Sorry for the long wait, but Aran and Laura are now Third Tier, and with the advent of spring break, expect a lot more updates!
Also, the allied soldiers were pretty much completely useless when it came to fighting the Laguz forces. I had to rush just to kill Ike in time so that they wouldn't fall apart and let the Laguz walk straight through them!
Chapter 13-3 - Blood Contract: Finished.
Aran & Laura: The duo charged down the center, leaving Tauroneo and Sothe to guard the central ledge alongside a partner unit (who later ran off to get killed) and they pushed their way through the hordes of Laguz. These were fierce foes however, and the two of them had some trouble dealing with them all, Laura was able to stay alive with healing, while Aran was able to sponge hits well enough until they activated Resolve and he mostly began dodging attacks. After they made it down to Ike, Laura put him to sleep and they went to work, Aran having to attack directly and risk a possibly deadly counterattack by Soren due to the incompetent Allies being unable to do anything except trip over themselves and get mauled. Luckily, nothing severely bad happened, and Ike fell without either of them dying.
Ike & Soren: Fought Aran and Laura, Ike was put to sleep by Laura once they drew close enough, so Ike was mostly out of the picture. Normally, I'd have had the two attack Ike from afar, avoiding Soren as much as possible. However, as the Laguz began pushing through the allied units and endangering Sothe and Tauroneo, that strategy had to be dropped due to being too slow, so Aran ran up to Ike with a Steel Greatlance and smacked him one, taking a healthy chunk of damage from Soren when he attacked as well a bit of damage from a tiger that ran over, which he promptly Impaled, and Laura fought off a few Laguz with the Sleep Staff, killing a hawk that attacked her. The two of them then attacked again, and were able to just barely take down Ike before anyone important died.
VS Ike & Soren: Laura raised the Sleep staff into the air, a soft light emanating from it, and Aran watched as the glowing mist fell upon the enemy general, who seemed unable to resist its effects, and fell deep into an artificial slumber. Aran ran forward and brought his spear forward into the mans chest, hoping to end the fight in one blow, but even despite his magically-induced state of unconsciousness, he seemed to reflexively attempt to avoid the strike. His slowed body was unable to completely dodge the attack, but he was able to minimize the damage and Aran, dumbfounded at the situation, only scored a somewhat shallow cut on Ike's side.
Aran, though focused on Ike, made sure to keep the boy to his side within his peripheral vision at all times, recognizing the boy he had battled at the swamp, and this time having a grasp of his power. He saw the boy give a couple of hand-signals immediately after his strike, and before Laura could switch to a light tome, she was beset by small group of Laguz which she attempted to fend off with the staff. Aran turned to help her, but a tiger came leaping at him, and with all the strength he could muster, he thrust his spear straight through the beasts tough hide, impaling it, and dropping the body off on the snow-covered stone. Once again, he turned to attempt to help Laura, seeing that she had been able to take down a hawk that had assailed her, but this time the bite of a swords edge beneath his armor stopped his advance, as the boy launched a set of wind blades from the Elwind tome he carried directly into his back. As Laura ran forward, Ellight Tome in hand and mostly unharmed, Aran turned back towards Ike.
Despite the daunting aura of fear that seemed to radiate from the boy, Aran steeled himself, and pressed onwards. Laura struck with her Ellight tome, half a dozen pillars of light falling upon Ike, who once again did his best to soften the blows, but couldn't prevent them from connecting. Aran charged quickly for one more strike, and sliced horizontally across the mans chest, the damage finally causing the man to fall. Aran prepared for a finishing strike, but several blasts of wind sent him sliding back, and the mage revealed a Restore staff, rousing the wounded general as a cat Laguz ran forward and delivered a message made deliberately loud enough for the two to hear; The Laguz forces, (likely due to the absence of the two strongest fighters on Daein's side), had been able to break through the western blockade, and were pouring into the fortress. The two of them quickly retreated, hoping to attempt to save as many of their comrades as they could, as the Greil Mercenaries and many more Laguz began charging in through the collapsing ranks of the Daein forces.
Up Next: An interlude to show all of the stats of the party units before the final battle of Part 3!
Comment Question: What did you think of the VS Section? I tried to make it seem as though many of the things that happened were planned (Laguz attacking Aran and Laura after Ike had been put to sleep, the breaking through of the western wall if Ike is defeated, the reason Ike doesn't really lose when you beat him, etc.), but I'm not sure if it flowed right despite all of that. What do you readers think?
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