And the stream of ideas flows on once more, after a long dry spell! Though, I must say, sorry for the long, long, long delay! Schoolwork never let me through too easily, not for a whole semester, burr aye!

Just one thing. Forgive the inaccuracies. This thing was started a scant twenty-three days before Dark Souls 3 – and the Nameless King – was released, hence the old, outdated theories. Let's just be calm and protean about this, shall we?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Smash 4, Super Mario Galaxy, or Dark Souls, this goes to Nintendo and FromSoftware, respectively.

CHAPTER THE TENTH

The first rays of early morning sunlight crept upon the Comet Observatory and streamed into the Bedroom, shining lightly upon the Lady of the Stars' uncovered side of her face, slowly irritating her into wakefulness. She groaned softly, noting that by her bedside clock it was already 6:45. Good grief, I should be making more bread now. And taking a bath. Crikey, I sure reek. She got out of her bed and padded softly outside, keen on keeping the snoring little Luma asleep…

…when a greatarrow the size of a spear flashed by, casually pinning her right arm into the wall. She stifled a wail of pain, and looked at where the arrow came from. Her sharp sight beheld two ironclad archers bearing enormous bows; one had finished firing, and the other was nocking another immense arrow. Hastily, she cast up a force field around the Observatory, shutting out the next arrow which bounced off the barrier harmlessly.

Woken by the din, the Undead ran over and wordlessly pulled out the exceedingly large, deadly projectile... albeit far too roughly. A spurt of blood quickly began gouting out of the sizeable gash, along with a strange blue liquid. That was the medium for her magic, and now it was imperative she didn't lose it all. She gritted her teeth and hissed, "Don't be so rough, sir! I feel pain, too!" as a starburst left her palm and closed her the gaping wound in her forearm, along with the torn cloth.

"Tch, sorry, m'lady," he returned, quite startled and out of breath," it's just that we'd 'ave to hasten now, or be slain!"

"There's no rush, sir, you won't die, nor me, not on my watch. None of us will even get harmed, I assure you... except probably my clothing." She replied warmly this time, giggling at her own joke... although the signs of a great strain were fresh upon her face. "I'll do my best regarding that."

After calming down, they began to scrutinize their position. "Looks like it's the two damnedest, most hawk-eyed archers in the lot," the Undead muttered darkly under his breath. At Rosalina's questioning looks, he explained a bit more thoroughly. "They stay flanking the edges of this tiny ledge in this manor of the gods. Many heroes have to pass through the ledge – and in effect, those two – in order to claim the Lordvessel from Lady Gwynevere, and many have died thanks to their efforts. Including me. Though it's worrying to see them out of their post - they'd never leave it, usually..."

The Lady of the Stars pursed her lips and thought for a while. "I see. Well, it won't really matter since we have our shields… but they're weaker, and will only last until five days, due to my limited power. Please do forgive me if that puts us at risk…"

"That would be all right, Milady. Just… worry about your child and yourself, and none else for now." Returned the knight, his grogginess still overtaking him, resulting in slurred speech." Also, we have the assurance of having the high ground this time. So, what do you think we should do?"

"I'd prefer taking those damn archers out, milady… though they also bear my curse, it seems." He spat, annoyed. "Every time I kill them, they come back. They'll keep coming back for more, I'm afraid."

"Well… I'll just see to our household. That's the best I can do for now. If you won't mind, would you be so kind to take up the defense of my home? Pray forgive me, we have merely two days in full security. Until then we will have meager victuals – I mean food here - with which I will manage to the best of my abilities unhindered."

"I see. Though, a reminder to make it a bit easier, I don't eat. Well, I'd always like those Silver Knights hors de combat, so it's a deal, then." The knight finished, then faded from view all of a sudden. "Just let me out of your shell for a moment."

"Sure, then. I'll be in my Kitchen – that building, over there – if you need me." Rosalina held out an outstretched palm as if to wave goodbye, and the field disappeared. "Please be safe."

Another flurry of greatarrows thunked squarely into the shield, each with little success. The first Silver Knight sighed and remarked, very annoyed, " 'Tis a shame, seeing our targets in plain sight and not being able to get at them. That first arrow should have been aimed at the noggin', and all this would have been over by now."

"Nah, nah, messmate, doesn't take just an arrow to end one like that. I've seen that before, believe me," the other archer shot back.

