This story is inspired from two others, Love Thine Enemy by slivershell and Memories by Yautjan. In this, I am using Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Breath of Fire III's version of Ryu, so expect awesomeness. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy reading!

Part I: Silver-Haired Maiden and the Dragon Prince

Chapter I: Under Gray Skies

This story begins in a war torn country called Daein, a nation that resides within the continent of Tellius. A continent that had once been governed by a benevolent goddess until tragedy struck centuries prior.

An empty space, vacated of life and only the remnants of a decayed structure was leftover.

Ever since the Mad King's War three years prior, Daein's lands have not been peaceful; the once proud buildings that had stood were beyond recognition and repair. The Crimean Army had stormed the country those years ago, defeating the Daeins, walked all over them, and leaving the country into the hands of Begnion and in shambles. The people that lived in the nation were without help, and the buildings that were once inhabited by those people, were starved for repair. Unfortunately, its inanimate thirst was never quenched.

The wreckage of the long-gone battlefield lay in waste.

In these same, ruined areas, the moon was lit full, shining upon the wreckage with its alluring, white light. Stars packed around the moon as if they were ants marching around a picnic basket full of food. They, too, also illuminated the dark night, painting across canvas of the sky. There were still a few trees and some molded grassland amidst the rubble of destruction, however, it was hard to notice and very little remained. Storms of footsteps marched the area, torches lighting the way as soldiers in burnt orange armor hurried around the place as if they owned it. It appeared they were searching for something, or someone.

"Find anything?" One soldier asked his cohort, who shook his head in light disappointment.

"Not yet, sir, no," the other replied.

The first soldier sighed in light annoyance. "Someone's gotta be here. Keep looking!"

"Yes sir!"

The two soldiers began to turn away, their torches close, their weapons closer, and their eyes peeled open. Nearby, someone was hiding behind a broken wall, which was fortunately tall enough to hide them completely from view of the light. They peered through a small crack in the wall, the dull, golden color of their eyes barely visible. They were trying to keep quiet as much as possible. However, one of the soldiers turned around, and the person moved away, quickly, from the crack, causing a faint squeak of a gasp to escape their lips. Uh-oh!

"We're wasting our time. There's no one here," the second soldier half-groaned in complaint.

"No. I know I heard something…" The first red-clad soldier examined, his eyes roving over the area he could see physically, almost approaching the wall the hidden person was hiding behind.

The quiet person from before was actually a female with fair skin, brilliantly colored silver hair, gold eyes, and looked like a young girl in her teens. She wore a maroon colored tunic with an intricate design on the bottom of the tunic skirt's short, front flap; the rest of her tunic's length extended behind her body. Her shoulders were bare, exposed to the airy draft the night could offer. Her legs were covered with long, black skin tight pants for women, her arms, sans her shoulders, were covered in long, black half gloves that ended to her skinny, feminine fingers.

Around the beginning of the arm-length gloves, were French cuffs, folded and tied together with a thin, red string on both sides; however on her right hand, were two, thin gold circlets around her wrist, and upon the left, were more of those strings. Around her waist was a thin, brown belt with a golden buckle, meant to keep the tunic tightly snuggled to her petite, feminine frame. The belt had a few pouches connected to it which contained precious, traveling items.

Around her legs were more of the thin, red strings, tied neatly in tiny bows, and wrapped around her golden boots that she wore. Lastly, around her neck draped a navy blue scarf, long enough to reach past her rear, and a matching blue ribbon tied into her silvery locks, visible from behind only. She was carrying a light yellow book with her, and a small, orange canary-like bird was with her. It seemed quite terrified at first, chirping very quietly.

"Hush, Yune. Don't cry, please. If they hear you, you'll give us both away…" the girl attempted to soothe the small avian with her kind, reassuring voice as much as possible, cupping the bird comfortably tight in her hands and close to her chest.

Unfortunately, the silver-haired girl's words did not lend much reassurance to the tweeting bird; in its fear, it flew off, causing the girl to gasp. This stirred the soldiers, their awareness sharply increased. "Who's there!?" the first soldier called out, and then noticed the orange canary flying out in panic. When it was gone, the soldier peered into the crack, the girl freezing on the spot and away from it to avoid detection.

"Is it the Dawn Brigade?" the second asked.

"No. It was just a bird…" his cohort replied. The two exchanged glances silently, the responding soldier waving the other to go around the other end of the wall. They knew someone was hiding behind the wall and were going to plan a surprise attack to catch the culprit off guard.

Feeling that nobody was around, or they simply ignored her presence, the girl sighed in relief. However, the brief moment by her lonesome was soon cut off abruptly by someone snatching her from behind! A soldier rudely grabbed her by her arm, the girl cried out in utter surprise by the man's force, bringing both of her arms back and bound with his tight grip after twisting them tight. In the confusion, she dropped her tome.

"Ha-ha-ha! You thought we didn't see you, huh?" The soldier laughed deviously. The girl attempted to struggle faintly, proving useless as the man kept her bound. If that wasn't good enough, more red-clad soldiers entered the small area, about four more, holding torches towards the intruder to get a better look at her features.

Another grabs her chin, causing her to wince and flinch back lightly. "Look at that... Silver hair..." The one grasping the girl's body stated, running his hand through her long, thin hair.

