Eirinn :

Such a difficult choice!!! Ok let's see... we know what happens if you separate from here so A is not an option. Honestly as strong willed as she is B is probably a bad choice if you are only trying to protect her. C seems possible but it puts her in danger... then again so does B... Gah why must you make this so difficult...

Ok... I am going to go with C. At least with her somewhat free to work she can protect your back too and not just you "playing the hero".  This way both of you can get something and you have a better chance at survival. Question is does Sidhe have any fighting skill in this form. If not then you have to protect him as well.

Nice imagery! Aoife seems like such a nice character, I hope our next choices won't unwittingly get her killed. D= It seems that the real question is whether or not we want to take that "vision" we received into consideration when evaluating all of the choices.  If it's a warning, then Aoife could still live in one of the choices below. If it's supposed to come true no matter what, then there isn't much point to choosing at all except maybe making sure you and/or Sidhe gets to live. However, since we do get to make some choices... Is it bad to hope that maybe this means Aoife will get a chance at life? ^^0;;

I'm hoping for yes, so that's how I'm going to continue with the decision-making process. (My reasoning is why bother with choices like these if Aoife is going to die in all of them anyways?)

To begin, Choice A actually seems kind of sinister in that if we choose that one, you (as the storyteller) could just happily flip a coin and remind us, "Nice try but Aoife is resolute so she doesn't run!" and then Aoife will die on the spot, for any reason at all, and thus we will receive the bad ending you already specifically warned us about. Why choose the one that already has a higher chance of failure? So it's on to the next one. =/

If we choose Choice B, however, there is still no guarantee that Aoife wouldn't die in this one, but at least you 2 are fighting side by side, which means you can probably defend her with your own body if it must come to that. In the visions you received, there was one creature and one dead body, so it's possible that no matter what you do today, it's not Sheridan's day to die so you're free to throw yourself at the creatures until all of the creatures are destroyed. However, since there are 2 of those creatures after the 2 of you, there is the possibility that they might both attack you at the same time, and if the 2 of you are in the same place, you could both get taken out at the same time (or you could live because Aoife dies pushing you out of harm's way). This would still be a bad ending. =/

Choice C appears to be similar to Choice B, but it seems the difference may be that you get to move away from her at times. If possible, maybe she could even go into hiding to snipe off the creatures while you fight as the bait as usual. This doesn't sound like a bad plan until you realize that means you'd have to fight or run away from both of those creatures while trying to defend Sidhe. If Aoife can manage to take out at least one of those creatures before they get to you, then you might have a chance, but if she can only manage to wound them, you'd better hope that today's not your day to die. After all, no one knows whether that "vision" was actually just a warning or a sign of things that shall certainly come to pass.

Then, there's also the chance that no matter what you choose, Aoife decides not to go along with any of it, so she dies in Choice A because she doesn't run, she dies in Choice B because she ignores her creature to shoot yours and gets taken out by the one she was assigned, and she dies in Choice C because she doesn't want to go into hiding and she stays by you and dies in the same manner as either one of the previous choices.

All in all, these are some pretty difficult choices, but I think I'm going to choose Choice C. Even if Aoife has a chance of deciding on not going into hiding, preferring instead to stay by you, there is also the chance that she does decide to hide or at least move away from those creatures and that should hopefully raise her chances of survival. As for Sidhe... well, I guess he could be Decoy #2, so good luck to him. ^^0;;

Two parts coming up, as I'm at n2,600+ words and still going. 1,900+ words of story incoming in this post. Hope you're in a reading mood.


The Star of Music : You are absolutely right about B and playing the hero. She would have resented your babying. She's a strong willed person, and she knows she can defend herself in the field, so B would have been a bad choice.

Yuna1000 : I love the way you reason your choices out. It's so fun and informative seeing how you guys think I could potentially end up reasoning things out. Also to clarify, yes Aoife could die or live in this entry based on the choice you guys made. Now let's see if your choice which I totally didn't determine the outcome of with a coin toss was the right one...

________________________________________

C.
You separated from her once after one of these visions or whatever they are, and you nearly lost her. You won't let that happen again. Positioning yourself beside her, you draw your sword and quickly take in the situation. You have no idea what's going on, but you plan to fight now and ask questions later.

