Work Text:
It was the middle of the night as an armored warrior stood over a dying man in a clearing. The armor-clad warrior is known as The Black Knight, one of the Four Riders of Daein, and the man lying on the ground is the mercenary leader Greil. The Black Knight was sent to receive Lehran’s Medallion from Greil, or Gawian as he knew him, who was his mentor in the past. The Black Knight had then challenged his mentor to a duel which led to a surprisingly easy victory for the Black Knight. For a moment, he questioned why it was so easy for him to win but quickly put that aside and asked for the very thing that he came here for.
“Now then, will you give me what I came for?” The Black Knight asked Greil, who was trying to get up.
“ I...don’t...have it.........I threw...it away…” Greil weakly responded.
“ Ha. You, who knows better than any what it truly is, threw it away? Surely you can craft a more plausible lie. You’re not even trying anymore.” Black Knight saw through Greil’s lie but had to figure out a way to have him tell where the Medallion was. Greil stayed silent as his son Ike tried to help him up.
“So, there’s no way for me to get my answers, is that it? The dead keep their secrets, or so it is said. But you, however...You are not dead yet. I wonder...Will watching your son’s face grow pale, his eyes grow dim as his life bleeds away...And then your daughter... Oh, the horrors I will visit upon her. Will that loosen your tongue, perhaps? I suppose we will simply have to see.” The Black Knight threatened.
Ike stood up, grabbed his blade and lunged at the Black Knight but he dodged and struck Ike on the back of his head with the hilt of his blade, knocking out the young man. Greil had started to fade in and out of consciousness when The Black Knight had approached with Ike over his shoulder, Greil then passed out as The Black Knight loomed over him.
As the clear night transitioned into a cloudy rainy dawn, The Black Knight had finally made it to the fort where Greil’s mercenaries were staying. He had dragged Greil along with one arm while carrying Ike over his shoulder with the other one. Stopping in the front of the fort, The Black Knight threw Greil & Ike onto the ground in front of him and yelled out:
“MERCENARIES! I have defeated your leader, and his son is at my mercy! If you want him to live, I ask for one thing: The Medallion! I know one of you has it. Give it to me and I’ll leave peacefully but if you refuse to, the boy’s life is forfeit and you all experience a hell like no other!”
The Greil Mercenaries gathered around to deal with this situation.
“Shinon, what does it look like out there?” Titania asked “Well there’s only one person out there, the one that yelled I guess, I think he was at the fort where we encountered that Daein general. He’s wearing black armor and at his feet is the commander and Ike… Ike is knocked out but looks to be breathing and as for Commander Greil, I think he’s dead…” Shinon replied, surprisingly somber.
Everyone stayed quiet as Mist fell down to her knees. “No no no… *sniffle* Father… Brother… I can’t lose you… either of you… not now…” Mist cried out. Rhys kneeled down beside Mist, trying to comfort her. Mist pulls out the medallion, looking at it while crying.
“Well, what are we going to do now? I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t think we should give him the medallion if he’s with Daein!” Boyd spoke out.
Everyone thought about what Boyd said.
“HUH? No way in hell are we doing anything but saving Ike! Hell, I'll give the medallion to the knight myself! Soren unexpectedly yelled out, upset over the mere suggestion.
“Soren, please calm down.” Titania said she put her hand on Soren’s shoulder. “We all want to save Ike but we have to think rationally about this.” She continued as she looked around. Everyone else, even Shinon, nodded in agreement.
“.... You’re right.” Soren replied.
"Wait, do we know of any other exits this place has?" Titania asked.
"There's quite a few rooms we haven't looked around in yet, so there might be one." Oscar replied.
"I think I have an idea…. Shinon and Gatrie, you'll come with me to distract this knight while everyone else tries to find another exit and escort Mist and the medallion out of here!" Titania exclaimed.
"WAIT!! Please don't! " Mist cried out as she stood up and ran over to Titania. "We will come back with Ike." Titania promised. As everyone else gathered together to search the fort for another exit, Titania, Shinon, and Gatrie ready themselves for the fight of their lives.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half an hour. Half an hour since he made his ultimatum, yet no response. The Black Knight decides to go through with his threat and proceeds to grab Ike by the neck when three mercenaries step out of the fort. The first one to step out was a red haired woman, clad in white paladin armor, followed by a blonde headed man in heavy armor and finally a maroon haired man, garbed in the attire of a sniper.
“Ah, so you’ve come to give me the medallion then?" The Black Knight asked as he stood there, holding Ike with one hand.
"Like hell we are!" Shinon shouted.
“Yeah, let Ike go, you bastard!” Gatrie yelled as well.
“So…. you have chosen death then? So be it.” The Black Knight replied coldly. The four warriors then prepared themselves for a fight.
The first to make a move was The Black Knight, as he slowly walked towards the trio of warriors. Shinon fired a volley of arrows at him in response but each arrow simply bounced off him, not even leaving a scratch. Titania then came in from the side and swung for The Black Knight’s side with her axe but he was able to casually block it with ease. Gatrie aimed for Black Knight’s chest plate but his steel lance simply deflected off his dark armor.