"If she's the fortune-teller everyone's been talking about, we'll be the talk of the town. Us, heroes! Heh, without her, the Dawn Brigade is nothing!" The commanding soldier that had previously spoken stated, grinning proudly. The girl attempts to struggle again, and as before, it proved pointless. "Oh, the general's going to love this. Bind her!"

"Sir!" the other soldiers under command state, beginning to use rope to truss up the girl's wrists.

"Listen up, lass. If you don't want to get hurt, don't struggle." The commanding officer told her, voice gruff. It wasn't long until the group hears a familiar chirping of a bird; all of them look up, the girl included, as the bird returned. However, it didn't come alone.

An immediate sound of clank! of steel meeting another rang out as a soldier gutted out a groan before collapsing instantly. In the confusion of the soldiers' gasping, the girl escapes under it, grabbing her tome she dropped not long ago.

"She's not alone!" The commanding soldier of the group shouts aloud.

Many of the soldiers were falling, one by one, as a young teenager, just in his building man years, appeared from literally nowhere to them—which in fact he hadn't—knocking down the soldiers that had assailed the young girl earlier, with his powerful kicks and stabs with his stiletto-like knife. One soldier attempted to stab him with his lance, but failed as the youth dodged with a skilled back-flip. Many after him also tried thrusting their lances and swords, only to be countered with a swift stabbing to their necks by his dagger. This young male had short, green hair, almost the color of the forest, having solid, gold, soul-piercing eyes, and stood around six feet in height. His skin complexion was paler than the girl's, but he was muscular built for a teen his age, his arms, exposed abdomen, and legs expressed this.

He wore a half shirt the color of an olive green, sleeveless, and stopped just above his stomach line. Running down the center of the top were criss-cross laces of brown that kept it together. It also appeared that protective padding for added protection was threaded into the clothing. His pants were slightly baggy, though still hung close to his young, masculine, teenaged body. They were a beige color, and around his waist was a black colored belt, having two pouches attached to it, a dagger's sheath and a protective pad of armor belted around his left leg's front thigh.

The dagger's sheath was red colored, contrasting the youth's attire. His brown colored boots were belt buckled three times on either boot, having gold colored buckles, keeping the rest of his legs secure and safe. Lastly, he wore ragged, padded black, chainmail gloves on both arms, which only reached towards his elbows at most. He also had a tattered beige-olive colored scarf around his neck, making him look like either a ruffian or a thief. It was, more or less, probably the latter.

Once the surrounding soldiers were dispatched of, the two teens stood back to back while a standing soldier blows on a long horn to alert the others patrolling the area of the ongoing disaster unfolding. Others were flooding in like water, armed and ready to attack.

"Micaiah..." the green-haired teen spoke softly, calling to the girl's name.

"Sothe..." Micaiah, as she was called, whispered back in relief.

"We've got you now!" the commanding soldier bellowed as they neared the pair.

Regardless of the situation, Micaiah opens the tome she was carrying, and begins to chant whispers of magical essence. Sothe covered his eyes with his scarf as his partner raised her hand, releasing a volley of words that deemed ancient, "Ekarif magae teiodasto ieraka!" Once chanting this, a light emitted from her hand, blinding the soldiers with its magnificent brilliance.

"Augh!"

"My eyes!"

"I can't see!"

The soldiers bellow, dropping their weapons simultaneously as they cringed. As the light was beginning to fade and clear out, Sothe uncovered his eyes, checking around quickly before nodding to his companion. "Good job, Micaiah. Let's go." He insisted hurriedly, now taking off with her behind him.

"Right. Yune!" Micaiah calls to the orange canary, who tweets almost innocently, flying after them. The two friends quickly dash into the night, disappearing into the thickets of the woods, leaving those soldiers―those Begnion soldiers―behind them.

However, in the fair distance, a pair of blue eyes, underneath a helmet, had been closely watching this act of escape…

Nevassa, Daein.

A few days after the incident...

In the capital of Daein, Nevassa, the morning sky is filled with gray clouds around the early sun, blocking out its light. The town was dingy looking, almost dead in appearance. It looked beyond poverty and without inhabitants. The streets were paved with damaged, wrecked roadways; houses were standing compared to the area from a few days ago. A few citizens that lived in the capital were outside, talking to other commoners around, trying to maintain what shred of peace they could grab. A few cows and horses were out, being tended to by working men, and women were sweeping porches. Today felt like many other; it seemed to have carried itself slowly.

Every passing minute feeling like someone put the clock in slow motion. In one particular area of Nevassa, a pair of teens were on a staircase, sitting down, waiting patiently for something or someone. Instead of how normal kids dressed, these two were particularly dressed for battle; one was a boy with short, untamed, blond-brown locks seemingly swept in place and frozen there. He was wearing a red, sleeveless tunic, strapped tight with a light brown leather belt around his thin, youthful frame. Underneath, he wore a light, faded yellow shirt with short sleeves, his arms and elbows exposed, and matching half-arm length gloves—his right glove having brown, leather straps crossing over one another to keep an extra padding against his hand, which was common amongst novice swordsmanship. His pants were a beige color that fit his legs, and lastly, boots that were brown, coated with a light yellow covering and orange flaps folded over the top edges of the boots. His eyes were large, but expected for a boy his age, and lacked physical build. An iron sword was equipped around his waist, feeling loose in case he needed it quickly, and lacked a sheath to protect it.

Next to him was Micaiah, the girl from days before that had escaped with Sothe.

