soon after. They looked ready to take off, oozing with grim determination. Their faces were stale and focused on their task.
"Is everything ready?" Ike's voice was a bit more rough than usual. "Where's Soren?"
Tibarn turned to face the warrior. "He said that Skrimir, Sothe and him will meet with us later." With Skrimir being a beast Laguz and not a flying type, it would take them longer to travel. Ike believed that Soren was thinking up a plan for an escape before they got themselves into too much trouble.
"We'd better hurry." Ranulf stepped forward. "There is no time to waste."
With a nod Tibarn converted into his hawk state. His long emerald feathers shined in the sun's bright light as he gently tested the wind currents by giving his wings a short flap. Everything had become clearer to Tibarn as his animalistic senses heightened, now that he was in his other form. Once the transformation was complete, Tibarn nudged his head to motion the other three to climb on. Ranulf helped Takashi up in front while he got on behind the golden-eyed cat. Ike went on last and sat in the back, behind Ranulf.
After a few glances were made, the hawk took off into the powder-blue sky. As Tibarn started to glide with the gusts of wind, he spoke to his passengers. "So what's the plan?"
Ranulf was the one that answered. "You are taking us three as close to Kinya's kingdom as you can without getting into range of their archers or wind mages." The multi-coloured-eyed feline touched Takashi's shoulder. "Takashi and I will act as decoys. Since we don't have Yuuta or Zarack though, Ike will have to move quickly to save the others."
Tibarn hummed in thought; however it sounded more like a caw. "What about you, Ike?" The bird flapped his wings to raise his altitude. "Kinya can be holding out men anywhere. How are you going to find them?"
"I'm not too sure..." Ike stared down at the land below them. "If Kinya wants to kill them, then my best bet is the colosseum."
"Should I fly you up to the roof?" Tibarn wanted to be more useful to this mission other than a method of transportation. It seemed like that would be the only thing he could do though, considering the situation. Kinya has probably gotten paranoid from their last ambush so if Tibarn wanted to keep his head he would have to stay at a distance. The Hawk King would be more than willing to die for his people, but that would only bring his nation into a fit of rage. More of his men would be killed needlessly.
Ike shook his head. "No... They could be expecting us to do that." The navy blue haired warrior was silent for a moment to think. "It is better for you to stand by and wait for Skrimir and Soren to arrive." Ranulf agreed.
Takashi was still being aloof, but he was paying attention to the conversation. In the young Laguz's mind was a beautiful feline with big purple eyes and short black hair. She was smiling at him. The next thing Takashi saw was Yuki's wonderful features splashed with blood and she was quickly shrinking into the distance. Her smile never faded as she dropped hundreds of feet through the air.
Tightening his grip on Tibarn's feathers Takashi cried under the shadows casted by his bangs. Ranulf noticed the teen's shoulders shake and grew worried. While Takashi is still grieving over Yuki's death, Ranulf will have to keep a sharp eye on him; he knew Yuki's death had turned Takashi into a kicking time bomb. One wrong move will unleash the young man's suppressed anger.
"Takashi..." Ranulf whispered. "Everything will be fine." Takashi heard the blue haired cat trying to reassure him, but only nudged his shoulder to push Ranulf away.
Pulling away his hand, Ranulf frowned. He understood how the lad was feeling, but in times like this you need to gulp down your depression until a better time. Being that he was new to all the agony that death brings, Ranulf knew he had to be patient with Takashi.
-s2-
The kingdom was in sight after just a short flight and Ike was mentally preparing himself for a fight in case one was to break out. Once Tibarn landed, Ike hopped off and waited for the two Laguz to dismount. Tibarn then reverted back to his human form and crossed his arms. Ike looked towards the keep. "I'll take Ranulf and Takashi inside and order to be brought to where they are holding our men. If I'm not out by the time the moon is up in the sky, then come looking for us."
Tibarn nodded and took a seat down on the ground. "I'll wait here then."
Ranulf and Takashi stood beside Ike as they walked away and over to the entrance of the kingdom. As they came close, the guards pointed their spears at him and questioned what he was here for. "I have an invitation from Kinya to make a trade with him." He pulled out the letter from his pocket to show proof, but he didn't hand it to them. "I would like to be escorted to where he is keeping my men."
