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The Mercenary (Beautiful_Disgrace and I)

"...Oh," Alondite said, almost puzzled. "Um...okay, thank you." she said quietly. "I'll...I'll try to remember that, moving forward."
 
"Good." Soren muttered as he rubbed her arm a bit. Truth be told he wasn't sure why he was being like this to her. He knew she was important...their only link to the Goddess now that Sona was no longer around, but...

Wait. Sona could...still sense the Goddess, couldn't she? Soren's eyebrows furrowed at this realization, his arm sliding away from her.

"Serious question, Alondite. Can you sense Ashunera right now? The general direction of where she might be?"
 
"Y...Yes, of course," Alondite blinked, brow furrowed a moment in thought, before her eyes snapped in realization. Oh, no...

"We need to move, now," Alondite said quickly, rising up. "They have to be looking for her! I should have...I'm so stupid!" she cursed. "We have to go, Soren! We can't wait until morning! We need to leave now!"
 
That was what he thought...and he felt just a little guilty for just realizing it now too. He should have realized this sooner. "I'll go wake the others. If they find her, they'll kill her so that they can take over the rest of Tellius." Soren had to keep his mind clear. Nothing good would come of blaming himself or anyone else. They just had to act fast.
 
They weren't going to make it, Alondite had that feeling clear in her stomach. She couldn't tell them how far it was, because she didn't know herself. She just knew that they had to try and do something about it. She had failed her, but they hadn't given up yet. If Ashunera could buy time, maybe they could do something! They rode as hard as their horses would let them across the broken landscape, and eventually...Ike didn't need to ask Alondite if they were here, the sky was familiar.

But the tinges of darkness had already started to sink into it.

"No," Alondite huffed desperately, eyes widening.

"That's not good," Magnus agreed, glancing at the sky.
 
In the center of the lingering, dark clouds was a large, crumbling structure...but there wasn't a single soul around it seemed. Medusa had been here...the doors were forcibly opened and it seemed there had been a brief exchange of magic. Soren could feel the particles in the air still...but more than likely Medusa had taken her.

"This is bad..." Samus mumbled as she took in their surroundings. "But...I'd expect there to be a lot more destruction than this for two Gods fighting."

"I noticed that too..." Soren agreed as Lethe sniffed around, her eyes narrowed.

"There's someone here still. I hear something..." She said lowly.
 
"Soren, with me," Ike murmured. "Samus, go with Lethe. Everyone, spread out. Maybe we can find out what happened." This place had barely been scratched from the looks of it, what had happened?

"I knew we should have kept moving," Alondite murmured, glancing around. "I don't sense her anywhere...what if..."

"Hey," Magnus grunted. "No time for that now, let's just see what we find."
 
Lethe had already shifted so she could make use of her better senses. Medusa had been here...so had Ashunera. But they were the only two that she could smell. But she wasn't crazy...she heard something somewhere. It was hard to concentrate when Samus kept tailing her, even though she was trying to take light steps.

Lethe moved over to the back of the structure, climbing the small steps that led to a broken throne. Ashunera's scent was strongest here..but more than that. At the bottom of the throne there was an earthy scent. One that smelled like the tunnels that the fairies used. Lethe shifted back into her human form and then pressed her body weight on it to push. Just as she thought, the throne moved just a tiny bit...but more of that earthy smell hit her nose.

Samus didn't hesitate to help her once she realized what she was doing. "Ike. We found something." Samus called out as they continued to pushed the heavy throne until the completely uncovered the passage.
 
Ike at the others came through the throne room, moving up the steps. Ike noted that the surrounding area...really didn't have the kind of damage that was expected. A battle between two goddesses would have done much more than this, wouldn't it?

"A secret passage?" Magnus said, brow arched. "Th' hell would a Goddess need this for?"

"Goddess or no, she was on the ground like we are," Ike said. "Chances are, using too much of her power would have made it easier for them to find her."

Alondite frowned, glancing around. "No, something strange happened here..."
 
The passage was lit...that in itself was strange but it indicated that Lethe really did hear something. "Medusa's scent isn't here...but Ashunera's is." Lethe said as Samus crouched down and looked closely at the dirt for any recent disturbances. Then she saw it...a foot print. But it wasn't the size of an adults...it was a child's foot print.

"Is the Goddess capable of shape shifting, Alondite? Look at this..." She urged as gestured to the ground.
 
Alondite moved forward with a frown, glancing towards Ike and Soren. Ike's brow furrowed, tapping his chin in thought. She wasn't always Ashunera, after all...if she was a goddess with all of her power, then maybe...

"Let's keep moving," Ike murmured. "If she's alive, we need to get her out of here, fast."
 
The underground tunnel finally led to a door. Soren sensed something strange...the very odd occurrence of an area being completely devoid of magic. But that was probably not the case...in fact he was the first one to touch the door and he could sense a barrier that was similar to the one that surrounded Tellius. It wasn't hard to open, it was unlocked. But he was certain it would have warded off any other unwanted visitors.

On the other side of the door was an room. There were books, a table, and a bed in the corner. On the bed was a child with wild red hair, hugging her legs to her chest with her head resting on her knees. She didn't acknowledge him even when he stepped in. Who was this child?
 
Ike blinked in surprise when he moved closer, the barrier crackled and hissed around him, but he passed. Something that he noted the others had no struggle with.

"...Yune?" Ike said in surprise. What was she doing here?
 
Yune perked up at the sound of a familiar voice and then turned to look over to the group. "Ike? How did you find me..?" She began before she moved off the bed. "Never mind..that's not important. You have to help me save Ashera! We just made up but she pushed me away again! She can't do this without me, please help me find her!"
 