Well, what do you suppose we'll do?" the first archer asked irritatedly. "Let's face it, there's nothing we can do, and I'm sure we can't just wait for that barrier thing to run out."

"Shall we just go back to Master Gwyndolin and make this hour's report now? This might be in his magic's purview…" the other archer suggested. "Especially concerning these… strange, five-pointed objects we found embedded into the walls and floor of this building."

"Tchaaah!" The Silver Knight loosed an arrow, hissing in disdain as it clacked uselessly off the field. "Mistress, more like – "

"Shut your trap and quit wastin' arrows there! They might hear you, blithering oaf!" the second archer hissed back, elbowing him as the first archer stifled his mirth. "Don't call our lord that… you know what he might do! It'll be the end of you!"

"So what exactly are you afraid of?" the first archer sneered back. "We're undead too, in some way they should never know about or figure out, heh! They aren't going to kill us forever, the most they can do is just starve us, which won't work, obviously. Huh, we ain't gonna end till the world ends. And about Mistress Gwyndolin, a little humor never hurt nobody, eh?"

"Touche, mon ami. Touche. But we'll have to deal with this beauty for now – and giggling about our master's gender won't help matters any. Come on, let's go to him, or her, or whichever you prefer – hey, what the – "

The second Silver Knight stared startled as his friend was suddenly silenced, blood spurting from an ugly gash on the armor near his neck.

A fleetingly insidious movement crossed his vision – a band of mist standing in front of him, almost looking like… like it was a man rearing up to attack. Galvanized into action, he raised his shield and blocked a hefty blow from the mist cloud. Cripes, he thought, it's a bastard with a Fog Ring.

He swung in the direction of the mist, and his sword was met with a block. He rolled a way, and they circled each other warily, blocking wherever he saw the mist struck, returning blows with full force.

The end came, undoubtedly, when the mist cloud suddenly leapt at him, in what the Silver Knight correctly assumed was a leaping attack. The Knight sidestepped easily as the assailant landed its' attack harmlessly on the roof, cracking it slightly. He grinned under his helmet, and prepared a mighty overhead chop…

…which was met with the unmistakable sound of a Parrying Dagger clinking near the sword's quillons. Oh, crap. Suddenly he flat on his back, smacked away roughly by a great blow to his midsection. He was then on the ground, stunned, helpless, waiting for the inevitable riposte.

But before the mist cloud could finish him, bounding steps echoed around the stairwell. Archer #1 flashed up the stairs in a roll, and then quickly loosed a greatarrow that was nocked on his half-stretched bow. It smashed into the mist cloud, drawing a hefty amount of blood.

He waited for his partner to come to him, and plunged blades into him together. But no, the thing wasn't done yet.

After a few seconds' worth of pulling their blood-slick swords out of the mist cloud, the cocky bastard suddenly loosed Wrath of the Gods, neatly vaporizing them both and sending them back to their posts near the balustrade with major headaches. What was worse, when they checked their inventories, the mysteriously powerful star-shaped objects were gone.

After a few moments' worth of leaning against the walls keening and dry-puking into the empty space below them, cursing their fortunes all the while, the first Silver Knight coughed spoke. "That, my friend, is our cue to get to Mistress Gwyndolin- I mean Master Gwyndolin, if you please."

"Well. What did I tell you, you oaf?" the second archer shot back smugly as he started walking shakily down the balustrade. "Come on, get your rump up and let's make our damn report."

Little Oliver woke a bit later than the morning's festivities, sorely hungry. He sat up hazily, his vision clearing gradually, and got out of bed slowly, asking himself where Mama went. He stepped outside and beheld smoke wafting gently from the Kitchen. Ah, he thought, this must be something good for us to eat, right from the oven!

He ran straight on to the Kitchen, with his mind occupied, eager for a day full of fun with Mama. But had he looked left towards the roof of Anor Londo, he would have seen poor Sir Stranger banging ceaselessly upon the force field with a greathammer, swearing under his breath and pleading for someone to open the damn thing and let him in.

He entered the Kitchen and saw Mama – oh, joy! – kneading dough for more bread. She wiped her brow with her forearm, turned and managed to neatly catch Oliver mid-leap. "Good morning, my child! How do you do?"

"I feel very good, Mama, thank you! How about you?" said the little Luma, quite overjoyed and now cuddling into his mother's chest. "Will you let me knead again?"