"Right... Kinya told us you'd be showing up." One of them said as he opened the doors. "This way..." He marched forward. Ike looked back at Ranulf and Takashi before heading inside, keeping an eye on the second guard to make sure he wouldn't harm the Laguz as they walked past.
It felt like a long walk, yet Ike thought that it could just be his nerves, to the colosseum. Ike was told to wait for a moment as the guard went to inform Kinya about Ike's arrival and it gave him a chance to talk to Ranulf and Takashi.
"Alright... this is it. He's going to notice that his sons aren't with us and so we have to act fast." Ike placed his hand on his sword to gain comfort. He knew it was there but it didn't hurt to keep double checking just in case.
Ranulf shivered slightly. This room was where he was taken right before he was nearly burned to a crisp and with the collar and ear ring still in place there wasn't much Ranulf or Takashi could do if there was a fight. "I hope everything goes well... Where is Soren?"
Ike was about to say something when the guard came back. A few short words were said before the giant doors leading to the ring of the colosseum were pushed opened. On the sand there was three poles set up where Rolf, Janaff and Ulki were tied up, staring down at a few archers. One of those archers Ike recognised as Shinon. The red haired marksman wasn't looking in his direction, but Ike noticed that he seemed to have a troubled expression on his face. He was standing in front of Ulki's post with his bow in his hand. Shinon's eyes weren't on his target though; they were over on Rolf who was on the farthest away from Shinon. Ike figured it out quickly, Shinon wasn't happy with the fact his student was in the execution ring.
"How nice of you to drop by..." Kinya spoke down from his booth. Ike arched his neck back to look up at the purple haired man with a glare. "I was starting to believe you weren't going to agree with my proposal."
Ranulf and Takashi walked past Ike as he spoke. "I have brought you the Laguz you have asked for. Now release my men at once!"
Kinya stared at Ike and the two Laguz for a long while. "And where are my sons?" He questioned. "The deal was you were to have my sons returned to me as well. What are you trying to pull?"
"You did not give us a lot of time." Ike answered. "We are having your sons delivered to you as we speak, however we did not have any way of getting them here quickly so it will take a little more time to have them at your door step." Ike hoped his lie would be good enough for Kinya to take.
That hope was soon crushed. "I specifically stated when I wanted everything returned and you did not meet my expectations." Kinya yelled as he waved his hand to signal his troops. Within the second a bunch of soldiers came out to surround Ike, Ranulf and Takashi. Ike took out his sword and started to fight quickly, trying to get over to the prisoners. "I will not be made a fool of! General! This man did not heed my warning. Continue with what was planned!"
Ike looked over and saw the general raise his sword as an indication that the archers were to ready their arrows. Shinon did what he was instructed, but was still having an inner battle with himself on what he should do. He couldn't let them kill Rolf. The winged Laguz were fair game to him, but he couldn't let his own student die like this. Those big green teary eyes stared into Shinon's soul from the other side of the ring, scared and upset. No matter how much the boy had grown those big round orbs stayed the exact same.
The general was about to give the order to shoot. As much as Shinon hated sub-humans he wasn't about to let Rolf get hurt. At the same moment, the general put down his sword Shinon turned his bow diagonally as they all fired. By the angle of his shot Shinon's arrow stabbed through the rest of the archers' arrows and pushed them to the side, away from the Rolf and the other two; saving their lives. Right after Shinon took out another arrow and started to take out the marksmen.
Ike noticed Shinon's change of sides as he stabbed through one of the men that he was fighting. Ranulf and Takashi went to help but were soon on their knees gripping at their collars to stop them from choking them. Even with Shinon's change of heart things weren't looking good for them.
A gust of wind then came out of nowhere and blew away some of the soldiers. Sothe rushed in and cut down some mages while Soren tried to keep everyone away from the prisoners. "Sorry we're late..." Soren murmured. Ike only smiled and carried on with the battle.
