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The Mercenary (Beautiful_Disgrace and I)

"Good, when you have him, signal with your shadow." Ike murmured. "My forces will engage, but once we get the signal, we will go on the offensive." They would crush this little rebellion and things would progress how they would have anyway. If it was a perfect world, he never would have had to do this. He wouldn't have to damn the lives of thousands of innocents and soldiers to galvanize resistance and let them know that nothing less but pure conviction and sacrifice would see them win this impossible task.

No matter what their choice was, he would show them what indecision could cost them.
 
"...Understood. Is there anything else before I start the preparations?" Samus asked as she regarded him. She could do all of this, she didn't think it would be a problem. The power that Medusa gave her suit seemed even more powerful now. Perhaps because it was connected with the Goddess of darkness, and she seemed to grow stronger each day as more people began to believe in her.
 
"...Be careful," he said after a moment. And may Palutena have whatever mercy she deemed fit on him for what they were about to do, in the name of Ganondorf and Medusa. "There will be enough death today, Samus. See that you avoid it."
 
"I will not. I will capture Chrom and bring him here. That is certain." She began as started slowing down. She sighed inwardly as she thought of the possibility of him dying as well..He was strong, but still. Even though she normally left him alone..to be by herself, there was a comfort of him being there that she could not ignore. "...Don't you die either. There is still much to be done."
 
"A general doesn't die until the battle is done, Samus," he murmured. "I'll be here when we're finished." Dying were for people who deserved rest, for what he was about to do...nothing would clear that away.
 
Samus nodded and then walked off, leaving the Knight to his own devices. She would need to see Althea, and then afterwards she would make her way towards Ylisse, a little ahead of Black Knight and his army.

Althea was where she normally was. Ganessa and Sieg had their own chambers that they shared. As always, it was a mess because of that tornado called Ganessa. She got into anything and everything. She was smart, she already knew how to read...so there were a lot of tomes and things everywhere. Then there were a few weapons laying around. Althea was sitting in the middle of the chaos on their bed, with the blue haired child in her lap. Ganessa was in the corner of the room, taking a nap, thankfully.

"Hello, woman from the stars. Did you come here for more of my poison?" She hadn't even turned around, but that was to be expected. She didn't use her eyes to see. Samus wasn't sure if she could hear very well, because as far as she knew she had absolute stealth and made no noise. But it was possible.

"Your deadliest poison. One that kills quickly." Samus answered as she walked over to her. Althea smiled, moving to stand up slowly as she put down the child in her arms, then she got up from the bed. Deadliest? She that could be arranged. She turned to face Samus, holding out her arm. Out from her cloak came a long, white snake. It slithered around her arm, and it seemed to be staring directly at her with it's yellow eyes.

"My deadliest poison comes from her...It's very potent. I could infuse it with your shadows...if you would like. Just hold out your hand." Althena ordered. Samus hesitated for a bit, but she held out her arm and allowed the snake to glide up her arm. It opened it's mouth, letting it's poison drip onto her. She held still, even as moved between her legs. Her suit seemed to be absorbing the strong smelling fluid...it honestly reminded her of the smell of degrading bodies. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it went back to Althea, disappearing under her cloak once more. "It loses it's potency after three days time."

"I only need a night." Samus muttered as she turned around and walked out. Now that that was taken care of..she was ready. It wasn't an incredibly hard task before she found the Black Knight again. "...I have completed the preparations. My shadows and I will be a plague upon Ylisse."
 
"Good," he mumbled. "Then I will see you on the battlefield," he said, heading out of the mountain. It didn't take long for Death Mountain to be a city in of itself, the entire mountain turned tower was surrounded by infrastructure, temples and people, armies and farms. It would be an impressive testament to growth if it wasn't formed how it did. Statues of Ganondorf and Medusa littered almost everywhere, both of them narcissistic, and many of the statues to Medusa bordering on obscene worship of her body and beauty.

Waiting for Ike was a force of nine thousand strong, all wearing black armor stamped with the Ganondorf's personal heraldry. Most of them were devout followers, zealots in every sense of the word, but faith only worked so much. The Black Knight trained them into a disciplined fighting force, some of them former Hyrulian soldiers, others from the myriad of places that had been slammed together, with nowhere else to go.
 