"I feel… only a bit good, Oliver… and yes, you can knead, if you'd want." She handed her child the bowl and sighed.

"Why so, Mama?" A look of consternation was upon Oliver's face as he began to hammer down on the bread.

"Well, let me tell you something only you could understand, Oliver." At her child's attentive silence, she pulled up a chair, sat down and continued wearily. "Oh, Oliver… I've just been pondering about how people treat me"

"Pondering? What does that mean, Mama?" asked the confused little Luma.

"Oh, sorry, it means thinking hard about something." Rosalina answered somewhat absentmindedly. "Anyways, to continue... I'm just annoyed at how people treat me. Even my friends. Even, sometimes, you, my children. First of all, a lot of people think I'm invincible. Unbeatable. A mighty, perfect being who cannot be defeated in any way. People think the reason I joined Smash and all those other competitions is because I wanted a challenge; that, after a long sojourn of winning, I wanted to lose. That I wanted to feel all the feelings normal people felt. But I'm definitely not what they assume about me. What's more, they're spreading their assumptions around, which leads to a lot of misunderstandings about me. And I hate it. Do you get what I imply, my child? Sometimes, it gets on my nerves to see even my children thinking the same way."

Oliver had stopped kneading at this point, giving his full attention to Rosalina. He averted his eyes guiltily. "Indeed, Mama. But what about the other people?"

He was suddenly taken aback by the hard, angry stare his mother had on her usually serene face. "Those people… they are the ones who hate me and see nothing but my weakness. Who throw insults at me, and see me as a lazy guardian and mother, who think that I join those events I joined in order to feel superior. And unfortunately, though their insults matter not, it is the fact that they are the majority of the people I can encounter. And their combined number is…infuriating."

Oliver huddled close to Mama. "Can't we just ignore them, Mama?"

"I've tried." was the sullen answer. "Tried, time and time again, only to burst out in anger in the Fountain or in Smash Mansion's garden or somewhere nobody sees me. It just… it just pisses me off to see people not seeing both sides of me for once, eh?"

"Oh, I see… no wonder I hear all those scary explosions and screams at night back then… but, really, Mama. You could just ignore them, right? It's no trouble at all… what they're saying isn't true! Don't let them get to you! Besides, Mama… you have me! And Stranger too! And your friends like Mario! And Luigi, and Princess Daisy…" He sidled up closer to Rosalina, trying to be as cheery as possible. But she didn't reply, instead sitting down stock-still on her stool with a strange, pensive look on her eyes. But a while later, the Lady of the Stars' countenance softened up considerably. "Well, thanks a lot, Oliver, for the encouragement. Where'd you get all those words from?"

Oliver stiffened a bit. "Uh, Mama, it's pretty hard to explain, but, um… Grandma's been visiting me lately. She says she has discovered something very horrible in the Abyss she's found that she has to monitor. She said it was a Luma, Mama, and they were turning it Dark! And the rest of the Lumas weren't around in that Starshroom! But anyways, she told me to tell you what I just said – especially this. She said, "Tell your mother not to worry about her enemies, grandson, if they hurt her by word only. Because sometimes, all one does need in the world is a bit of quiet by yourself and your peers. The ones who truly love you and care for you. Away from worthless scum who are nothing but all talk. They've got nothing on her except probably deafening her. And the only real damage will be done if she gives in to their taunts." He coughed, and continued. "Though I'm not really sure what peers are, Mama… Mama, Mama? Are you all right?"

"Nothing, my son. It's just that… that… your Grandmother's the person I really need… but she does need to give me more time… instead of just… flitting away all the time, risking her life… just like how I treat you…" she spluttered out in between sniffles. "And… and… and one of my children's being turned?! I-I should not have…" The tears began flowing down her face again. "That's a whole lot of power… into the enemy's hands… I've really done it this time, have I? Ugh… and I sit here, powerless… both literally and figuratively."

Silence for a few more seconds. Then the now-inconsolable Lady of the Stars burst out weeping head-on again. Oliver, now very distressed at what damage he might have done with his words – and yet mortally afraid of his mother's outburst - began to hug his mother hesitantly.

That was the umpteenth time - in a scant little period of two days – where Mama had lost her cool. He was trying his best to keep her in check… and yet it seemed so hopeless. All the hope she had felt was once more, crumbling away.