Sothe had managed to get through to Rolf, Janaff and Ulki, and cut off the binds. "Get out of here, quickly. Skrimir is waiting outside those gates." The two hawks nodded but Rolf stayed behind when Shinon rushed over and gave him a bow and a quiver of arrows. Rolf smiled up at his teacher and made a mental note to thank him later. For now he was joining the fight as more Begnion soldiers came hurrying inside the ring to aid their men.
Kinya glared down at the battle as everything was falling into chaos. Without a second moment of thought he walked out of the booth and headed down to the ring. This blue haired swordsman could ruin everything he has worked so hard for! This couldn't end, Kinya wouldn't let it.
After a fast walk down to the ring Kinya entered the ring and stared at all the fighting. If this was still going to work out for Kinya he had to act not. Looking over to the blue haired Laguz, who was still gasping for breath, Kinya marched over to him and grabbed his arm. "You are coming with me." He said harshly. Takashi glared and tried to get Kinya away from Ranulf, but was shoved aside and to the ground.
Ike was switched back and forth from different soldiers in the battle. A swordsman then came up and clashed swords with Ike, pressing down to throw the blue haired man off balance. The mercenary's eyes shifted over to Ranulf for a moment and saw Kinya pulling him towards the exit.
"Ranulf!" Ike pushed off the sword fighter he was dealing with and rushed after Kinya. However, as the sadistic man pulled out of his short blade the blue eyed man forced himself to halt.
Raising the knife to Ranulf's throat Kinya chuckled. "So predictable..." he smirked. "If you want to see this sub-human alive you will follow me; alone." Kinya backed up with Ranulf tightly in his grasp and left the ring.
Shinon rolled out of the way of a fire attack and stood up beside Ike. A quick glance was shared between the two and Ike understood Shinon's glare. The professional archer didn't agree that they were fighting for the Laguz nor did he see Ike as a true leader. Ike knew that Shinon's soft spot for Rolf was the only reason that red head will put aside their differences for the time being. Shinon nodded to Ike, silently telling him that he will make sure no one will chaise after Ike.
Ike returned the nod before running over to find Kinya waiting for him with Ranulf nervously tilting his head up in a fruitless attempt to avoid the blade on his throat. Kinya walked sideways into an open door which Ike assumed was where he wanted to talk. Once Ike walked inside he closed the heavy door behind him as he sneered at Kinya who looked much too pleased with himself. The room they were standing in was plain. Stone walls and floors with many wooden cots; they were in the barracks. No one was around besides the three of them and it was very quiet as if there wasn't a battle going on just down the hall.
Kinya was standing in between some beds in the middle of the room with Ranulf still being held hostage. "You and your men are pretty annoying." Kinya informed. "All I have been trying to do is make this a safer place for us Beorc to love. Do you not understand what these creatures can do to us if we leave them to run free?"
"They would live in peace!" Ike snapped at Kinya. "Now release him!"
"I don't think so." Kinya pressed his dagger closer to Ranulf's neck causing the blue furred beast Laguz to take in a sharp breath through his nose. Ranulf had already came close to death many times as Ike mentioned back at camp and Ranulf couldn't help but feel concerned about not being able escaping Death's boney fingers again. Even so, he slowly released his breath to calm himself down.
Ike raised his sword in warning. "You said you would let him live if I followed you!"
"Something you would have learned in my employ is that you should take everything with a grain of salt." He replied, a malicious smile upon his face.
A loud grunt of pain echoed throughout the room as Ranulf's eyes widened in shock. Ike cried out Ranulf's name while Kinya allowed the cat to drop to the floor, the sadist's knife sticking out of his back. Blood poured out of the wound and pooled around Ranulf's body. Ike rushed over, but instead of kneeling down to the love of his life he went to attack Kinya head on.
"You bastard!" Ike screamed as he side swiped Regnell at Kinya's middle. The assault missed to Ike's misfortune when Kinya stepped back and took out a sword of his own.
"I did the world a favor." Kinya parried Ike's second attack with his blade. "You should be thanking me." More swings were thrown, but with Ike's anger was blinding him and proper fighting manoeuvres were difficult to execute. "Such rage for just one sub-human. Did you have further emotions for the animal? I pity you."
