A Brief Diversion

[DanteMGalileo]

The distance from the city to the lakeside was far. So much so, that while it was practically noon when they left to follow the smell of an extinguished fire, the sun was now setting.

As Yarne in the lead came out, having found the end of the trail, Elise and her fellow Nohrians took in the sunset over the lake.

"Wow..." Elise said, mouth slightly ajar. "That's so beautiful!"

Effie nodded in agreement. "It sure is pretty, Lady Elise."

Although Arthur had been stung several times on the way over, and in one case had an entire tree land on him, what would have been life-threatening to most other beings was little more than light rain to him, it seemed. "It's not common you see this in Nohr."

[ShadesofGrey18]

Sakura smiled gently as she looked over the lake. "Beautiful... In Hoshido, such a thing isn't exactly uncommon, but... it takes my breath away every time."

Subaki simply chuckled and nodded. "A beautiful view. The perfect sight after walking through those woods..."

He got an elbow to the side for that, Hana rolling her eyes. "Yeah. It is nice to get a breeze."

Yarne walked over towards the lake's edge, sitting down and taking a slow breath. "...Mm. I wonder what everyone's doing..." He seemed a lot calmer than he had been before, though he still glanced around here and there, looking for potential danger.

[DanteMGalileo]

The light danced upon the water's surface, creating a shimmering pattern. Too far away for most to see, some of the shimmering was a distinctive purple hue...

It went unnoticed by most of the group. "Y'know," Elise said, turning back towards the section of rainforest they had amused from. "We didn't see anyone else in there, huh? Big brothers, big sisters... It's kinda creepy, actually."

[ShadesofGrey18]

Yarne squinted a bit into the distance, covering his eyes slightly from the sunset. That was... strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it... shaking his head, he turned towards Elise. "That is strange... if it's just us here, then I... wonder what happened to the rest of your friends... and my father."

Sakura glanced down at the ground for a moment before raising her head back up. "I... don't know, but I'm sure we'll find them. I just know we will."

"Where do we go from here, though?" Hana rested a hand on her hip before folding her arms. "We're... kinda lost."

[DanteMGalileo]

The sunset danced upon the surface of the lake, as the purple moved towards the shore in secrecy.

The party, for the most part, did not take notice of the advancing purple shimmer, although the water seemed to be moving in their direction. "You know..." Elise said. "Maybe Sir Subaki could fly up and see if he can't find anybody or anything?"

A hand reached out from the lake. "Eek!!!"

---



[Chapter 25: A Brief Diversion]

[Select Units]

*Sakura
*Elise
*Yarne
*Hana
*Effie
*Subaki
*Arthur

[Support]
[View Map]

[Equip Skills]

Sakura: Quiet Strength, Miracle, Rally Luck, Camaraderie
Elise: Lily's Poise, Resistance+2, Demoiselle, Lunge
Yarne: Fight or Flight, Odd Rhythm, Beastbane, Ignis, Lancebreaker
Hana: Fearsome Blow, Duelist's Blow, Vantage, Miracle
Effie: Puissance, Defense+2, Natural Cover, Resistance+2
Subaki: Perfectionist, Darting Blow, Camaraderie, Vantage
Arthur: Misfortunate, HP+5, Gamble, Elbow Room

[Inventory]

Sakura: Sun Festal, Wane Festal, Brass Yumi
Elise: Mend, Fire
Yarne: Beaststone+, Iron Sword
Hana: Steel Katana
Effie: Steel Lance, Javelin
Subaki: Steel Naginata, Javelin
Arthur: Steel Axe, Hand Axe

[Save]

Stop cowering.

---

"Where did all of these soldiers come from?!" Elise said, taking a few steps back, and Effie and Arthur took defensive positions in front of her. "Ugh... They're all wet- they must have come from the lake!"

"It doesn't matter, Lady Elise." Effie drew her lance, shield at the ready. "No matter where they came from, I'll put them six feet down under for your safety."

"No miscreant shall lay a hand on you, Lady Elise- Whoa, there!"

There was the sound of something MASSIVE crashing down, knocking Arthur off his feet, Elise and Effie barely maintaining their balance.

[ShadesofGrey18]

Yarne stiffened up, yelping as he jumped back as the hand came up. "Wh-h-how?! I didn't see them coming?!" The Taguel's heart was racing, but he still grasped his Beaststone+, standing in front of Sakura along with Subaki, who had jumped on his pegasus' back, and Hana, who had her katana drawn.

"Don't worry about that right now, Yarne!" Hana spat on the ground, glaring at the nearest soldier. "We got invisible soldiers to deal with!"

Then the crash happened. Yarne screamed, turning his head towards where it fell... a group of invisible soldiers was stuck on the other side. The fallen tree had blocked off one of their exposed flanks. Shortly after, the group could hear another scream, but not of fear.

"ARRGH!"

Charlotte snarled, clenching her fist as she watched the tree she'd punched fall down, crashing to the ground and creating a wall. "This pisses me right the hell off! We get dropped in this humid hellhole, get rained on, and we still have no clue where anyone else is! And now... what the hell are those things?!"

Sakura blinked. "Wait, isn't that... that woman from Port Dia? Charlotte?"

Victory: Rout the enemy!

[DanteMGalileo]

"Whoa! Charlotte! You're here, too! Um... Have you seen anyone else?" Elise asked, noting Charlotte's waterlogged appearance, apologizing mentally.

A clanging sound, accompanied by sloshing water, could be heard. "I guess that answers that."

Benny emerged from the forest, looking soaked to the bones. "Be careful, Charlotte..."

"Benny! You're here too!"

A Samurai attempted to attack Elise while her guard was down, only to be put down with a single slam form Effie's lance. Arthur attempted to go for a finishing swing, but fell off-balance, ending up on the floor himself. With a slight sigh, Effie finished the weakened sword-user off. "We'll introduce you later!"