But no outburst came. She merely hugged him back as tenderly as she always did, and said, "It's alright. You did nothing wrong. But my child… we'll get through this. It's just - It's just so… so bitter, isn't it? L-L-Let's let it… all out…" They stayed this way for a few more moments, weeping tenderly into their bosoms. No word was spoken as the tears sprang unbidden into their eyes – tears of sorrow, grief and regret.

And in this particular time of weakness, forgetting about a lot of important things. Two things, in particular.

The Undead sat on the roof near the Observatory, feeling frustrated and sore from the morning's fight.

He had tried everything to get the hell back inside. He'd risked every single Wrath of the Gods charge. He'd whacked several times with the Dragon Tooth, the Zweihander, and all the largest, meanest things in his armory. All to no effect. And though his bloodthirsty tenure outside the Observatory had been productive, he was effectively trapped. Though he had taken a few of those… star things Rosalina needed. Good grief.

"She seems to know how to keep things out all too well," he mused to himself wearily as he slumped against the barrier, "and damn, is she good at it too! Any moment now and I'll get skewered… what to do?"

Needest you assistance, my dear friend?

The words sprang into his mind, and the Undead slumped onto the ground, drawing the poor Knightess, forgotten all throughout the morning. "Damn it all, sorry about forgetting about your voice of reason! Now I'm trapped with no way back into safety, and if you've any solution to this kind of damn problem, then show me. I'd like to see you try," he spat out, his voice of sheer sarcasm. His frustration rose to a nigh-insurmountable level, and a feral growl rose unbidden from his throat.

Seeing the danger, the Knightess began placating him, as she always would. Hush, and fret thee not, dear liege of mine. I am still here, and always will be. And, whether I like it or else, I will always have to guide you, so long as I am with you. Now, what's all this fuss? Can't get back into safety? But how?

"Ok. The Lady of the Stars has built a barrier around her home. So far, I have let her remove the barrier for a while because I was itching for revenge on those two Knights on the balustrade, who come her to pick us off. But she has forsaken me and trapped me here to rot. Soon, the Silver Knights will come and murder me. Again, and again, and again, until I am reduced into a shambling Hollow." He sighed and finished, feeling more frustrated than ever before.

Surprisingly, the sword chuckled heartily. Tch, those two… deadlier than Ornstein and Smough combined, with their kill count nigh-equal to the aforementioned. Oh, believe me, we keep records… So, she's keeping you out physically. Oh, she's just probably got her little starchild to take care of and fuss over, and forgotten about you for a bit. That's how priorities work. Anyways, how about magically? Maybe the barrier isn't metaphysical…

The Undead was confused at her choice of words. "Magically, says you? But how?"

Have you any Homeward Bones about you? Or at least the Homeward spell itself? Or a Ring of Sacrifice?

This suggestion struck him and moved him deeply, and he was silent for a few moments. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

He was about to voice his opinion when a greatarrow cut him short, slamming into the ground between his legs. "There they go, potshotting a cloud again." The shock of the moment speeded his decision; he immediately beckoned a pale white bone to his hand, knelt, and faded away before the next projectiles could do further harm, slamming into the concrete where he was before.

He arose from the bonfire a bit scathed from his tenure outside the Observatory he now called a new home and dusted himself off, mentally conversing with his closest friend about their next moves. "Dearest thanks to you, my best stalwart of a sword." He stretched for a while, taking in what remained of the peace of the morning. He then squatted down beside the Bonfire, yawning. "What shall we do next?"

Nothing, I suppose. Further conflict would bring in more troops as reinforcements to the casualties. You shouldn't have gone out there as recklessly as you did – look at you now, your armor's pretty much ripped straight through and stained with blood. And you would've lost some more of your memories if you had died. Not quite presentable to your lady, methinks? So, for now, take a rest. They won't breach your Lady's barrier, the Knightess chided gently, so you've nothing to worry about. She finished fussing, a smile playing on her face on the narrow edge of her blade. Except for her children, maybe, which would be best left until tomorrow.

"What about those stars she mentioned? I did manage to snag these ones from under the Silver Knights' noses…" was his eventual question after a few moments' worth of silence and pondering, brandishing four faintly iridescent Power Stars.

Ah, well done, I guess! , applauded the Knightess, a wave of joy rushing through her. Your lady now has all she needs to leave this hellhole… and there might be more, I say!

"More? That would… that would probably make her damn giddy…" the knight said as if in a trance.