"Shut up!" Ike managed to land a blow on Kinya's side. "You know nothing about the Laguz! You and your men only fear them and embrace your cowardice as you murder innocent people!"
Kinya chucked as he raised his weapon to meet with his rival's blade. "If I didn't know better, I would ask if you were in love with the thing. That would be ridiculous though."
Ike let out a war cry as his rage rose to dangerous heights. He and his aggressor moved through the aisles that the beds made, Ike moving forward and Kinya walking back. "So you do love him." Kinya grinned. "You really should be grateful then. I have freed you from that monster."
"A monster is one that betrays his honor for greed, Kinya!" The warrior cried out, echoing in the hall. Kinya attacked Ike, slicing into his arm's flesh, and silencing Ike's rampant braying.
Stepping to the side, Kinya evaded a violent thrust from Ike. "Snap out of this trance that sub-human has put you under. You are sounding like Zarack's father. The poor man... I do not want to kill you, but if you continue to protect those that can destroy our very way of life then I will be forced to remove you along with all the rest of them."
Ike panted and glared at Kinya as he spoke, pressing a hand to his wound. The general was able to calm down a little. This duel cannot last much longer; Ranulf needs help and he needs it now. Lowering his head, Ike bit deeply into his lip. "We have both lost much in this senseless carnage. Let me take Ranulf away from here and back to our camp. Tomorrow morning you and I can finish this. When the sun rises up in the morning we can have our final battle, man to man. If I win then you will release all the Laguz and leave them to live in peace." Tilting his head up, Ike looked at Kinya. "If you win... then we will let you continue what you are doing, with no interference."
This deal caught Kinya's interest; his victory would ensure the total destruction of the sub-human race. "Sounds like fun. Placing all we have on the line in one duel; such a thrilling final act! Let's raise the stakes a touch, shall we? The loser publicly loses his life in front of his people, and I get to personally remove that sub-human's head from his shoulders, claiming my prized trophy."
It took a moment before Ike answered, as the conditions were harsh, but he reluctantly agreed to Kinya's conditions. "Then we will meet outside your keep, at dawn." Taking a small breath, Ike tried to soothe his faltering nerves and sheathed his sword. All he wanted to do was kill this murderer for what he did to Ranulf and the others, but instead he simply walked over to Ranulf and lifted him into his arms. For a moment he wondered if he should remove the dagger, but for now it was the only thing that was keeping Ranulf from bleeding to death, so there he left it. "I'll be waiting for you." He said to Kinya before walking away.
Kinya nodded with a grin. "Don't be late."
-s2-
Night had fallen across the land by the time Ike and his company had returned to camp. Kinya had instructed his men to allow the mercenary a free pass to leave the courtyard with the promise of a final challenge. The entire way back, Soren's intense staring was burning two holes in the back of Ike's head. Once Ike had handed Ranulf to Rhys, he turned to the seething mage.
"What?!" Ike bellowed and pushed Soren out of the medical tent. Normally he would want to stay with Ranulf, but the feline had survived worse than a single knife wound, so he wasn't too concerned about him pulling through this injury. Soren was getting on his nerves and Ike needed to know what was on his mind.
The black-haired strategist crossed his arms. "What is this about you and Kinya having a final duel with everything on the line?! Do you have any idea what you are doing?!"
"Soren, this is the only way I can see this whole vile mess coming to an end!" He answered.
"By risking your life and the well-being of an entire race over your wounded pride?! If you lose, every one of us will die, and you know it!"
"I'm not out of my mind; I know what I am doing! I know... what I am putting on the line." He knew all too well what he was risking. This was the last chance he had to keep all the Laguz safe. The last movement.
One last call to arms.
"I'm going to end this, or die trying."
With that, Ike returned to the medical tent and left Soren to his clouded thoughts. The sage didn't agree with this, but there was no way to change Ike's mind after he has already made a decision, no matter how foolish. The only thing they could do now was pray to the Goddesses that Ike would be able to pull off a miracle.
-s2-
Yay! One more chapter: Completed! Please Review, it really gets my spirits up when I'm writing more chapters! I'm hoping to finish this story in 2 more chapters!