The Mercenary (Beautiful_Disgrace and I)

She wasn't pleased to know that her love was hurt, but at the end of the day it was a battle. Even if it was...unheard of for a man of his strength to be injured, it was still possible. "I'll tell Ganessa to do so..she's been looking for Palutena's child this whole time. They must be hiding well, wherever they are." Medusa commented as she lifted up Ragnell and grinned. "Let them hide...no matter where they go, I will find them one by one, and make them suffer." She finished as her dark magic began to circle around the golden, cracked blade.
 
Ike didn't know how long they ran, but goddess willing...they kept running until they couldn't any longer. Eventually, they had to stop...they were somewhere deep in the woods, but it didn't matter. The sky was dark, like the hue when he was a general...it cast flickering, almost mocking lights through the trees as the wind gently rustled through the air. Ike panted heavily, glancing around and swallowing mouthfuls of air. Sona. Sona was gone. She was gone forever, dead. Taken...gone. Gone because he had to try and do the right thing, gone because she thought that he hated her, that he didn't want her in her life, that he pushed her away.

Ike paced, even though he didn't have the energy. His heart was a twisted, horrible knot of fury and sadness. All of it was his fault, every death, every lost life...
 
Lethe collapsed on the ground before shifting back to her human form. It was a wonder she held her beast form for so long..if it was just out of sheer will power. She ached all over, they weren't meant to sustain such a form for that long. But the pain in her limbs was nothing compared to the pain her heart. She was angry...she wanted to tear out Medusa and Ganondorf's throats...but they were too strong and she felt absolutely powerless at the moment. She hated herself for being a coward and running away...she hated the fact that Sona was dead and her sister was in the hands of a monster. She gritted her teeth as tears started falling down her cheeks.

Samus just felt...emptiness. She hated that feeling, she was shutting down emotionally. Just remembering the way Sona looked when she took her last breath just before she turned completely to stone, she couldn't handle it. No. She...she had to be strong for Ike. She watched him pace back and forth for a moment before she moved to block his path. "Ike..." She began softly, looking down at him with a grimace. "Sit down. You need to rest."
 
"I can't," Ike muttered, glancing away from her with a heavy exhale. "I can't, not while all of this is happening. I don't deserve to rest, we need to keep moving, they're probably still after us. We can't let them follow." Sona. Sona was gone. Everything he wanted to say, everything he wanted to try and fix, he was so stupid. Why didn't he just tell her when he saw her the first time? Why? Why did he just let her go?
 
"Just for a minute...Lethe needs to catch her breath." Samus urged as she placed both hands on his shoulders. No, that wasn't enough. Not for the pain he felt. She slid her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "So do you. Just for a minute, Ike." She whispered to him. It was painful to see him hurting so much. She knew he was blaming himself...she was blaming herself too. "We won't get much further than this if we exhaust ourselves."
 
"...I can't," Ike huffed, leaning into her hug. He didn't deserve it. Everything he had done was for nothing, all of his 'for the greater good' thoughts ended him up nowhere. All of this was his fault, he needed to give them time. He'd run himself ragged to do it.

"Not when that happened, I can't."
 
Samus kept him locked into her embrace as she nuzzled into his neck. She didn't say anything, she just held him. There was nothing she could say that would make this easier. Sona had died..she died for her. It was...she couldn't think about it right now. She just needed to be strong for him.

Lethe's ears perked up before she got to her feet. "Someone's coming.." She huffed as she turned to the direction she heard the footsteps come from. She was too exhausted to change...but she readied herself nonetheless. Out of the thickness of the trees came a beautiful woman in a long and flowing light blue dress. Most of her red hair was pinned at the top of he head. A familiar aura would reach them, one that felt similar to Sona.

"You're safe for now, but not for long. Come with me...I have already helped everyone I could. You three are the only ones left." Ashunera didn't look very happy. In fact, her expression was pained. She knew what had happened to Ragnell...to Sona. Alondite would be crushed...
 
