A/N: All right, finally! Onward to the battle of Fort Steiger! Be sure to let me and others know what you think with a review and/or a private message!
Storming Steiger, Part the First
The fortress was, at least in Asuna and Kazuto's opinion, going to be tough to crack. The walls and moat would have put Grandzam to shame, and the number of guards within it were definitely higher than the thirty-odd members of the KOB guild. Kazuto's wings vibrated a little harder as he backed himself up to look at how the archers would be positioned in the case of a fight. He smirked at the irony of wishing for his Spriggan magic so that he could create a cloud illusion around himself after despising the use of the arcane arts so many times in ALO. Up here in the air, with no back-up or cover, he would be a sitting duck for any mage or archer that decided to look up.
"Well, there's not really anything else to be seen here," he decided to himself. Beating his wings rapidly now, he zoomed back towards where the Shepherds had set themselves up. As he moved rapidly, he thought back over the past few months.
It had now been seven months since they had appeared in Ylisse. Some of the times had been fun, like finding the children from the future and the old gang from ALO. And others were terrifying, like the appearance of the Risen hordes. Of course, all of that paled in comparison to when the Black Swordsman and the Lightning Flash finally came together again, as husband and wife, never to be separated again. Both Kazuto and Asuna agreed that if they made it back to earth, they would get married again as soon as they possibly could, social status be damned.
But would they really want to go back? The thought struck him mid-flight. Sure it was dangerous in this world, but here they were free to be the heroes of Aincrad out in the open. Kazuto could be a swordsman again, Asuna loved the new guild that they were in, and Yui… Kazuto smiled as he saw his daughter rising in the air to meet him.
The little girl was happier than he'd ever seen her. She was finally flesh and blood like her parents, and she was also able to put her great knowledge of the human psyche to help people, unfettered by the shackles of any system. Her only limit was her imagination- just like a normal human child.
Yui met him in the air and greeted him with a warm hug. "How did the scouting trip go, Daddy?" she asked. "Did you find anything helpful?"
"Not much that we didn't already know," Kazuto answered truthfully. "The only thing I can say that I really learned was how impressive the place actually looked in person, instead of on a map."
"Is that important?" the girl asked as they began to descend.
"Yeah, definitely," Kazuto replied. "It's one thing to look at a piece of paper, but when you look at the real deal, you get a better idea of just how tough things are actually gonna be." They landed softly, and Kazuto rubbed his stomach. "Anyways, flying makes me hungry. I'm gonna head over to the mess tent to get some lunch."
"Okay, that actually works, because Mr. Robin is already in there," Yui said.
"Cool," Kazuto grinned. "Saves me a trip. Do you know if Chrom is in there, too?"
"The last I saw of him, he was sparring with Mister Lon'qu," the child answered. "They'll probably be a while, unless you'd like for me to go and get him." Kazuto grinned and pulled his daughter in for a side hug.
"Nah, let 'em have their fun," he said. "Besides, isn't it Asuna's turn to make lunch? Don't you want to eat some of her sandwiches?"
"Oh, I already ate," Yui grinned. "Watch out, Daddy. Today's meal was really spicy."
Robin, Klein, and Kazuto all sat at a small round table in the mess hall, eating their lunches while they considered ways to take down the castle. "I'm thinkin' that while the main force attacks the outer walls, us fairies should focus on any reinforcements they send up to the inner walls," Klein said as Robin looked at the schematic of Fort Steiger. "Otherwise, their archers and mages could give hell while they're protected by the outer wall."
"I don't like the idea of sending a group of young people up there without any reinforcements," Robin frowned.
"Man, I'm probably older than you, and the other guys?" Klein grinned. He clapped Kazuto on the shoulder as he said, "If you think that they're still kids after everything they've been through, you got another thing coming. 'Sides, you've been fighting with Kirito and Asuna for a while now. What's up with the cold feet?"
Robin sighed heavily and replied, "The last time I sent you all off to fight on your own, you were nearly overrun by Risen. Now we face an enemy with even greater numbers at their disposal. Never once have I lost a Shepherd in a battle, and I plan to keep it that way."
"Yeah, well you can't win a battle without taking a few risks, either," Kazuto shot back. "It's not like we don't know what we're getting ourselves into."
"I know, I know," Robin sighed again. "All right, you guys can take care of that, but I'm sending Gregor's family with you as back-up."
"No arguments here," Klein smiled. "Don't worry about it man, we got this."
"All right, now what do we do once we're inside?" Kazuto asked.
"Their commanding officer should be a top priority," Robin said. "But we should also try and get our hands on anything they might have in their vault. Say'ri said that there's a number of rather old and powerful artifacts being held in the fortress. Vert might be among them."
"Sounds like a job for Gaius," Kazuto mused. "Who should we send with him?"
"I was thinking that Henry should go with him," Robin replied. "I know he's just one guy, but that man is capable of some fairly frightening things with his magic."
"That's true, but I'd feel better if we sent along at least on other person," Kazuto replied.
"Why not Libra?" Klein suggested. "He looks nice, but he's pretty mean with that axe of his. Not to mention he can heal them if something goes wrong."
"I don't know…" Robin shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Sending a healer away from our main force seems like a pretty high risk to me."
"Like my man said, ya gotta take some risks here and there," Klein chuckled.
"True…" Robin muttered. "All right, but everyone else is staying together. Your unit will remain outside with Gregor's family while we focus on infiltrating the castle. Keep as many reinforcements from getting back inside as you can."
"Hey man, uh, can I make a request?" Klein said as he rubbed the back of his neck."