It wasn't long after that Samus slipped into Ylisse without being noticed. She created ten. Ten was all she needed to do what he asked her to do. They slipped into the homes of the citizens and slaughtered them in their sleep. Those who were unlucky enough to be awake would feel the deadly poison slowly eating away at them after being cut with the poisonous talons that the shadows possessed. Perhaps if Samus had not killed the most of the Ylissean guard that was stationed in town with her poison needles first, some could have been rescued. However, some did manage to become alert as screams began filling the entire town. People were beginning to run outside, trying to huddle together to find safety and numbers. And Samus found that a perfect time to use her shadows to act like a giant, poisonous bomb...filling the entire areas with miasma.

And then..when she was sure she had done a good enough job, she stealthily found her way into the castle, moving along with two of her remaining shadows. Silently.
 
It was quiet, quieter than usual. But in a morbid kind of way, he had gotten used to the quiet. It was different without Lucina and Robin around, and Chrom could only hope that his wife and daughter had escaped it somehow, and were alive. He didn't want to think of the alternatives...but he was it, as far as he knew. He was the lone force capable of fighting Ganondorf and what he represented, and he had the aid of Ylisee. Even with the disaster, they were so strong...he did not have his wife's intellect for day to day affairs, or her concept of tactics...but he had enough.

Enough to try, at any rate. But even as he stepped out into the courtyard, it was quiet. The guards were nowhere to be found, even as he moved out of the courtyard and into the main hallway. The screams were obvious to hear, and that is when he took off into a sprint, hand on his Falchion as he moved through the doors and stopped, blade drawn.

...Darkness. Thick, horrible. Choking.

"...Show yourself," Chrom said, blade at the ready. What, an ambush!? Had something happened without him knowing? Gods, he was such a fool alone.
 
For a moment, there was nothing. And then, she was there. Not just one of her. But four. This time she had chosen her shadows to take on her appearance, rather than the bird like appearance of the Chozo. She would do this quickly and silently.

"Surrender." She said one word as she started walking forward, her shadows following suite. They closed in from all directions. Likely though, he would choose her, the real one. Her bloody short sword was at the ready to defend herself.
 
"...How did you get in?" Chrom demanded, eyeing the shadows warily. What in the world...? What sort of magic was this...? "I will never surrender! Not while my kingdom stands!" Her blooded sword explained the lack of guards in the front...but what about the guards in the castle?
 
"It won't be standing for long." Samus responded plainly, moving her free hand behind her back. The others repeated the motion. She had a special poison for him, the same one she used on Ike. The three shadows dashed forward, all wielding the same poison needles she had. If he wanted a way out, he could try attacking her..but her shadows would definitely catch him off guard.
 
Chrom didn't move forward, he instead moved back, between the pillars and back towards the throne room. He had to limit their advantage, even if he didn't know what was going on yet. Where were his guards?!

"You're the reason it's so quiet, aren't you!?" he said quickly, blade raised in defense. Whatever the first one threw, he avoided them barely as he hit the ground in a roll.
 
Samus pursued, her shadows following right behind her. She didn't have time to converse with him. Before she met him head on, she had her shadows launch themselves at him in attempts to slow him down while she threw another torrent of needles at him.
 
He blocked with his blade, moving out of the way as he sliced one of the shadows in half and kept moving, his breath coming up short. What? Why? He turned to face her with a grimace, back against the doors of his throne room. A thin line, barely noticeable had gotten him on his exposed arm.

"Dammit..." Chrom muttered, his vision starting to blur together into a seamless mix of color.
 
Althea made very potent poisons...and Samus was grateful for them. She had her shadow pick him up and throw him over it's shoulder, and they started moving on. It was time for her to head back, but before she did, she made sure to give the Black Knight the signal using the shadow she had left behind with him.
 
It was time, then. The Shadow's eyes lit up thrice as an affirmative that the job was done, and the Knight turned to face the battle. Chrom did not have weak willed men, but even under the promise of a home they thought protected...it would cripple anyone. He was only using a little less than half of his forces, but when the Knight rose his sword high, the rest of his men appeared on the flanks. In one fell swoop, they were outnumbered.

But that wasn't all, their spirit would be crushed. Those that surrendered would have nothing left, their resistance would be gutted completely. Their increased forces forced them to fall back, back...and back even farther until they reached the gates of Ylisstol. The gates opened with no resistance, all they saw inside were the bodies of the dead and dying, some choking onto last vestages of life, others long since dead, blighted and poisoned beyond all recognition.

They had walked into their own grave, and the Black Knight was the first one into the fray. His wicked sword Gurugant cutting a swath through the demoralized and disheartened soldiers. It wasn't a fight, it was a slaughter. Men had nowhere to flee, they trampled over the bodies of loved ones, of women and children to get out alive. But there was no escape. The once clean and holy land of Ylisstol ran red with the blood of the innocent and the cowardly.