"...Ashunera," Ike mumbled, slowly pulling away from Samus with a faint squeeze on her arm as thanks. "What about you? You're coming with us, aren't you?"
 
"No. I just need to get you to safety, before the remnants of my barrier fade away. Come." She told them as she moved forward, her dress flowing after her. She stopped not even a few feet away before she raised up her hand. Little shards of light began to appear around them, and it slowly collected in front of Ashunera until it made what appeared to be a portal of some kind. "This will lead you to Gallia and the others."

"Gallia..?" Lethe repeated. How she had wanted to go home more than anything...but now. Now she just wished that Sona was here. In there few weeks of travel together, Lethe had grown very fond of her. She had been a good friend to her...despite everything she had been through. Lethe could feel tears stinging at her eyes before she moved forward and into the portal, and she disappeared in a single flash of light.

"Quickly. It won't last much longer." Ashunera urged.
 
Ike sighed inwardly, but nodded. "...I'm sorry," he said, stepping through the portal with Samus. Sorry that he ever started any of this...sorry that he couldn't help her, sorry that Sona was gone...it hurt. It hurt to have so many failures, so quickly and be so heavy. He deserved every one of them.
 
Ashunera had led them to a large camp that was still being set up. Screaming and groaning filled the air. It was chaos, as there were countless injured. Everyone was doing whatever they could...there were even some volunteers from the beast tribe that had heard what had happened. A third of Tellius had fallen...it didn't look good for them.

Walking into the camp was hard for Lethe. The smell of blood was everywhere. It filled her nostrils and overpowered every other scent. This was what the Crimean army had turned into...but she didn't see any of Daeins soldiers...
 
"Ike," Alondite murmured, moving over quickly to the ragged looking trio. Ike's heart slammed into his stomach, and he could barely stand to look at her. "Sona? Have you seen Sona? Was she with you?"

"...I'm sorry," Ike murmured, as earnest as he could manage as Alondite's brows furrowed heavily in confusion. "...I'm...I'm so sorry."
 
"Sona...she's gone. She...saved me...and died in the process." Samus had to say it. She had to admit her fault in all this. Sona deserved that much. She deserved to be remembered that way.

Lethe couldn't stand this. She's had to get away. She...she was so angry. She scrambled off..she didn't know where to. Between Sona and. Her sister, she felt like her heart would burst.
 
"...What?" Alondite blinked. "No...that can't be true, it can't," she insisted. "She wouldn't be that reckless! She and I had to-"

"Alondite," Ike murmured. "...She's gone, I saw it myself." Alondite took a step back, hand running shakily through her hair as Ike swallowed faintly. She was hyperventilating, she wasn't ready to feel something like that. The tears came freely, and quickly. She could barely utter out words, so much so that it caught the uncomfortable attention of just about everyone. Ike moved forward, carefully.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "It's my fault-"

He didn't even see the wild swing that slammed across his jaw, plowing him into the ground with a pained grunt. He was starting to get used to that, but right now...he just deserved it.

"This IS your fault!" she screamed, her breathing rapid, her face flush with misery. "She...she loved you, she wanted you safe! All you talked about was Samus! Do you know how much she worried about you!? Even when she had nothing but...but..."

"I know," Ike mumbled, not getting up from his spot on the ground as he sat up a little, glancing up at her. "I'm sorry-"

"That's all you've been doing!" she sobbed. "Do you know what SHE was trying to do!? She was trying to FIX things! All you've been doing is sulking in a corner!" She was right, not that Ike needed the reminder. Not that he wanted to think that his inaction had caused all of this, but it had. He just wanted to rest...just for a little while, but he didn't deserve it. This is what happened when he did.
 
Samus once again moved over to his side to see if he was okay. She knelt beside him and then looked up at Alondite. She had every right to be angry. But Ike didn't deserve it. Not like this. "Don't hate him. He may have made a mistake...but it wasn't his fault. Be angry at Medusa...be angry at me. If I was stronger...she wouldn't have had to save me." Samus told her as she looked into her eyes. They were..hurt. Angry. Maybe there was no point, but she couldn't just sit there and let Ike blame himself for this...or Alondite point fingers at him.

