I updated this a lot faster then I thought I would. I can't promise this for next time though. Sorry for the cliff hanger last time.

-Punjabigrownbg

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Road side battle Part II

Ikyna had her eyes shut while she waited for the impact. She clamped her hands over her head and shrunk down to brace herself. To her surprise she didn't feel the force of a sword cutting through her skin but she hesitated, not sure if it was safe to open her eyes.

"Any time now Ikyna, if you'd like to move." The sapphire-haired girl shot open her eyes in response to the strained voice addressing her.

"Boyd?"

She looked up at the tense back and shaking body in front of her. The fighter had his axe lateral in his hands fending off the sword that had almost ended Ikyna's life. She looked past Boyd and saw Aldon grinning with his sword baring down on Boyd's axe. "You move pretty fast for someone your size." He hissed through his teeth.

"Boyd are you alright?"

"I will be once you get out-of-the-way!"

Ikyna gasped as she realized she was stuck under the two men. Boyd was only a few inches away and doing his best to keep himself form falling on Ikyna. She was clearly in his way. "Oh, r..right." she stammered as she tried to crawl out of range.

"Where are you going missy?"

Ikyna's skin crawled at the wicked voice. She looked up at Aldon as he spoke to her, "I thought you were going to shoot me in the head; or, does your hand still hurt?"

The female mercenary glowered back before shouting, "No worries I've adjusted the angles, you won't be so fortunate next time."

He chuckled as he pressed further down on Boyd, "Once I dispatch your friend I'd love to see you try."

"Why you..." she began through clenched teeth.

"Ikyna!" Ike ran up behind her and held his hand out. He had the girl slung over his shoulder and his eyes were practically commanding his sister to move.

Ikyna grasped his hand as he pulled her out of the small fray ensuing. "You picked a heck of a time to start spacing out back there."

"Yeah, yeah." She said as he tugged her along.

"We need to get this girl somewhere safe." He called.

Ikyna nodded just as the whistiling sound came again. A thin arrow sailed between the twins and lodged itself into the tree trunk just in front of them. Ike froze immediately and Ikyna lost her balance and slid on the dirt a few inches.

"Ikyna?!"

Before Ike could run to Ikyna two more arrows burst from the tree tops. Ike stumbled forward and clutched his calf with his free hand. Velvet oozed from his leg. He grimaced and sharply turned towards the trees. "Where is that coming from?"

"Ponder that later we've gotta find cover." Ike grunted in pain but began a full on sprint for protection. Ikyna quickly stood up and followed her brother. Close behind them and army of arrows chased behind them.

The two ducked behind the shield of two large trees. Ikyna and Ike both heaved from the run. Ikyna put her hand to her chest, attempting to calm her palpitating heart.

"Gah!" Ike heaved next to his sister and he braced himself against the wood trunk. "This is bad." He said as he placed the girl down.

"What? You mean the being pinned down by an arrow assault from some unknown figure? I totally agree." Ikyna said out of breath.

In between his own panting Ike replied, "That too, but I meant everything going on over there." He made a gesture with his head.

Ikyna dared to peak past the tree. Titania was surrounded by three men attacking her and her shaken mare. The white horse whinnied in agitation as Titania struggled to steady her riding companion and fend off the attacks.

Oscar was still laboring with Morok. The former Crimean knight was falling victim to the massiveness of his opponent. Although his skill was superior, he was going to have to get very creative to pull out a victory.

Lastly Boyd was in the worst predicament of the three. He was clearly on the defensive as Aldon dealt blow after blow. The swings of the steel sword were relentless and Boyd had already gained several small cuts and bruises. All of his energy was focused on avoiding a fatal strike.

"You're right." Ikyna said with a sigh as she turned back around from the fight.

"So what do we do?"

Ike unsheathed his sword. "I've gotta get out there and help Boyd."

"Do you have a death wish?" Ikyan spat at her brother. "The moment you run out there that archer is going to pin you to the ground!"

"That's where you come in sis."

Ikyna looked at her brother in disbelief, "What are you saying?"

"Boyd isn't going to last much longer by himself, so I need to get out there. I need you to take out that archer."

"You need what?"

Ike nodded as if to confirm what he had just said, "Can you find the archer that's hiding in the trees?"

Ikyna tilted her head from side to side, "I suppose so but…"

"And you said you can compensate for your injured hand now right?"

The blue haired females eyes flashed in panic, "Oh Ike, that was a big fat bluff."

"Ikyna!"

Ikyna flinched and put her hands over her ears. She was getting tired of hearing her name shouted all day. "What? He was making me so angry I just wanted to say something to shut him up."

Ike shook his head in irritation before facing Boyd and his fight. "Well turn that bluff into fact."

"Yeah, I'll just do that." She shouted in sarcasm over the grunts from the skirmishes near them.

"Look, I'm going out there and the moment I hit open field an arrow is going straight through my head. Please don't let that happen."

Before Ikyna could protest anymore her brother charged towards Boyd with his red cape waving in the wind. She reached out, barely able to comprehend what was happening, and cried out, "Wait Ike! Dang it."

Ikyna cursed and quickly pulled her bow off her back. "How nice it is that my brother didn't give me a high pressure job." She complained as she pulled the arrow against her string. A numbness began to instantly overtake her hand but she shook her head as if to shake off the aching.

Ikyna spun from behind the tree and began frantically scanning the trees. All she needed was a flicker or a shutter of movement to find him. At least that was the easy part. What Ikyna really worried about was actually being able to land her shot.

The corner of her eye caught the twinge of movement to her left. She spun around and pointed her arrow that trembled with her injured hand. Ikyna's heart pounded through the pain but she steadied herself the best she could. "Please hit the mark." She whispered to herself as she let the arrow fly.