[ShadesofGrey18]

Charlotte grasped the handle of her Killer Axe, nodding towards Benny before turning back towards Elise, trying to rein her temper in with only moderate success.

"Just Benny and me. Haven't seen anyone else... That said... I think we have bigger issue, don't you?"

"R-Right..." Sakura nodded, stepping behind Yarne. "I'll support you."

"Good."

With that, Charlotte turned, glaring at a Spear Fighter.



"I'm gonna tear you in half!" Soaked and tired, Charlotte did not have the energy for her usual act. With a few charging steps, a front flip, and a massive slash with her axe, the Spear Fighter was felled in an instant. "...Damn, that felt good..."

Grasping his Stone, Yarne transformed, eyeing over the incoming force. "I-It's hard to see for sure but this doesn't seem like an extremely big force. We should be able to take them down."

"Then let's get to work." Subaki spun his naginata around, preparing for combat.

[DanteMGalileo]

There was the sound of water sloshing, as the tide receded back slightly.

"Looks like the tide's running, too..." Elise said. "Doesn't seem to be any Dragon Veins, though... Gonna have to watch the lake, then- Whoa!"

A Knight attempted to attack the Troubadour, but Arthur got to his feet and knocked it back with his axe, although he was wounded in the process. "Stand back, foul creature! You will not- whoa there!" At that, the tide came back, forcing both the Fighter and the Knight to wade. Elise took a few steps back and raised her staff, healing Arthur.

"Careful! Looks like the tide is going really fast!"

Effie and Benny stood back-to-back, serving as a living wall for their frailer comrades. A Mercenary was smacked down by Effie, dissolving with just one blow. "They don't seem too strong."

Benny beat a second Spear Fighter back a step, blocking the counter with his large shield.

[ShadesofGrey18]

Hana drew her blade, dueling with another Samurai before striking him down. "Don't let your guards down!"

Yarne grit his teeth, kicking a Cavalier off his horse. "She's right. We probably haven't seen everything these things can do!"

Charlotte cleaved another Spear Fighter in two with yet another critical hit. "I don't care what these things can do, long-ears! They need to pay!"

Subaki flew over the battlefield on Vanessa's back, flying up as the tide went out, then back in again. "There seems to be a rhythm to how the tide moves. Everyone, be careful!"

[DanteMGalileo]

The sounds of water crashing against the bank grew louder, fiercer. Vanessa whinnied, trying to alert her rider's comrades below.

Fortunately, the crashing waves were enough to alert the land-bound fighters. "Everybody, look out!"

As the tide rolled in, covering the surface, those still on land backed off further, almost into the rainforest, before the tide settled at its high point. The invisible soldiers. however, seemed to stay in the water. The fallen tree from earlier floated, and several hands covered in purple mist grabbed hold of it, balancing precariously on the surface.

"I don't think me or Benny can balance on that, Lady Elise," Effie said, wincing slightly at the sight. "I'll just stab anything that tries to climb over here."

"I'll take care of it- careful, careful..." Using his axe as a balace, Arthur slowly travelled up the long, trying not to fall in, as surely, the second he did, there would be some sort of piranha waiting for him.

A Diviner rose from the waves near Benny, only to be met with a lance to the chest. "No hard feelings."

[ShadesofGrey18]

"Gyeeeah!" Yarne jumped back quite a bit as the tide rolled in, shivering. "I don't wanna get wet!" Gods, he felt like he was showing his worst side again... but there was truth to this, at least.

Sakura set a hand on Yarne's shoulder reassuringly. "I think we would be best letting them come to us. I don't think we should risk getting stuck in the high tide."

Charlotte hadn't been quite fast enough to get back, and the Fighter let out another angry shout as she found that with the water up as high as it was, she couldn't move... and she was getting soaked even further.

[DanteMGalileo]

"Sakura's right- look out, Arthur!" Elise yelled to the Fighter atop the log. It was too late, however. A Mercenary, balanced atop the log itself, swatted at Arthur, knocking the poor man off-balance and sending him into the high tide below with a scream. Before he hit the surface, however, Arthur stuck his axe into the log, shaking it and knocking the Mercenary in as well.

Slowly, the tide began to recede...

"Looks like it's going down," Benny simply stated, making his way to assist Charlotte from the falling tide. Effie began slowly making her way down as well, hoisting out Arthur when she got close.

[ShadesofGrey18]

Charlotte frowned as Benny helped her out of the water, shaking her hair to try and dry it out. "Urgh. Benny, I almost would rather be guarding the Nohrian border than having to deal with this crap... almost. How many you see coming?"

Yarne moved in, going after another Cavalier. "Leave the mounted units to me!" He stared down a pair of them incoming... before yelping as the tide suddenly surged heavily up the coast, unable to get out in time. The large rabbit was soaked completely. "AAAGH!"

"Yarne!" Subaki swooped down, snagging the Taguel as he transformed back, pulling him atop Vanessa's back. "Are you alright?"

"U-Urgh... s-so wet... c-cold..." He shivered a bit, trying to recollect himself.

(-5 Defense!)

[DanteMGalileo]

"Yarne!" Elise rushed up to the taguel on the pegasus, concerned. "You don't look so good..."

Arthur yanked a piranha off him, frowning slightly at the hole in his armguard. "Looks like we're going back... Or is it going back further than before?"

Effie squinted, trying to make out the water's flow against the setting sun. "I think it's going back further, guys. Uh... hang on tight."

With a surge, the water receded back further, dragging several of the invisible soldiers down on their backs from the force. In the back, the faintest glint of something metal could be seen. "What is that...?" Elise wondered out loud.