He had enough guilt...he didn't need this.
 
"What's going on here?" Link murmured, joined by Soren...who had no doubt rushed at the first sign of Ike hitting the ground.

"Sona's dead," Alondite sniffled, wiping at her face. Not that it helped. "Dead because of these two!"
 
Soren was admittedly more worried about Ike than anyone else. Physically, he was okay..but Soren could tell just how hurt he was. Soren had never really gone out of his way to talk to Sona...but he had seen her around. He knew the story all the way from the time she left. No doubt Ike blamed himself...he didn't need someone else blaming him.

"Who killed her?" Soren asked Alondite as she turned to face her. There was no way that these two had anything to do with her death.
 
"Samus did! So did Ike! If they had moved, if...if they had ran when..." Alondite huffed, her face still red with exhaustion. But even she knew that her anger had no logic, had no reasoning past the outburst. But that didn't stop the burn in her chest.
 
"Alondite. Who killed Sona?" Soren repeated, giving her a stern look. He couldn't say he understood her pain, or Ike's. He had never been close to anyone but Ike...even though he did feel bad whenever he heard that someone in their camp had died. Just never...he never had to grieve.

Still, he wouldn't let Alondite continue on like this. Not when Ike looked like he was ripping apart at the steams.
 
"...Medusa," Alondite muttered hollowly, glancing away. Even as the tears stubbornly continued. "...Medusa killed her."
 
Soren just looked at her for a moment before he inched closer to her, his eyes never leaving her once. "Sona was a strong woman. She acted on everything she believed in, no matter how dangerous it was. She brought reinforcements, and she saved countless people when she banished the evils that witch had summoned to terrorize Tellius. She is a hero, and she will never be forgotten. She chose to save Samus and Ike, because she believed in them. You should believe in them too, for her sake. I can't comprehend how much you're hurting, Alondite. But you really should believe in what she did..." He reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Medusa is her murderer. She is the one you should be angry at..."
 
"But..." Alondite mumbled stubbornly. "But if they wouldn't have been there, it wouldn't have happened! Sona would still be here, this is Ike's fault!"
 
"Chrom told me they went to save Lethe...were they supposed to just leave her behind? You are a smart and reasonable woman, Alondite. You are just looking for someone to blame right now." Soren murmured as he continued to stroke her cheek. "You know that's not going to bring her back..."
 
She flushed, although it was hard to tell from why as she smacked her hand away and stalked off in a furious huff. Link watched her go, then glanced back to Ike and Samus.

"...You two have enough weight on your shoulders," he said faintly. "Isn't it time to start to share it?"

"Share what?" Ike mumbled. "Share that I am the reason none of you have a home anymore?"

"Maybe that's true," Link said, arms crossed. "But if Chrom can forgive you, you two can forgive yourselves. You made a mistake, but neither of you have shown anything but dedication to changing it. Samus trained with Impa until she bled, and you have done nothing but plan defenses, and sleep. It's not just the two of you anymore, Ike." he frowned. "You have all of us, and we'll do this together, like we did in Hyrule."
 
"Link is right, we need to work together. And you two need to stop blaming yourselves." Soren interjected as he rubbed his hand. Damned girl was stronger than she looked. "I'm going to go after Alondite. We can't afford to lose her, she's the last connection we have to Ashunera." And if he had learned anything, leaving people alone when they were hurting was not a good idea. She was too important to risk letting her be.

Samus was Soren leave before she got to her feet and held her hand out. "Ike. They have a point. It's time we put what we did behind us. We need to start living in the present. We need to find a way to stop Ganondorf and Medusa. I don't want to see another friend die.." Samus told him with determined eyes. Medusa would pay for what she did...Samus wouldn't let herself stop breathing until they got their revenge for Sona.
 
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