Turning you look at Aoife who, making eye contact with you, nods signaling that she's ready to take up position. The two of you have plenty of experience working together in the field and this will be no different, or you hope it won't anyway.

"Aoife," you say softly as she turns to go for a higher vantage point and she turns to look back at you "be careful."

She nods, looking slightly shaken "Always." And with that she climbs a nearby tree, goes out on a thick branch, and lies low. She's nearly invisible.

The gruonhaar are now charging your way. You evade with ease, but from behind you comes a loud noise and a shout from Aoife. Turning you see that one of the gruonhaar ran into the tree when you dodged, causing it to shake, and in turn causing Aoife to fall from her perch. She managed to grab ahold of the branch so she didn't fall into the midst of the two beasts, but she dangles there, plainly visible to them and they're doing their best to reach her.

"Sheridan!" she calls frightened but controlled "I can't get back up! Get them away! Hurry!"

"Hang on, Aoife!" you call as the adrenaline kicks in again. You have to do something quickly or she's done for, but what can you do? You could hit them with your sword but it would be a death sentence for you to attract both of them while you're that close and grounded. Turning you look for Sidhe but he's nowhere to be seen. He ran? That seems out of character for him. Looks like you'll have to handle this one on your own.

"Sheridan, I'm slipping!" Aoife's voice now carries slightly less control as she knows in a matter of moments she's going to die if you don't do something. The gruonhaar are alternating between ramming the tree and trying to slap her down, but she's just out of their reach. With each ram to the trunk however, she slips a little more and it won't be long before she slips entirely.


It may be foolish, but it's all you can do.

You run in front of the creatures, only a few yards away, waving your arms and throwing rocks at them. This works on one of them and within seconds you're running for your life, dodging between trees and leaping over stones. You're no match for this thing's speed though, and your agility will only get you so far. Glancing over your shoulder you see the gruonhaar lunging for you and you roll to the side causing it to miss and run face first into another tree, stunning it for a moment. You strike at it's face and manage to at least inflict some pain, but aside from a small amount of blood running down it's jaw you don't see any real signs of damage.


A high pitched scream draws your attention away from the battle at hand and toward Aoife. The scene before you seems to play out in slow motion, and you feel frozen in place as you see her falling to the ground as the gruonhaar that you failed to distract rams into the tree once more. Aoife flails her arms frantically trying to grab ahold of anything she can, but it's in vain as she was already on the lowest limb -- there's nothing between her and the ground but the gruonhaar that knocked her down which now sees her falling and breaks into a run to get to her.

"Aoife!!!!" you scream helplessly as it all unfolds in front of you.

Suddenly a figure launches from behind the trees and lands on top of the gruonhaar which begins thrashing violently in an attempt to throw him. It finally succeeds and the person goes flying into a tree trunk, but by now Aoife has already hit the ground, recovered, and scrambled to another perch where she begins raining arrows down on the beast in an attempt to distract it from it's new target which rises slowly to it's feet.


You may have been distracted by all of this commotion, but your opponent was not and it reminds you of this fact with a slap to the back that sends you to the ground. The attack winded you and you now lie unable to breathe or even move. The gruonhaar's large tail sweeps around and bats you like a toy, sending you rolling into the stream. You rise to your feet slowly and see the creature charging again, but as it reaches the stream and exits the mist, it halts and begins shaking it's head slowly at first, then violently, so violently that it begins to stagger a bit. As you stand back staring in confusion, it begins emitting a cry that is something akin to pain and before long it falls to the ground jerking about for a few more moments before going limp. You inch closer to the creature to examine it and find it is indeed dead. After a moment of confused pondering you remember Aoife and the other person and rush to see if you can aid them. As they come into sight however you see something that amazes you.


The person now sits atop a tree branch much like Aoife but instead of shooting the beast with arrows like she, they jump and land on it's back once more. This time they raise a hand with a small object in it and bring it slamming down with all their might into the grounhaar's neck causing the creature to rear back and cry out. A glow begins emitting from the thing in the rider's hands and after a moment the gruonhaar settles down and stands calmly. It then begins walking slowly toward Aoife's perch where the rider signals for her to hop on as well. She complies and soon the two of them are riding up to you.