"I wonder where he is..." the brunet began, tapping his foot almost impatiently, frowning even. "Something must have happened to him."

Micaiah denied this, simply shaking her head and said, "Don't worry, he'll be here." She quietly petted the orange canary on her shoulder, Yune, atop her head. Her companion pouted lightly, sighing under his breath. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, and beamed instantly while turning to his friend. "Hey, I have an idea," he started, "Micaiah, why don't you use your far-sight to see when Leonardo will arrive?" The girl stopped petting Yune, frowning at the idea her friend just offered, ridiculously.

"Oh Edward, you know that's not how it works. I foresee some things, but I don't get to choose what I see."

"I know, I know! I was just teasing!" the brunet, now called Edward, said with a light snicker. "But still, Leonardo's never late. Something must have―"

"H-Help!" An urgent voice called out abruptly. "Someone, please help us!" Micaiah and Edward exchanged worried looks, then stood immediately from their current spots, ushering themselves down the steps to find the owner of the shout.

Running into view was a woman, around her mid-thirties, holding a boy's hand tightly in her large ones. From the looks of it, the woman was burly, big-boned, and dressed commonly in a simple dress, shoes, and a scarf over her brown hair. Her large nose gave way that she appeared to be a nanny of sorts as well. The boy with her was very young, about six or seven years old, with messy, dark chocolate brown locks, matching eyes, fair skin, and wore a large, teal green shirt, brown shorts and sandals upon his feet. He looked worried, just as much as the woman holding his hand. Micaiah and Edward quickly rushed towards them, concerned for their safety.

"What happened? What's the yelling for?" the brunet wondered.

"Bandits! Bandits are attacking the town!" the woman exclaimed, out of breath, but managed to get her message out anyhow. "R-run! You kids better run away! Who knows what those brutes will do if they catch you!" The lady's words were rushed; the two appeared to have run a distance to escape the tyranny of the pillaging bandits.

"Where is the Imperial Occupation Army this time? How can they keep the peace when they're nowhere to be found?" Micaiah also wondered, frowning even lower than when Edward cracked his joke earlier. Upon hearing this, the Daein woman recovered much of her lost breath, shooting a hateful glance at Micaiah, though only at her words about the "army" coming to their aid.

"Hmph, who? The Begnion Soldiers!? Hah! They don't care a lick about us! We lost the war, and they won. We're nothing to them!" She scorned in distaste. "They're only interested in chasing down the Dawn Brigade. They let the real scoundrels run wild and brutalize us."

Sensing the woman's emotions, and by the look of her face, the two friends couldn't possibly turn this down. Besides, what she said was the truth; Begnion didn't care about the Daein citizens' well-being. They ignored plight after plight, letting robberies and crimes run rampant while they sit on their rears and do absolutely nothing about it.

Micaiah sighed half irritably. "They're worse than useless!" She exclaimed, and then looked the woman in the eyes with determination. "We'll be glad to help you. Just find someplace to hide and leave those bandits to us."

"Oh, but you're..." the lady began objecting; however Edward pitched in next, grinning from ear to ear.

"Don't worry about us. We happen to be members of the same Dawn Brigade those Begnion troops are so interested in!"

"What?! Really!? You guys are in the Dawn Brigade?" the boy with them suddenly exclaimed, his eyes sparkling, almost. He stared at Micaiah and Edward, beaming with absolute joy. "Wow! My friends and I talk about you all the time!" Micaiah simply smiled gently at the comment, while Edward was feeling proud of himself. Apparently, if kids were gossiping about them, then they were quite popular around Nevassa. While gaining popularity with Daein's city folk weren't top priority, it was still reassuring to hear that the citizens knew about them and their true nature.

"You? But you're just children!" the woman said aloud in shock. "Oh, how Daein has fallen... Children forced to fight and steal for the good of the poor." She sighed, relenting to the situation. These kids looked prepared and more skilled than she could ever hope to be. Perhaps it was best to let the fight belong to them. It was savagely, but it couldn't be helped. This was extreme measures. "But... we can't fight those rogues, so we'll take you up on that offer. Please, be careful. They'll slice clean through you if they can."

"We will be. Thank you." Micaiah assured her.

"Now hurry and go hide and leave this to us!" Edward added.

The woman and boy nod, hurrying off, going up the previous stairway the two Dawn Brigade members had once sat upon. Once they were out of sight, a few bandits, packed with bags across their backs, were storming the area. Edward and Micaiah quickly took shelter behind a convenient, loaded crate filled with boxes, hiding until their opportunity came along. The bandits were ugly looking, having dark hair that appeared braided, a dirtied, grey headband, gorilla-looking bodies, long arms and hands gripping axes made of iron. Their breath stank and their bods emitted a horrid stench that Edward complained he could smell if he were a mile away. They had baggy, brown pants on, damaged sandals, and barely any scrap of armor on their masculine bodies to protect them from harm should they encounter a scuffle.

The leader of their merry band was a man as tall as six feet, being a little overweight but it was hardly noticeable. He had wild, short, creamy blond hair, a scrunched in look that seemed as if he were punched in the face twice and it stuck. His eyes were narrow, the pupils colored in blue. He wore a man-sized battle tunic, the color of brown, with shoulder plates of iron armor kept upon said shoulders, strapped around his chest and back, as well as his back. His beefed up arms were dressed in long gloves, padded with a brown, leather covering meant to protect his arms. His pants were also baggy like his cohorts, though they were steel grey colored than brown. He, too, shared sandals like them as well as an iron axe. With a gruff, smug grin, he looked over the area greedily. "Listen up, you louts!" the man shouted to the others, "This town's nothin' but idiot kids and drooling graybeards. Steal everything you can!"