"Settle down, Yune," Ike said, kneeling down. "Tell me what happened? Did Ganessa come? A woman with gold eyes and red hair?" he said. "Did they leave?"
 
"Who..?" Yune blinked for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't know. All I remember is Ashera pushing me away and locking me in this room. There were noises...vibrations. I felt a very strong power. Overwhelming. Then you all came." She mumbled before she looked at the door. "She's still alive. My other half. But she's so far away now..."
 
"It's okay," Ike promised. "It's going to be okay. If they don't know you're here, then we have time." he murmured, glancing around. "Soren, see what you can do about defenses. Samus, scout around...see if you can find anything, Lethe, I want you to go with her. They might come back. Magnus, Gaol...I want you to stay here with Yune."
 
"There's no time though," Yune began impatiently as Lethe and Samus left the room to scout. "We can't stay here. We have to find Ashera, they'll kill her! Alondite...tell them!"
 
"Lady Yune, trust us when we say that nothing will happen to Lady Ashera," Alondite murmured, kneeling down respectfully. "Ike has...he understands the enemy better than all of us," she promised. "You will be safer here."

"And without Ashunera, they can see everything," Ike murmured. "Soren, I expect a report by the time I get back, about our options and what we can do. Chances are, we're going to have company sooner than later. Especially if someone figures out that they didn't take Ashunera."
 
"I will have something for you...but where are you going, Ike?" Soren asked as Yune huffed impatiently and turned away from them. Ashera wasn't the only one who needed her help. Now that she was herself again...she could sense that Micaiah was in trouble too. But the way she was now..she couldn't do anything alone!
 
"To see my father's grave," Ike murmured, turning to leave. "I'll try to be back by sundown, Soren." He promised. "You're in charge, got it?"
 
"..Sure." Soren answered, though the disapproval was apparent on his face. With Medusa lingering in the air and her daughter popping up in unsuspecting places...well it wasn't the best idea for him to go alone. However, he trusted Ike to stay safe.
 
If there was one place that Ike didn't feel like he deserved ever seeing again, it was his father's grave. It hadn't changed, which was a small comfort and a relief to see. It was still in the same exact place, his Urvan axe still in the ground, not a fleck of rust on the blade, a wreath of flowers around it gave Ike the feeling that Mist visited it regularly. He felt a pang of guilt at that, he hadn't visited since he left...and here he was, a man half the size of his father.

"It's been a while," Ike said, taking Gurugant off his back and resting it in front of him. "This is what I ended up with, father...it's funny, isn't it?" he murmured. "Funny how I've ended up ruining everything I've tried to do, everything you tried to teach me," he murmured. "And I know I don't deserve asking this, father...but I need your help," he asked quietly. Even as the sword seemed to glimmer, he could feel the malice and amusement rolling off the blade in waves. But he wouldn't listen to it. Not even when he heard Ashnard's cackling laughter.

He moved closer, fingers curling around the pommel of Urvan. His hands had been tainted with so much blood, but so had his fathers...the blood of his mother was something he had never forgiven himself for, and Ike could relate all the more to that feeling. It was time to stop acting like he couldn't do anything, it was time to start over...time to be rid of the past and look to the future. He pulled the axe off the ground and held it in his hands. It was warm to the touch, although Ike didn't know why.

"No more darkness," Ike said in determination. No more repressed anger, no more wondering what he could have done. It was now what he was going to do. He turned to face the blade of King Ashnard, a tool for slaughter...no more. Ike grit his teeth and swung the axe as hard as he could, the blade connected solidly with the cursed sword, there was a spark of light and the blade cracked and shattered on Ike's follow through.

He exhaled heavily, giving the axe a careful spin of the handle. No more brooding, no more moping. He had made this mess, and he would fix it the best he could, and for everything else...he would always work towards improving.

"I hope when I give this back, I've earned the right to be your son again," he murmured, shouldering Urvan. "...Thank you." Somewhere, in the wind...he could see his father, but a blink and the thought was gone from his mind. He turned back towards the ruined village, his heart lifted and his shoulders loose. No matter what, he would try and he would succeed.
 
After carefully surveying the area, Soren had come up with a plan. Luckily for them they were on high ground...they'd be able to spot anything from a distance. Of course they couldn't wait here forever, but...something told him that once they did the enemy would make their move.

He came back to check on Yune, who was surprisingly being cooperative for being a Goddess of Chaos. Especially when she had voiced several times that she wanted to leave. Soren's guess was that she simply wasn't powerful enough to leave on her own. Ashunera had hundreds of thousands of followers. Ashera had thousands. Yune..people referred to her as a Dark God for the longest time. The part of Ashunera that drowned Tellius...the madness that was in the soul of every man. She was imperfect and no one wanted to believe in an imperfect Goddess.

Ashera wasn't perfect either...but the ones who followed her thought so. And they were still out there.

"I see Samus and Lethe are still out scouting. Ike hasn't returned either." Soren stated as he took a seat at the table inside the room. "But the good news is, our position is ideal if Medusa decides to send out a scouting party for the rest of Ashunera. We can work with this. And the tunnel goes further than this room. More than likely it's another way out. Alondite can lead Yune away if things go badly." As in, if the Goddess of Darkness decided to come back herself.
 
"I get the feeling that we ain't going to be runnin' very far if they come swinging around again, squirt," Magnus grunted. "You mind tellin' me what the deal is with the little carrot top? I thought we were looking for a goddess? Who is Yune?"

Well, the good news was also that they'd have to funnel themselves in to get here...which would by them time, but Magnus knew a thing or two about the tenacity of the gods. They'd either wait, or simply do it.
 
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