"Sidhe??" you ask in shock as they get close enough for you to see him clearly again. "What? How?" you stumble over your words.

"I told you, I'm a trainer." he says matter of factly.

"Yeah but you never mentioned...whatever that was that you just did!" you reply as you stare at the small ornate object on his hip, it appears to be made of some sort of stone, and has a small pointed tip about a half inch long and thin as a needle.

"Oh this? Well...it's complicated. Just say I can use it along with some weird powers I have to make the nastiest of creatures calm down." he says. "It sure drains me though. I am exhausted."

"Are you alright, Aoife?" you ask, but even now the look on her face is answer enough.

"Yes, but only thanks to the both of you." she says glowing "Do you see this?? I'm actually riding a gruonhaar!" This is the first time you've seen her showing unbridled happiness. It's something she deserves to experience more often you decide. The happiness that is, not the gruonhaar riding. There are some things a sane person just shouldn't do under normal circumstances.

"I'd offer you a ride," Sidhe says "but I think this thing's already at capacity." he smiles and you can't help but wonder if that's the real reason.

"Well what now?" you ask Sidhe "Clearly he knows we're here given that little show."

"He who?" Aoife asks, her smile slowly being replaced by a confused frown.

"Beats me. You're the one she talks to." he answers simply. "I hadn't the foggiest that anything was wrong just a bit ago when you told us to leave that cave. Did you, Aoife?"

"No, but..." she pauses "could you please tell me what you're talking about? You've been speaking in riddles this whole time, and if we're going to be doing this together then it's important that I know what it is that we're doing."

You can't deny that logic, and you don't plan to leave her side until this is over. You cast a quick glance at Sidhe and he seems to agree.

"Come on, let's go to the North. I'll explain it all on the way." you say, and note the appreciation in Aoife's face. "It's going to sound impossible, but you just have to trust me."

"I do." is all she says, but it's more than enough. You understand the full meaning of it, she trusts you completely. If nothing else this experience today fixed the damage you caused before.

Yay!! XD Decoy #2 worked and Aoife lives!  lol *High fives The Star of Music* But really, Eirinn, did you use a coin toss? oO;;

Yuna1000 : *High Fives Back* Yeah!

Seriously that was great! I can't wait for more!  I hope more people start coming. It would be odd if one or two people are deciding everything when this is a group style story. I mean writers are used to solo work but if you are going to collab with others then it has to be done right. Right?! LOL.

Yikes. 2,376 words of story. Sorry about that. This one is more story than action.

The Star of Music : Ikr? I'm grateful for even two though since we've dipped down to one a few times. I'd love to have a few more people active here though. We need at least one more.

Yuna1000 : Did he cut it close enough? Lol Not at all. I rolled a die. I mean, uh...

You journey northward and explain your mission to Aoife, but decide to leave the whole realm jumping part until you're alone with her so she doesn't have to take in all the shock in front of Sidhe. The look on her face let's you know that she's aware you're keeping something from her, but she doesn't say anything. Something you appreciate.

Once camp is set up, Sidhe heads off to tend to his new mount, while you and Aoife head to the river to relax while watching the sunset. You take the opportunity to tell her everything that had happened with the realms and traveling between them.


"So that's the real reason why you didn't remember me?" Aoife asks as she sits beside you in the shade of a large tree watching the sunset.

"Yeah." you say feeling ashamed. "I wanted to tell you but..." your words trail off.

"I understand, Sheridan. Thank you for telling me now though." she says as she turns to look at you "You still seem like the same Sheridan I grew up with though. It's so strange."

"I am the same Sheridan you grew up with." you answer as you look at her hoping she'll see it that way too. "I just understand more than I did before."

"I guess so." she says softly and looks down for a moment, then raises her eyes back up to meet yours "Can you tell me what your other lives are like? Am I in them?"

"I don't know." you answer "I think so, but I just can't put my finger on who you are in them. I know you seem too close not to be."

A sad look on her face, she turns to look once more at the sun. "I hope I am."

"So do I." you answer as you too turn toward the sunset "I don't want to think of going back and never seeing you again."

"Well I got the gruonhaar fed and tied off." Sidhe pipes up as he walks back toward the campsite, a small clearing amidst the trees near what Aoife informs you is the basin of the Cathoirahs river. The reflection of the sun setting in the water calms you, and for the first time since leaving your home realm you find peace and true rest. In fact you reason this may be the first time you've ever experienced peace and true rest.