"Heh-heh, yeah!" one grunted ignorantly.

"You said it, Pugo, boss!" another laughed.

"This'll be a cinch." the last bandit chanted hoggishly.

Micaiah and Edward stayed low in their position, listening as the bandits scuffled about unwelcomed, taking things that didn't belong to them. This fueled their anger, and the two decided to emerge from their hiding and attack. "Yune, it's dangerous here. Go find someplace safe for now." The magic user instructed. The bird chirped, taking off in a random direction.

"Micaiah, remember. You let me take care of the close quarters and you just attack from afar." The brunet swordsman lectured lightly, which his companion simply nodded.

"I remember, Edward. Let's go!" After their small dialogue, the teens encounter the first brigand, who had been stuffing his face with fresh produce that were in the nearest crate. He had opened it with his axe, greedily eating everything his mouth could fit.

"Hey! That's being selfish, you know!" The myrmidon tsked, frowning. "If you eat like that, you'll get fat!" The bandit being insulted growled angrily, dropping whatever he was going to eat, grabbed his axe and rushed the two teens. The ruffian leered at Edward, but gaped when he laid his lustful eyes on Micaiah. Now that was something worth stealing!

"Heh-heh-heh! A pretty girl like you'll fetch a pretty penny for me! Now be a good girl and come to papa." the ugly glutton snickered, making Edward sick to the stomach and Micaiah cringe. She closed her eyes, beginning to chant something in an ancient tongue, similar to how she handled the Begnion soldiers a few days ago. The bandit, having no idea what she was mumbling, gave her an odd glance that read confusion easily.

"What did you say? That better not have been an insult, you...!" Soon, light emanated from the girl's fingertips, shining brightly as she had opened her Light Tome, summoning a flash of light that both struck and blinded the brute. "Huh? AUGH!" he cringed, covering his eyes.

"Edward, now!"

"Right on it!" The myrmidon called out, lunging forward, unleashing his iron sword beside him as he ran forward towards the glutton. It took three slashes at the bandit to best him while he was defenseless, and he landed to the ground with a loud, thud that would for sure alert his cohorts of suspicious activity.

"No matter the manner of man, the goddess judges with an even hand..." Micaiah silently said as the ruffian fell to his death, sighing. Edward twirled his sword in his hand almost expertly, laughing lightly.

"I bet if Sothe heard him speak to you like that, he would have murdered him twenty times over."

"Oh, Edward!"

"Hey, I'm just telling the truth."

The girl sighed, brushing strands of her hair back. Trying to hold a conversation with the sword fighter was pointless now. "We shouldn't dawdle and chat our lives away. There's still a few more bandits lingering around, and I'm sure they noticed the grunt from before. So, be on your guard." Edward chuckled again, though decided to drop the subject, rekindling his focus on ridding of the invading brigands. If it weren't for them, he would have teased Micaiah all day until they got home. ""You have a point. Hm, here comes another, Micaiah, right on schedule!" The second and third bandits emerged from around the stack of crates, growling as they spotted their fallen ally and then the two kids who were possibly reliable for his death.

"You kids gone and dun it now!" One spat.

"C'mere and git yours!"

"Hah! Just try it!" Edward taunted, cheerfully rushing into the fray to meet them head on while Micaiah stayed back a bit. Casting magic from a distance was her job while the myrmidon fought closely. It was a great strategy, but it could only go so far. The brunet youth met the burly men armed with axes, taking chances and turns against them with the swiftness of his blade. He was still inexperienced, but he didn't miss a beat with his footwork. With shouts of "haaah!" and "yaaah!" going about, as well as clinks!, clanks! and changs! noises sparked as clashes of steel met head on, the fight was growing intense!

The last clash with bandit number three caused Edward to stumble backwards off balance, and the second bandit was coming for him! "Take this, brat!" He lunged, swinging his axe in downward motion to either amputate Edward's arm or decapitate him. Either way, fresh victories from a boy's murderous cries were delightfully delicious to hear amongst cutthroat brutes such as them. Micaiah summoned another light spell to block the third, but watched in horror as the third was about to strike Edward! "Oh-no! Ed―!" That's all Micaiah could utter. Sailing past her was a sharp, pointed object, which pierced into the third bandit's eye, stunning him into shock and pain.

"Guuhhaaawwwh! MY EYE! MY EYE!" the burly man groaned. Edward and Micaiah stared wondrously at him, but soon caught onto the object that struck him; an arrow! Only one person they knew could have done this!

"Micaiah! Edward! Are you two all right?!" shouted another, young boy's voice. The sword and magic users turned simultaneously to notice a blond haired teen was approaching them. This kid was around Edward's height and age, wearing a fancy-looking steel blue tunic with sleeves that covered his arms, stopping around his thighs, and a natural slit running down the center. Strapped to his chest and back were darker blue padding for protection; underneath his tunic was an equally colored shirt that covered majority of his neck that was visible.