But that's all we can do for now. We cannot leave this place without being spat on by an arrow, and by the looks of things more of those Stars she mentioned have possibly either been flung further away, or some precursory samples of them might have fallen here in Lordran far back into the past. That being said, I've heard rumors from my guardian compatriots that a certain magic-obsessed dragon with his sights set upon immortality might have utilized strange five-pointed powerful objects. They're probably hidden away somewhere.

It hit him at once. "Dukes, or the Crystal Caverns… wow, Seath the Scaleless was pretty desperate, eh? And some of them gone to waste, to be sure…"

Right there. But heading there is risky, considering there's now a group of Anor Londo's defenders ready to harangue us at every move we make. So for now…

"We stay put. And entertain ourselves." The Undead finished. "Well, with what exactly?"

Do you know how to read?

"Of course I do."

Well… that means we have a whole library in this here, uh, thing, to peruse. Not unless of course the books drive you insane. But it's better than being driven insane by boredom… though, I know you won't EVER be bored, not with your lady, mhmm… the sword returned coyly, stifling her giggles.

"Tch. She sure makes life interesting, indeed." The knight remarked drily, a lopsided grin pasted on his face under his helmet as he rose and began to wend his way to the strangest library he'd seen in his life for the second time – "Oh, before we forget, we'd have to deliver something to my lady first." He then changed course, heading toward the large dome-shaped building with a gigantic silverware set upon it. "She said she'd be here, anyways. Well, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Barrier, you say?"

The Dark Sun Gwyndolin was irritated at the results of their reconnaissance. Now the enemy was seemingly invincible with their barrier, and that also meant that their enemy could ceaselessly strike without worry of retaliation.

"A barrier indeed, lord Gwyndolin." Replied the archers outside. They always had this… curt tone talking to him. Maybe it was respect. Or maybe it was fear. Then again, who was he to know?

"I see. Return thou to thine post, I will deal with them soon. Personally. Dismissed," he finished, turning away from the fog wall and ignoring the curt and simultaneous "Thank you, milord!" issuing from outside.

He stepped into the honorary, yet empty tomb of his father, and took a seat, weighing the situation adroitly. Well… this case surely required his special attention. But of course there was the issue of his appearance. Bah. No matter. His armor, which he'd never worn up until now, would serve a good purpose, hiding his ugly visage and protecting him all at once. Though the first reason appealed to him greatly.

He took it up reverently from one of the chests in the room, a simple set of mailed armor with a face-covering helmet in the shape of his crown, only a bit more plated with steel. Perfect. His eldest and long-gone brother had given it to him before his banishment.

He sighed, nostalgic. Those were the long-gone golden days of the past. The Dark was never menacing them, they were truly the Gods of their realm, and they even had the time to spare a bit of jovial, yet sometimes bittersweet moments of leisure.

Tch. No time to ruminate about the past now, he thought absentmindedly as he took up his staff, bow and quiver, and began to head outside, confidence in his gait and posture. Now it's time to show an example; to get out there and show them I am not afraid to furl my hands with the grit and dirt of my mission.

He stepped out of the room a different person, bearing the implements of war – his stave, bow and quiver all ready for some bloodshed, his armor not on him, fitting like a glove. He grinned darkly as he walked down the long corridor and emerged from the fog wall. It was time to slay some sinners personally for the first time in his monotonous life. Oh, he was going to enjoy meting out punishment for the pain they had caused!

After nearly fifteen minutes of sobbing into their chests, the poor mother and child duo had finally calmed down and started kneading away again, in a sullen silence.

After a few minutes' worth of terse silence, Oliver finally couldn't stand it. "What are we going to do next?"

"I… I really don't know. We can't get out of here just yet, Oliver. We need at least two more Power Stars before we can leave, and we've got none… and how can we go get them when there are those archers outside – wait, oh no, S-Sir Stranger's out there – "

Oliver was suddenly surprised as his mother rushed out hurriedly, crashing into – speak of the devil! - Sir Stranger, who was also coming in - and tipping both of them head-over-heels onto each other, landing them in an awkward heap.