"That depends on the request," Robin replied. "What do you want?"
"Would ya mind it if Cordelia stays out with us?" the katana-wielder asked sheepishly. "She's pretty damn good with her lance, and I'd appreciate having the back-up."
"Is that so?" Robin grinned while Kazuto sniggered. "I take it your night out went well, then?"
"Yeah, it did," Klein admitted with a slightly red face. "Seriously, though. If you would let her help us out, I'd-"
"Done," Robin chuckled. "It's not like she'll be able to fly her pegasus around inside the castle too well."
"Then what about Sumia?" Kazuto frowned. "Won't she be at a disadvantage?"
"She's practiced fighting with her pegasus on the ground," Robin said with a wave of his hand. "Cordelia, for all her natural skills and rigorous training program, has yet to remain on the ground for combat."
"Huh," Kazuto muttered. Something about that rang false with him, but it certainly did the trick for Klein.
"Well, I got no complaints here!" the man grinned broadly. "So let's get to prepping for a good ol' castle siege!" And he got up out of his seat and strode outside to start giving out orders.
It was then that Kazuto turned to Robin with a smile and said, "Cordelia can fight on the ground just fine, can't she?" The Grandmaster's only response was to smile mischievously.
"Let's go guys!" Kirito's shout echoed from high above, startling many of the soldiers on the inner wall. This was followed by an array of magical attacks that they were completely unprepared for. It was a grim slaughter that followed the energy blasts.
Once they had landed, they were greeted by enemy soldiers coming onto the ramparts, seeking revenge for the deaths of their comrades. As Kirito and Asuna moved to engage the enemy, the Black Swordsman turned back to face Yui briefly as he said, "See if you can keep any more of these guys from getting up here." Then he charged at top speed.
Yui looked past the scuffles to see the doors that the soldiers were allowing the soldiers to gain access to the walls. Concentrating heavily, she outstretched her hand and called out, "Iyadi!" The door was blasted down the stairs by a light blast, along with other pieces of rubble that effectively blocked the soldiers down below from coming up. She took flight and proceeded to repeat the process with all of the doors that led up to the second wall.
As she passed by Klein and Cordelia, the salamander grinned and waved at the little girl, shouting, "Nice work, Yui! Show 'em who's boss!" She flashed him a smile before going down to rejoin her parents, who had managed to clear out the last of the reinforcements that had managed to get up on the wall.
Up above, Sinon was shooting down any Pegasus Knights that dared get within the range of her bow. Backing her was Silica, who was using both her steed's raw muscle and her newly developed wind magic to take down pegasi and griffons. Leafa was using Elwind spells to break down the scaling ladders that the Valmese were trying to use in order to scale the walls.
Also in the sky were Gregor and Cherche, riding astride Minerva, their axe and lance causing terrible havoc on their enemies. Flying beside them was their future son, Gerome, who showed no emotion as he used an identical lance to his mother's to strike down the Valmese atop an older-yet-still-capable Minerva, also from the future.
The combination of his blank demeanor and skill in battle somewhat reminded Kirito of Heathcliff, though it was good to know that this time they had nothing to fear from the warrior helping them.
Looking around, Kirito nodded to himself as he saw things proceeding exactly as they should. The Resistance was even approaching on the horizon, right on time.
Inside, Robin and Lucina were in perfect sync, he leading with a magical attack, leaving the enemy weakened so that her Falchion could finish them off. Chrom was still slightly put off by the sight of them being so close, but his wife was there to keep his focus on the battle.
They were leading the main force to where the commander, a woman named Pheros, was supposed to be waiting. "Say'ri," Robin said as they ran down a corridor. "Is there a chance that this Pheros woman will attempt to run away or surrender?"
"Never," Say'ri replied firmly. "Her tenacity is both respected and feared throughout Valm. According to my knowledge, she has never retreated from a battle. Of course, this is what keeps her from being Walhart's right-hand, as this has resulted in a handful of pyrrhic victories."
"I thought that Walhart had no regard for the deaths of those below him?" Lucina asked with a frown.
"Aye, he does not care for the lives themselves," Say'ri agreed. "But he is not stupid, either. He knows that numbers matter, and so if he kept losing troops under her command, he would soon have no army at all."
"Ah," Lucina replied, understanding. "How can anyone be so callous, though? Does he not see how much people admire him? How can he treat them all like garbage so easily?"
"I do not understand it myself, milady," Say'ri replied as she raised her sword in preparation of combat once more. "Nor do I wish to."
Outside, the fairies were floating above the castle, keeping an eye out for approaching enemy reinforcements. Seeing only the Resistance, the group started waving at the leader of the column. So it was only natural that they all reacted with horror and shock when one of their archers shot Kirito in the chest, sending him plummeting towards the earth.
Inside, the Shepherds were feeling extremely confused. "Say'ri, what is going on?" Chrom asked as the members of the Resistance advanced on them with their weapons drawn and their faces hard.
"What that I knew good sir," Say'ri said, her eyes wide. "What that I knew."
Kirito: Wait, what?! I got shot?!
Mataras: Well, I have to keep the audience on their toes somehow.
Klein: What the- When did you get here?!
Mataras: What are you talking about? I've always been here.
Klein: No that's not- Oh, whatever man.
Kirito: Hey! Am I gonna survive?! I mean, you can't kill of the main character, right? Nobody does that!
Mataras: ...Romeo and Juliet... Star Wars... Death Note...
Kirito: Okay, I get it! But still, seriously?!
Mataras: You'll just have to wait until next time to find out.
Klein/Kirito: Are you serious man?!