Across the shoulder blades of his tunic were two, blue belts tied around to keep his quiver of arrows tightly secured in place. Around his waist were two more buckle belts, nearly the color of his hair. He had another strap, the color of red, tied around, locking a small pouch meant for keeping small items like vulneraries on him. The pants he wore were a light cream color, hugging his legs much like Edward's and not as much as Micaiah's. His attire was complete with his navy blue boots, styled with intricate designs, his blue eyes matching these, and his iron-padded gloves that gave his hands and fingers protection when handling his trusty bow, also made of iron.

"Leonardo!" both chimed together, smiling.

"How did you find us?" Micaiah asked rather quickly.

"A little bird told me," The blond haired archer replied, also smiling. "Yours, in fact." At this, Yune chirped, circling around them in the air before flying away again. It was as if she went to find Leonardo and warn him of danger. She was such a talented bird, it made the mage feel proud to have been her friend. When she was gone, Leonardo turned to his friends, now frowning slightly. "What were you two thinking, taking on these bandits by yourselves? That's beyond reckless." He added, lecturing almost.

"I'm sorry, Leonardo," Micaiah apologized, "But we couldn't just leave the helpless villagers to these monsters. Please, help us fight them." Leonardo hummed in thought for a moment before nodding and gearing up.

"Oh, I see now. Of course I'll fight with you. That's what friends are for," The archer responded, taking his bow gladly.

"Great! Now with the three of us, we'll be unstoppable!" Edward projected aloud, causing his two companions to sigh lightly. But, he had a point, regardless of how ridiculous or outlandish it sounded. Once they stopped chatting, the third bandit had fallen dead, having lost too much blood, and his cohort was unable to help him. Good riddance.

"Hey you brats! You'll pay for that!" He bellowed, beginning to charge wildly. The trio of the Dawn Brigade quickly ran off to the side, evading his rampant attack.

"Hm? What the―!" the brute wondered, turning around to find the three ganging up on him to attack! Micaiah read through her tome again, summoning another round of light to attack and blind him. The nuisance hollered in pain, allowing Leonardo and Edward to finish him. The blond archer drew an arrow from his quiver, took precise aim, and let it sail through the air, hitting the dirty man in his knee. A groan later and Edward slashed him in an X-shape across his chest, the monster falling flat to his face as he bled to death.

"Whew, that's just three of them. Two more to go, and then we'll win!" The myrmidon panted, feeling excited.

"Watch yourself, Edward. Don't get too cocky or it'll hurt you one day." Leonardo warned.

"Ah, don't worry, Leo. I'm just fine! Besides, we should be celebrating. We have the bandits' boss and that last one to handle, apparently. And boy, he's surely ugly." The brunet pointed his friend towards Pugo, who was busily grabbing things and shoving them into his make-shift sack. The last bandit had been stashing things into his own sack, humming some random tune to himself. Leonardo made a simple "ew" face, cringing at the sight; that guy was a horrible mess! No wonder Micaiah called them monsters. They probably hadn't bathed in months. How disgusting.

"Ugh." The blond muttered.

"That's what I said..."

"Come on you two. We have to stop them before they try to get away or find us." Micaiah urged, now hurrying towards Pugo, but keeping herself hidden for another surprise attack. The two boys followed suit, hiding around another set of crates adjacent to her as she hid behind a barrel wagon.

Watching them from above on a balcony at a distance, was a soldier of Begnion. He was wearing simple red armor; a breastplate, helmet, arm pads, shoulder pads, leg pads and footwear as protection. He was unlike most of the Begnion dogs, however. His body had more of a young man build, medium-toned, and it was evident by his arms only. Underneath the helmet that was visible was his fair skin, a few strands of hair that were unnaturally blue in color, and eccentric blue eyes staring down. At his side, was a sword sheathed in place. Instead of shouting to the group that claimed to be the Dawn Brigade, he simply watched the teens finish off the bandits, curiously, cautiously, and just because he was interested in how the outcome would turn out.

"You idiots better be gettin' stuff! 'Cause when I get done, ya'll better be done, too!" the loud mouth idiot ratted.

"Okay, so how we'll we go about this? Attacking them both at the same time is a bad idea." Leonardo began quietly.

"I'm not too sure…"

"Hmm, you know. I can probably distract that Pugo guy while you two take down that last bandit." Edward suggested. His two friends glanced at him oddly, wondering where this "brilliant" idea came from.

"Edward, that's a stupid and suicidal idea. We should all team up and take them down one by one." The archer protested, half glaring at his companion's rather cheerful demeanor at such a time like this. "You could get killed!"

"Yeah, but I have a sword, and he's using an axe… From this standpoint, I have an advantage, don't I? Besides, I'm faster. He won't even touch me!"

"Oh Edward…" Micaiah sighed, also in disagreement.

"Come on!" Edward insisted, "I'll be distracting him, not fighting him until you two are finished with the other one."

It took a moment for the other two to ponder on the idea. They didn't like it; separating just to fight these bandits. Of course, Edward had pointed out two facts, one being he had a weapon advantage on the leader. This silence carried on until someone nearby said, "This should be enough." The teens perk up, slowly peeking from their hiding spot to find the last bandit in the group to be closing up his sack! Uh-oh! While they were chattering away, the burly man had been stuffing himself with loot.

"Come on, you two!" Edward half-begged, half-urged. "This is serious! If he gets away, then—!"

"We won't let him." Leonardo interrupted, turning to their female companion. "Right, Micaiah?"