After a few seconds of tense, awkward silence which usually followed moments like that, the Lady of the Stars merely closed her eyes in relief and - yet blushing furiously - flopped the hapless Undead off her to one side. "Oh, thank goodness. I'm so sorry about forgetting about you… I was damn right worried… oh, dear me, you're all beaten up, are you?" she began fussing, noting the rips and dark stain on his armor. "I'll fix you up quick – oh dear, gracious me – "

"N-N-N-No, no, it's-it's all r-r-right, uh, L-Lady R-R-Rosalina, uh, I-I just, eh, have to give you, er, s-something I f-found from those-those two enemies outside…" he stammered out, his face a shade of red reminiscent of a boiled lobster as he handed her the Power Stars. Good thing there's a helmet on your silly face, was Knightess' final word after chuckling long and hard.

All the negativity Rosalina felt – along with the equally deep blush on her face – vanished as she took them up reverently. She was lost for words at the Knight's bravery – all that time and trouble taken for a complete stranger he now treated, at best, as an ally he'd still need to be weary of.

But why? Why do this all for her? Perhaps there was something deeper to all this… maybe. She stowed the thought for later. Perhaps it would mire her in scandal, like the last time she went on one of those things... Or perhaps it would be beneficial. Either way, this anomaly needed to be taken back to the mansion. That was the status quo for now. But that… that idea – he idea of infatuation – intrigued her the most. This surely will be interesting.

The awkward silence that ensued didn't last as long as it did, anyways, thanks to Oliver. This time, though, he didn't leap into Sir Stranger as usual. He helped him up instead – by burrowing under him and shoving upward, forcing the knight into a sitting position. This done, the little child then burrowed comfortedly into his side, chirping happily.

This drove the knight back to his senses. He blinked, looked around and, coughing, addressed the two with his initial awkwardness, along with his stutter, slowly fading. "Um, sorry about crashing into you, Dear Lady… I didn't notice you coming out of the kitchens. Uh, so that's… that's as much as I could get, and there might be more of those somewhere. Do you need anything else, Milady?"

The Lady of the Stars looked up and, with a wave of her hand, beckoned a starburst towards the knight, healing him and his armor completely, the rips closing, the dark bloodstains fading. She sighed wearily, and said, "No, nothing more. I just need to unwind a little. Oh, dear me, I'm at loss for words thanks to this… this is all too much compared to whatever agonies you go through just for this…"

"It is no problem, dearest Rosalina," the knight countered carefully, levelly, even, "as you mentioned paying me back in full, and I'm not expecting you to renege on that."

"I see… but your efforts far exceed what I expected. You have my deepest gratitude. But you know what? Next time you're leaving this place in search of more stars, I'm going with you," she decided firmly. "With these stars you've got… we can get out of here now, unless you've further business, id I'd like you to keep safe. Just let me feed myself and my child here, and take a bath, then I'll be ready by that time. For now…" She paused, apparently pondering upon the Undead's next assignment for a while. "You'll have to rest. You've done enough, and thanks to you I can perfect my defenses. Again, my deepest gratitude…" she finished, drawing up close and, not minding the Undead's filthy armor, pulled him into a warm embrace for the second time in the brief time they had met.

And so close to each other already! This is getting intense… purred the Estoc.

Which, it should be noted, deepened the blush on the Undead's face, who was both mentally berating Knightess and thanking Lord Gwyn he never usually took his armor off.

After she remained in her embrace for a few more moments, she pulled away silently with a Cheshire grin on her face, and that was Oliver's signal to bowl him over with a leap into his chest, squeaking and chirping happily.

They then began to move outside. And that's when the siege kicked off again… yet more viciously.

The non-magical nature of the barrier proved a sore point for the three inhabitants of the structure whose protection relied on it so heavily, emphasized by a literal rain of Moonlight Arrows which tore casually though the barrier.

Luckily, the little Luma managed to get away from the majority of moonlight arrows strikes with just a deep scrape on his face thanks to Sir Stranger throwing him back into the Kitchen. He hurriedly scurried into the relative safety of the underside of his mother's favorite stool, cowering and trembling fearfully.

Rosalina came out a bit more scathed, warping away to the Bathroom and falling flat onto the pool of water with a resounding crimson splash. She hurriedly pulled out five shafts from her thigh, ankle, back and shoulderblades, respectively, wincing in agony as the shafts tumbled to the ground. Then she recognized the severity of the problem.

She was faced with a sudden dilemma. A flaw in her abilities was now currently displaying itself in a most vicious way. She clapped her palms to her mouth as she saw the Undead sickeningly pelted on by dozens upon dozens of arrows. She felt an urgency rise within her… but she weighed her choices carefully.