"Let the ones that escape go," He rumbled, his blooded sword twisted to snap a spine before he pulled it out. "Let them tell the story of what happened here."

A city of tens of thousands dead, and an army to match. "Burn the bodies, set up the sacrifices. We honor this victory to Ganondorf and the Lady Medusa." His voice was resolute, firm. His men roared in victory, and in praise to their dark gods. All the Black Knight did was turn to leave, blood dripping off him in his wake. Blood that he knew would never leave, no matter how hard he would clean, or how hard he would remember.

There was no victory today, no matter what anyone told him.
 
Lord Chrom was promptly thrown into a cell. Samus wasn't in the best moods, and how could she be after that? Even she had her limits, she could only turn herself off to so much. But, this was what he thought was best, so she did it without hesitating. It was no surprise when the Knight and his army came marching back...and she could hear their fanfare. She waited for him to come back so they could both report to Ganondorf and Medusa. He could do the talking, she wasn't so good at that.

To say she wasn't fond of either of them was an understatement. But now, things had changed...she was beginning to give up hope that she'd ever find her ship. Once all hope of that would disappear, she only had one other goal, which was to help him. She didn't know why, maybe it was because she felt they were very similar in many ways.
 
Unsurprisingly, the Knight was silent the entire time. Praises of his talent and brutality were not acknowledged, nor recognized. He merely walked with his shadow to where Medusa and Ganondorf waited. Only then did he deign to finally speak.

"My Lord, My Lady," he said, tilting his head in a gesture of respect. "It is done, those who flee will tell the story of what happened, any resistance will be met with the same treatment. Any who submit from fear will be converted to the proper lessons. I trust you are satisfied."
 
Medusa was pleased...as always these days. It was hard not to be when she got everything she wanted and more. "Wonderful job," She purred as her eyes regarded them both. "Impressive as always. I watched it. All of it. You two have done very well." She wasn't a fool, she knew that both of them didn't enjoy what they did. However, that was irrelevant. They had proved their loyalty with that feat. She dug her feet into Palutena's back only to make her squirm. She wanted her to hear every word.

Palutena moved her eyes up to the Black Knight, and she was well aware of what he had just done. Even if she didn't seem like she was paying attention these days. She never spoke, not unless Medusa threatened her by harming Pit. Her son had been taken from her, and she never held him once. It was..hard to have hope. Especially when someone she had so much faith in had to soak his hands in so many innocents blood. But she knew there had to be some reason..even if she couldn't see it.
 
"I am honored, my lady," He said, tilting his head faintly. He was grateful for the helmet, otherwise he didn't know if he could face Palutena's gaze. "We allowed a few to escape, to spread what has happened. It should serve as a fine example, Ylisstol shall be a monument to your power." Ganondorf tilted his head, but said nothing as he scratched his beard in thought. A dedicated man, despite his own conflicting views, to have such savagery happen by his own hands. He had many eyes in the army, he had lead from the front and butchered more than could be expected.

Whatever his reasoning, Ganondorf didn't care...but it did make him curious. Amusing, all the same.
 
Medusa's smile had grown even bigger. Empty words, but her perhaps she could put meaning behind them. She had little to lose...if she could tempt this man even further into the darkness, perhaps he would prove even more useful. It would certainly give him more motivation. "Since this was your plan, I want to reward you, Knight." She purred as she stood up, Palutena grunting as the weight of her body shifted. "What is it that you desire?" He asked as she came closer to him.
 
He hesitated a fraction, fingers tightening against his blade was the only indication of it, however. The way she sauntered over spoke much of her intent, and like most goddess to mortals...it wasn't always easy to remember what one of his wishes would be.

"...I have thought little of it," he admitted. Which was a lie, but nothing he wanted could be obtained. "My service to you is enough, my lady. I require no reward."
 
"Well, perhaps you should think more of it, Black Knight." She purred, her smile never leaving her face. "I will give you something one way or another, even if you don't require it." Her eyes shifted to Samus, who had stayed quiet as usual. His shadow..they did everything together. It was rather cute. Perhaps she would be Medusa's first present to him.

The way Medusa looked at Samus made her feel a chill down her spine. What was she thinking..?
 
"...I would be honored by any gift you grant me, my lady," he said neutrally. He wouldn't spoil her good mood, truth be told...he was somewhat wary of what she had in mind. "I am undeserving of your generosity," he said with a respectful tilt of his head.
 
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