"That's right. Edward… Please promise you will only distract the leader for us to finish the last of the bandit's group."

The brunet's face changed from a frown to an excited, though silent, determined cheer. "I will!"

"…Good. Then, on the count of three… One… Two… Three! Go!" Micaiah shouted.

The three jetted out of their hiding places, the light mage and archer teaming up against the bandit, surprising him, while Edward headed for the leader, Pugo. Overhearing something, the dirty blond blinked, his unused sixth sense sparking to life and alerting him of danger. He followed that intuition and spun around; behold were three kids ready to assault him! Well, only one of them was heading his way! Edward swung his blade vertically, but due to his shy callowness of the sword, the axe man dodged it. "Who the hell are you?!" Pugo roared furiously.

"Someone who's taking you out of the game!" Edward taunted, smirking. He knew he would pay for that someday, but it was only used to stall for time while his friends charged for the other bandit. His comment, more or less, infuriated the brigand further.

"Grrr! We'll see about that, boy!" the bandit boss fumed, swinging his axe in his hand, lunging for the myrmidon. Edward posed himself watching the axeman's foot work with his eyes, but also paying attention to the swinging of his arm. If anything, it was wild, untamed, but powerful—Edward swiftly dodged the three attacks aimed for him, grinning when Pugo missed him, applying more taunts.

Meanwhile, the other two charged at the other bandit, blindsiding him quickly. Micaiah summoned a light spell to strike the bandit she and Leonardo went after, managing to hit and blind him temporarily while the archer fired an arrow to the man's arm. "Gah! You punks are gonna get it when I—!" The bandit raged, but with another round of light magic and an arrow striking the left center of his chest, he couldn't finish his insult.

"He wasn't as tough as he looked," Leonardo admitted. "But he was annoying, I will say."

"I agree…" his friend nodded, then turned around, noticing Edward had been doing his task; distracting the bandit leader. However, from the looks of things, he didn't look like he would last longer. Edward was clearly tiring out! "Leonardo! We have to help Edward! Come on!" Micaiah urged, hurrying as fast as her legs would carry her. The lighter blond didn't object, taking off after Micaiah quickly.

When they were within range, the light mage fired off another spell of light magic at Pugo, and Leonardo let an arrow escape his precise-like aim from his fingertips, sailing through the air. However, Pugo, from the corner of his eye, saw the attacks coming. He held up his axe to deflect its rays of brightness, and ducked as the arrow flew by. This bought time for Edward to roll from underneath the man, gripping the pommel of his sword as he stood with his friends.

"Grrr! You brats! Who do you think you are, the Dawn Brigade?!" He shouted irritably.

"Correction: we are the Dawn Brigade!" Edward told truthfully. He, Leonardo and Micaiah were cornering him, all on three sides of him, trapping him between a dead end and the only way out. Pugo growled, glaring at each of them, especially at the silver-haired girl. "I will ask you once; stop stealing from the town and leave!" She demanded, which caused the bandit leader to chuckle deviously.

"You give us proper thieves a bad name. Hah! You like charity? Come closer! I'll show you some charity!" Pugo laughed, swinging his iron axe wildly, which made the three back up to avoid being hit.

Micaiah narrowed her golden eyes firmly on her opponent, frowning. "These people work hard to feed their families mere scraps. Then you come along and steal what little they've earned. That's not charity! That isn't right!"

"Shut up, kid!" Pugo hollered. ""I work hard, too! You want honest? Once I've sold you, I'll have earned an honest penny!"

"Pfft, as if!" Edward mocked.

"What was that, punk!?"

"It is three against one. Unfair odds, don't you think?" Leonardo added. "I suggest listening to her. Leave now or face the consequences."

"Hmrph! Not ever! I'll kill you two boys, take what I came for, and steal the girl. I'll sell her to the highest bidder and earn me a good lifestyle where I don't need to steal from pathetic people!" Pugo spat, and then charged for the archer. "You're first!"

"Hey!" Edward called out, intervening with a slash to Pugo's back. The man grunted, stumbling forward as his straps were sliced clean, as well as his tunic, having a nice, diagonal tear through it with fresh blood trickling down.

"You're gonna pay for that!" the burly brute growled, now rushing to meet the myrmidon head on, stupidly, of course. He struck at Edward, who evaded, just barely, and countered with his own attack. Pugo saw it coming, blocking the slash with his heavy axe, pushing the boy away as if he were nothing but a stick in his way. "Humph! You got nothing on me, boy!"

"Ugh!" Edward grumbled, skidding back on his feet slightly. His two friends rush to his side, leering at the bandit leader. He didn't look like he was going down without a fight.

"We better end this quickly, or we will draw unnecessary attention from Begnion troops," Leonardo observed, being unaware of the soldier that had been watching them intently. "We certainly don't need them to find us here."

"Yeah, that's true, but how do we go about and beat this lug? He can tell when we're going to strike!" Edward mumbled, panting. "Even when I was against him by myself, I namely dodged and taunted him. That guy is seriously heavy! Trying to counter him is staggeringly hard enough as is. I literally felt my bones scream when he blocked my attack with his axe. Man!"

"I have an idea, but we may have one shot at this," Micaiah admitted lightly, having cooked up something in her mind.