Would she have to possibly waste her Power Stars saving the anomaly? Of course… but then, they might never leave this place again. That was what worried her the most. And of course, the knight could always be brought back to life… but insane, right? That might have been undesirable, seeing a being of power be willing to help her one moment, and raving against everything in the next.

But as she watched the proceedings with a sickened look, she acted upon instinct. A strange overprotective rage flowed into her as she crushed the Power Stars in her fist.

You will not harm my friend. You will neither drive him mad, nor make him a threat to anyone.

A warm feeling coursed throughout her as she felt so full to the brim again. She sent a sizeable jolt of energy to the shield, and then…

The knight had definitely fared the worst. After throwing the Luma away he managed to bring out the Crest Shield and was forced to hunker down behind it after being struck several times, now looking very much like a pincushion. Numerous arrows were sticking out on his limbs. Turtling, however, definitely did not help much as the odd bit of his body sticking out was a receiving end of an arrow every second, and he winced in infernal pain as the magic from the arrows spread through his body. Damnit, I'll die soon… the scum are pretty adaptive. I'll give them that.

All at once, the barrage stopped and he panted for a few seconds, glad to be alive. Then, with great agony but fueled with grim resolve, he strained and risked a peek past his shield and then took stock of the belligerents.

On their side: himself now almost a pincushion and nearly dead (but that was going to change soon, thanks to his Estus Flask), a little child nearly incapable of fighting (so he thought), and a powerful Lady of the Stars, all of them equipped with his items (which, it should be noted, should be better referred to as an armory in his pocket) and vast stores of magical power.

On the other side: the entire host of Sentinels, Silver Knights, Bat Wing Demons bolstered by the appearance of someone with a strange set of armor, who was charging a strange spell… with both his bow and a catalyst?!

No time to think about that, though with that catalyst, I'm pretty sure it's Lord Gwyndolin. Hide!

The knightess' warning immediately sent the Undead back to the small space behind his Crest Shield as the pattering of countless Moonlight Arrows began to rain down straight through the barrier upon his pitiful figure.

Suddenly, the barrier gained a new intensity, and began to glow turquoise, miraculously blocking out the relentless fusillade. With a final clack!, the last arrow fell upon the shield and remained embedded there. Gratified, the knight quickly drew his Estus Flask and swigged it deeply, twice. Then, he began the agonizing process of tearing out all the deadly shafts from his limbs.

After laying down upon the ground a few moments, reveling in his life, he heard the storm of shafts clatter on against the now-empowered barrier. Suddenly, the weariness of the early morning came upon him like a hefty specter, and then he decided, Lying stretched out in this grass is so damn relaxing. Ah, to be away from it all…

His eyelids grew heavy, and as he passed out he heard hurried footsteps clatter towards him. All in a morning's work.

Gwyndolin swore as he saw the next fusillade from his catalyst nullified by the strange shell outside the structure they were besieging. His new Rain of Arrows spell had worked out so fine at first. If only they had gotten the trio! Unfortunately, they were too protean to the situation, and he knew when exactly something was invincible.

A wave of anger rose inside of him… but he stifled it to a mere shudder. He could not be so careless as to betray even the slightest volatile emotion to his underlings. Some of which were doubtful, other even mocking him for his supposed frailty. But punishments fitting for them could be arranged. Punishments severe, not even the Curse of the Undead would provide relief to.

He motioned to his archers, and said "Hold. There is little left for us here. The heretics have managed to repel our attacks by strengthening the barrier, as I can see." He coughed and continued, a bit roughly. "You two, and you there," he beckoned to two Silver Knights wielding halberds, and a Sentinel. "Post yourselves here to relieve these two. That shield's intensity must mean it's also keeping its' inhabitants inside as it keeps us out. I will accompany you after I have prepared a way to break through... The rest of you… you are to go back to your usual posts."

He stepped down the stairs lightly, after all the rest except for the aforementioned guards) had left, muttering darkly to himself. How could one nullify magic? That he did not know yet. "This is going to take a miracle to solve," he said absentmindedly, "and I'll have to call upon Duke Seath's knowledge for this."

Little did he know the thing he needed had already escaped his lips. A miracle, indeed.

And that's all for now! Though, again, further updates shall be sporadic due to schoolwork. Read, rate and review, as always. Peace out!

\[T]/