Ikyna couldn't even look to where she shot went. She immediately looked to her brother racing to Boyd's aid. He hadn't been shot yet as he neared Aldon.

Ike slid through the dirt, kicking up pebbles and dust, and sliced the thin adversary diagonally on his back. At the very same moment a lone body fell from the trees with an arrow through his stomach. Aldon screamed and fell onto his back.

"Haha." Boyd chuckled in exhaustion, "Thanks man."

Ike gave a tired smile and wiped sweat off his forehead, "It wasn't all me." He pointed towards his sister, "At least half of the credit goes to Ikyna."

Boyd inclined his head slightly, "Thanks, I guess."

She cautiously made her way to the two boys, "I was returning the favor."

"That was rather exciting." Oscar said suddenly appearing by the four youths. His face was bruised and he was gingerly cradling his arm but he smiled warmly as he approached.

"Are you alright Bro?" Boyd asked as he limped slightly over to his older brother.

"Apparently much better than you." Oscar mused.

"It's good to see you all safe." Titania rode looking no worse for the wear. She looked down approvingly at Ike and Ikyna, "You two handled yourselves very well."

"Not a well as you Titania." Ike commented on how calm the paladin appeared.

"What happened to those guys you were fighting and Morok?"

"I finished those men off. They had numbers but no skills."

"After Ike struck Aldon, Morok ran off."

"Who were all those guys anyway?" Ikyna said while crossing her arms. Ike shrugged and groaned as he rubbed his still bleeding calf. "Who knows."

Ikyna wondered over to Aldon and stared down victoriously at his vacant eyes looking up at her. It served him right. She bent over to check for any form of identification on his body. Beneath his vest was a black and red crest. The background was red with a black sickled like shape that turned into a roaring wyvern.

"Daein?" Ikyna said in confusion.

"Daein? What is Daein doing so deep within Crimean territory?" Ike asked.

Oscar nodded, "The situation just gets more and more curious doesn't it?"

"We can worry about that later. Right now we all need get some medical attention. Especially you Boyd." Titania said in a somewhat mothering tone. The four other mercenaries nodded.

Ikyna started to get up but suddenly felt a firm hold on her arm. She looked down in shock and horror at Aldon's very lively glare. "Did you miss me?"

He yanked her into his chest and pulled her up before hastily placing his sword along her neck. Ike made a horrified expression as he made a move to free his sister but Aldon froze him where he stood by digging his blade into the tender flesh of Ikyna's neck.

She felt warm fluid slowly trickle down her chest and shuddered as she tried to struggle against his hold. "Don't move around so much, I might slit your little throat on accident." He cooed in her ear. Ikyna's spine tingled and she gripped his arm that was around her neck and tried to pry herself free.

"Let her go Aldon!"

"Give me the girl first!" he growled back as his head craned from mercenary to mercenary.

"Blast it all! By the goddess if harm my sister I'll…"

"You'll what?" Aldon interrupted with a laugh full of hysteria. "Nothing you can do to me will be half as bad as my punishment for not returning that girl."

The group of four exchanged glances with worry being their main expression. Ikyna flailed relentless against the firm hold she was under.

"Trust me you don't want that girl anyway." Aldon began to reason, "Just let me have her and we can part ways right now."

"Don't do it Ike! Don't barter with this shady character."

"Shut up." He dug the blade in a little and received an agonized whine. "You're not helping your chances here missy…"

A high pitchted flute like sound started whirring through the forest. The sky began to darken over the six people and a swirling cloud formed above Ikyna and Aldon. The girl and captor both tilted their heads upwards as churning rays of white light collected together.

Aldon scream a wretched scream as the lights formed an even beam that shot down through his face. Ikyna stumbled forward as the arms around her neck loosened. She sputtered and coughed as she fell to her knees and clutched her tender neck.

"Ikyna are you alright?"

Ike ran to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder; his face was riddled with concern. "Yeah, I think so." She wheezed.

"What was that bro?"

Ike shrugged his shoulders and let his eyes wander up to the dark clouds that were quickly beginning to dissipate. The streak of ominous gray made a trail back to the trees Ike and Ikyna hid behind. "It can't be." He said breathlessly.

"What?" Ikyna turned her tender neck to follow her brother's perplexed gaze. The last specks of gloomy sky were fading away over the head of the same girl they just saved. Her ivory hair flittered against an unseen force and she one hand raise to the heavens while the other cradled an open book.

"Was that her?" Boyd asked in disbelief as his jaw dropped.

"Looks like some type of light tome." Oscar informed the group.

The five mercenaries stared her down as her body began to sway back and forth. Her legs buckled beneath her and she collapsed onto her knees, letting her book slide into the dirt. She clasped her chest and panted heavily.

Ikyna motioned with her head for Ike to check things out. He raised his eyebrow as if to ask once more if she was alright. "Aldon is gone for good this time. Go."

Ike nodded and cautiously approached the girl. She tilted her head and peered up at him with those terrifying sanguine eyes of hers. Ike knelt down to her eye level and returned her stare.

"Aeyori." She said through her labored breathing.

"What?"

"You asked who I was, my name is Aeyori."

Her chest was rising and falling quickly and her shoulders shook. "My name is Ike, from the Greil mercenaries. Don't worry, you're safe now."

Her pale face brightened, if only a little, and she flashed Ike an exhausted smile. She fell into his chest, to Ike's embarrassment and surprise, and said, "Thank you." With that she slipped back into unconsciousness.

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Huzzah! All done for now. See you next time. Reyson will be in the next chapter no worries okay?

Punjabigrownbg