"Well, better think quickly because here he comes!" Edward yelped. The three didn't have much time to react; Micaiah and Leonardo were able to jump away from the vertical attack Pugo aimed at all of them; however, Edward stayed, using the strength of his body to hold his iron sword in front of him to block the attack. It was hard; the guy was just bigger than him and had a lot of power packed on. His muscles adding more pressure didn't help the brunet, either. He struggled to keep the brigand at bay, clashing against him until his two friends were ready.

"Listen, Leonardo. Remember our first attack? I want you to shoot him, but don't really aim at him. Make him think you'll shoot at him, but in reality, you miss. This will draw his attention to you," Micaiah began hurriedly, noticing the panting and near exhausted Edward defending and dodging as much as he could. "Then, I will use my light magic to stun him, giving Edward the opportunity."

"Ah, I see it now! It was very similar how we took out that last one, right?"

"Yes, exactly, just lightly modified. Hurry, Edward looks worn down even more than before."

"Got it!" Leonardo, from his position by the crates, drew another arrow, falsely aiming at the brigand as told. "Hey! Leave him alone, will you?" The archer called out, getting the man's utmost attention. The blond let the arrow fly, and upon instinct, Pugo ducked away to dodge the purposely missed arrow.

"Heh! You missed, idiot! Can't you aim correctly?" Pugo taunted. Leonardo simply stared at him as the man continued gloating. Meanwhile, Micaiah was well prepared with her magic, twirled once and allowed the light escape her fingers and striking the bandit leader head on!

"Ack! Gaahh! It's bright! Rrrrrgh!" Pugo bellowed, covering his eyes.

"Edward! Now! Get him while he's distracted. It won't last long!" the silver-haired girl shouted. Exhausted, the brunet swordsman gritted his teeth, his sword's pommel, he gripped tighter, running up to Pugo with a battle cry, charging with a horizontal slash to his unprotected groin, and then drilling his sword into the nuisance's neck. Pugo gutted blood from his mouth, the liquid spilling about around him, making a large puddle.

"Agghh! Wh…What just…happened!?" He choked, screaming painfully. His body couldn't hold on any longer, and soon, he fell to the ground, bleeding out until he was dead.

Edward panted again, stepping away before the bottoms of his shoes were soaked in the crimson fluid that continued to pour out slowly from the former bandit's body. "Whew. That was intense. And that was just a bandit." The brunet sighed. His two friends approached him, carefully as to not step in the blood, and smiled. "Hey, Micaiah. We won, it's like you said; they weren't a match for us!" Edward said with an adorable wink. The girl he was addressing nodded, feeling proud of her friends helping the villagers and ending the bandits' attack against them.

"Yune, come here." She called, the orange canary instantly returning to her side, sitting on her left shoulder.

Silently, the soldier from before continued watching, smiling very lightly. The Dawn Brigade were just mere children who had amazing skill. If not too careful, they could be even stronger than some of the finest Begnion soldiers. Perhaps that was one reason why the Imperial Occupation Army was so interested in getting their hands on them. They wanted this band of Robin Hoods silenced so they could keep the uproars at a minimum. Well, they weren't doing a very good job. Each day, the Dawn Brigade grew stronger, the longer they lived. They'll never even get a chance to stop them. This young man was hoping for that outcome. However, coming to interrupt his time of peace were three more soldiers that were possibly assigned to patrol the area.

"Hey you. What are you doing here all by yourself? The commander was looking for you." One said. The young man remained silent as ever, simply eying the other with a frown now carved on.

"Er..." The soldier stuttered at the ominous stare given at him before beginning again. "Wh-what are you looking at?" The two looked down at where the seemingly blue-eyed knight was glancing at, noticing a suspicious group of villagers were huddled together in one area. One boy had a bow, the other had a sword, a girl with strange colored hair had a light yellow book in her hands, a young boy and older woman with them that didn't carry anything. However, what really caught their attention was the boy's blade; it was stained with blood! This was suspicious indeed.

"Hm! They could be apart of the Dawn Brigade!" The first knight stated, inspecting as well. "Were they the ones who fought off bandits?"

A simple nod from the silent soldier was all that was needed to set the other two off. "Hey man! Why didn't you stop them? You know they're against Begnion! Why!?" The second one questioned hotly, growling.

"...There were bandits attacking," the blue-eyed young man began in a matter-of-fact tone. "So they stepped in an area you fools weren't good at; protecting the villagers and killing off the bandits."

"You idiot!" The second soldier fumed. "Nobody cares or gives a damn about bandits robbing the place!" This made the soldier with blue hair scowl lightly, but kept his peace, for now, as the second soldier continued wallowing by voice. "Ah man, the commanding officer is going to be on our asses if we don't do something about them soon…"

"You did it!" a voice called over to the group, who turn and see it was the woman and boy from earlier. "Thank you so much! We owe you our lives!"

"It was no trouble ma'am―" Micaiah began, but...

"You there! What are you doing!?" Another's voice shouting at them cut her off abruptly. The startled group look up, wondering, then eventually found the source of the yelling; a Begnion soldier! "Stop immediately!"

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up… Begnion soldiers. They certainly took their time, didn't they?" Edward said half sarcastically, belting his sword at his side and frowning.

"We mustn't be caught," Leonardo warned, watching as the soldiers were still staring and yelling at them. Micaiah slowly turned to the woman and child, also frowning. This was so sudden for the Begnion soldiers to find them.