“Hah, my armor is blessed by the Goddess. Unless you have a holy weapon, you cannot defeat me.” Black Knight calmly stated. The three mercs were shocked. It made sense now to them about how this knight defeated Commander Greil, he never stood a chance.
“You bastard!” Shinon yelled out as he narrowly dodged one of Black Knight’s sword swings. The Black Knight was relentless with his attacks towards Shinon, who he deemed the weakest of the three.
“You will die first, archer.” Black Knight plainly stated as he sweeped Shinon off his feet with his blade, Alondite.
Shinon looked up as The Black Knight readied his blade, preparing for the killing blow. Shinon closed his eyes, preparing for death. But he felt nothing as he then opened his eyes and saw Gatrie standing in front of him, having taken the strike for Shinon.
“Why…. Why would you do that YOU MORON?!?!? Shinon yelled.
“I couldn’t watch my friend die…” Gatrie managed to say before Black Knight pulled out his sword and allowed Gatrie to fall over.
“What a waste.” Black Knight simply shrugged off Gatrie’s death as it meant simply nothing to him. Titiana stood there in shock, unable to process what just happened. First Commander Greil, now Gatrie.
“TITANIA GET OUT OF HERE!” Shinon yelled.
“Shinon, I can't just leave you by yourself!” Titania yelled back.
“There are more important things than me!” Shinon screamed as Titania slowly backed her way into the fort.
“All you’ve done was give your allies a few extra moments. But it matters not, as you will soon join your friend and Commander as a corpse.” The Black Knight stated with no emotion in his voice.
“Well I'd like to see you try— URKK” Shinon confidently said before being grabbed by the throat and then stabbed through the chest by The Black Knight.
“All that talk but nothing to show for it. What a pity.” Black Knight mockingly commented.
“Fuck you.” Shinon’s last words before being thrown to the ground. Black Knight then looks towards the fort.
“EVERYONE WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW! Titania yelled as she ran into the fort.
“Where’s Shinon and Gatrie?” Mist asked as she ran up to Titania with everyone else.
“There’s no time for th—” Titania was interrupted as Shinon’s body was thrown through one of the fort’s windows.
“AHHHHHHHHH!” Mist screamed as she saw Shinon’s lifeless body on the ground.
“Ah the young daughter of Gawain, you have what I want. Give me the Medallion and I’ll spare your friends a painful death.” The Black Knight demanded as he walked though the main entrance.
“NEVER!” Titania yelled as she and the remaining Greil Mercenaries gathered to defend Mist and the Medallion.
“Think about this. You will not survive this encounter.” The Black Knight told the mercs but they did not budge at all.
“So be it. You all will DIE AS FOOLS!” Black Knight yelled as he charged forward the Greil Mercenaries.
The first to go down was Titania, who’s axe was broken in a single strike by the Black Knight, and she was sent to the ground. That same strike left a bloody scar across the side of her face. The next to go was Oscar, who was slashed across the chest and then chokeslammed to the ground, knocked unconscious.
“YOU BASTARD!!” Boyd yelled out as he slammed his axe into Black Knight’s chest but it did nothing to him. The Black Knight then slashed Boyd twice across his chest, leaving a bloody X shaped scar.
“YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO IKE!” Soren screamed as he sent wind magic toward The Black Knight but like every other attack dealt to him, it did nothing.
“Except you won’t be making me pay for anything mage.” Black Knight told Soren as he walked towards him. He then grabbed Soren with one hand and threw him through a wall of the castle, knocking him unconscious. The next to attack was Mia, who landed a few blows that did nothing and managed to barely dodge a few attacks before getting punched in the gut by The Black Knight and then thrown into some crates.
“All that’s left between me and the medallion is simply… nothing but fodder.” The Black Knight thought to himself as he approached the room where Mist was hiding with Rhys and Rolf. The Black Knight kicked down the door to the room where the last three mercs were hiding, a storage room.
“Come out young daughter of Gawain, there’s nowhere to hide.” The Black Knight yelled aloud. Mist, Rhys, and Rolf were hiding in the back of the room.
“I think we’re out of options for running” Rhys whispered to Mist and Rolf.
“What should we do? Rolf asked.
“The only thing we can do: give him the Medallion. Mist said, somberly and defeated.
“What?” Rolf and Rhys said at the same time.
“We’ve already lost Father, Gatrie and Shinon! I don’t want to lose anyone else. Mist said aloud as she stood up, tears streaming down her face.
“Ah, so you finally show yourself, daughter of Gawain. Are you going to give me the Medallion now?” The Black Knight asked. Mist nodded as she reached out to hand the Medallion to him. The Black Knight grabbed a small pouch to carry the medallion in as he knew the dangers of touching it, as he had seen the aftermath of a rampage one had gone on after touching it long ago. Black Knight motioned for Mist to put the Medallion in the pouch, and she complied.
“As I promised, you and friends will get to live. Farewell daughter of Gawain.” The Black Knight said before warping away. Mist fell to her knees sobbing, as Rhys and Rolf came to console her. The Greil Mercenaries had a lot to worry about right now, present and future, but the future can wait as they have wounds to heal and family to bury.