"I'm sorry. We have to leave," She said, sadly.

"I know. Thank you again for all you've done. Now, go! Run!" The lady says, encouraging them to hurry along.

"Micaiah! Edward! Make a break for it. Run!" Leonardo urges. The group turned to leave, rushing through the small area, and heading down more steps. However, before not getting too far, the boy wiggles free from the woman, running up behind them, knowing his small legs couldn't catch up, but still, his heart had to shout to them what he wanted to say.

"Hey, lady! My name's Nico! When I grow up, I want to be just like you guys! Come back sometime!" The brunet says happily, waving to them goodbye. The trio takes this into heart, remembering the boy's name as they continued their escape.

"Hold it! Stop right there!" The first soldier yells out, but his voice met its echo instead.

"Who are you bellowing at, soldier?"

All four soldiers turn gasp in surprise, except the usually quiet one, as they turned to meet the owner of this new voice that sounded awfully familiar to them. "G-General Jarod?" The first soldier stammered in surprise. Coming along with this man, Jarod, was another soldier clad in the same armor as they, however, appeared burlier, having dark navy hair, tan complexion, and held a lance in his hands.

"Wh-When did you arrive?" The second asked, stuttering as well.

The man called Jarod was a tall man, possibly around in the six feet. His hair was smooth, a little wild, and the shade of auburn. His eyes matched this, and with his fair skin, it was like a complete puzzle for his features. He was wearing a maroon colored tunic, with shades of purple armor on his shoulders, waist, legs, back and feet. He had his helmet off, being snapped on the back of his armor; he also wore a teal colored scarf around his neck, and held a red lance in his hand. The general approached the men talking to him, frowning when they gawked, rather than replying.

"Answer my question, maggot." Jarod demanded. "I want to know who you were yelling at and why you did nothing but yell at them."

"S-sorry, sir." The man apologized, saluting. The two others followed suit, except the third, while the first soldier continued. "We suspect they were from the Dawn Brigade, a band of thieves that targets goods levied from the town. People say they give what they've stolen back to the villagers and strut around acting like heroes. Some say they have a witch among them, a girl called the Silver-Haired Maiden. They say she can heal wounds instantly by laying her hands on any injury. The townspeople treat her like a savior."

"And? What have you been doing about this band of fools?" Jarod demanded next, looking less than amused by the "report" the soldier gave him.

"Sir. A few days ago we stormed their hideout. We found a girl much like the Silver-Haired Maiden... We ran the dogs from their den, but they were cunning and cautious, and… We lost them." The first soldier stated, his voice slipping to silence after his last sentence. After absorbing the information in, the general closed his eyes, a smug, sarcastic grin appearing on his face.

"I see. I'm beginning to understand."

"How do you mean, sir?"

Jarod open his eyes, glaring into the idiot's face. "I'm beginning to understand exactly how incompetent you all are!" He growled furiously, and immediately stabbed the soldier through his abdomen forcefully, ending the fool's life that instantly.

"Urk!" the first Begnion soldier blurted out his last before falling to the ground, dead, similarly to the bandit earlier. The blue-haired male's eyes widened in fury—how could a man kill his own soldier!? That was beyond heartless! Still, his voice couldn't be spoken, just yet, or else uproar would commence.

Once the sating of the idiot's death was over, Jarod turned to the other three incompetents, leering at them. "Make the villagers talk. I want to know who these bandits are and where they're hiding." He commanded.

"Y-yes, sir! Understood, sir!" The second and third said, trembling. They were gone in a flash, while the dark navy haired knight walked towards Jarod. The unusually silent one quietly obeyed, though walks off slowly.

"I don't care who they are. The more kick they have in them, the more fun for us, don't you think, sir?" The third soldier, named Alder, says.

"Precisely. Overseeing this dusty old town is wearing thin. A little fresh game is just what I need." The general replied sadistically. However, his eyes catch onto the slow moving soldier he had just commanded, growling in anger. "These damn bastards just can't get a move on today. I better go rouse him." Alder chuckled as Jarod headed over to the slowed knight, angered.

"You! Pick up the pace, unless you want to end up like that idiot I stabbed moments ago!" He threatened. The young man doesn't move any faster; in fact he stopped completely, and then turned around. Jarod narrowed his eyes menacingly at this fool utterly disobeying him, approaching him yet again until he was in his face. "I said get a move on, dammit, or you will die! Is that what you want?!" The blue-eyed soldier simply stared up at him with his gaze, unfazed by the threat.

Suddenly, he smirks in such a snide, taunting way that infuriates Jarod to the boiling point. Seeing as he didn't want to unnecessarily lose pawning soldiers at this point, he grudgingly allows the idiot to live. Just this once. Their eyes met, holding a grueling staring contest. If anyone didn't know any better, sparks were starting to set up between them; that is, until Jarod broke the silence.

"Get in your place, maggot." He hisses venomously, which still makes the soldier unfazed. Their unusual staring contest continues for a while longer until the shorter male eventually breaks it off and leaves. Once he was gone, Alder steps forward again, his eyes leering at the odd encounter.

"Sir? What was that all about?"

"Another incompetent fool who will learn his place very soon. I'm allowing the fool to live for today just because he is nothing more than a pawn to me," the Occupation Army General responded, "But, that stare was unnatural almost. I better not let it get to me, or else I'll lose myself to stupidity."

[Updated 9-16-2016]