"Man that sounds weird." you say with a slight laugh.

"Doesn't it though?" Aoife agrees with a smile, breaking the solemnity that was present moments ago. "We should probably take shifts keeping watch." she suggests.

"Good idea." you say.

"Aren't all of my ideas good?" she teases as she pretends to be offended.

"Most of them. Maybe not saving catboy over there today." you answer with a gesture at Sidhe.

"What does that mean?!??" he asks exasperated.

"I'll tell you later." you say, but in truth you're not sure that you won't keep it to yourself for fun. "I'll go first. It's best that way. I'm the one to get the messages after all. Besides, I need the time to think and listen."

With a little hesitancy, Aoife concedes, and she and Sidhe head each to their spots by the fire, leaving you to sit and think alone. This place is amazingly peaceful at night. You hear nothing but the water emptying into the basin from the steep cliff ahead, the gentle breeze blowing through the trees and some bugs making noises that you can't identify them by. Probably not any kind of bug you've seen before judging both by the sound and the fact that the animals and most of the people are kinds you've never seen. This world is nothing like what you're used to, but you find it quite charming despite the dangers.

"Well," you say as you look to the star filled sky "what do we do now?" you may have grown accustomed to hearing from the spirit realm, but you still aren't sure how to send messages to it properly. You wait several minutes but hear nothing. "Oh um...thanks for helping us earlier and helping me find Aoife. I guess I should have said that sooner. But if you could help me figure out what to do next, that would be really helpful. I don't know what to do, but I know that you said you'd help me know." it's starting to flow more easily to you now, and though nothing is said back, you feel a comforting peace. "I guess that's you, right?"

"Yeah it is. How did you hear me?" a woman's voice says and makes you jump with a start. "Sorry, did I scare you?" it's Aoife.

"No, I just jumped like that for fun." you say with a lopsided smile as you turn back and see her standing close by. "Why were you sneaking around anyway?"

"I was trying to surprise you. Guess I succeeded huh?" she says and laughs softly at your exaggerated nod of affirmation. "Who were you talking to?" she says as she sits next to you.

"Trying to talk to her." you say, "The woman from the spirit realm. I don't really know how, or if I'm supposed to even. I don't have the slightest clue what I'm doing, but I'm trying my hardest."

"Maybe you're trying too hard." Aoife reasons and turns her gaze to the sky.

"What do you mean?" you ask confused.

"Well think about it:" she begins as she turns to look at you again "what were you doing when you heard what you did in the cave?"

"Saw. And I was just talking to you and Sidhe, why?" you ask, still not sure you follow.

"Exactly." she answers "You weren't trying your hardest to hear something, you were just doing what you would normally do and the message came when it was supposed to."

"How did you become so smart?" you ask with a chuckle as you see the truth in her words.

"I've always been this smart." she laughs, a twinkle in her eye. "Remember that one time when we were little...oh" she stops and looks down at the grass springing up from between her folded legs "I forgot you weren't... that you don't..." she goes silent apparently unable to find a way she feels fitting to describe the situation at hand.

"Tell me?" you say, equally saddened by this.

She looks at you unsure for a moment "Well..okay." she says with a small smile that conveys as much mutual mourning as it does anything. And with that she begins telling you all of her fondest memories of your childhood together, and even stories as recent as a few days before your arrival here from the spirit realm. Together you pass most of the night with her stories. The stories, laughter, and smiling finally stop when she begins yawning and fighting to stay awake.

"We should probably get some sleep before the trip tomorrow." you suggest "I'll wake Sidhe."

"You're right." she says as she rises to her feet. "Maybe" she pauses and stares off in deep thought, her eyes cast down at the ground as she does so "maybe tomorrow night we could do this again, only next time you could tell me more about yourself in the other realms like you started to earlier before Sidhe got back."

"Sounds good to me." you say, though you almost want to omit your lackluster programmed life from your original realm.

After waking Sidhe the two of you head to your makeshift beds: leaves and grass stuffed under a blanket of fur. They aren't very comfortable but they don't have to be as you could snooze on a rock right now you're so exhausted. As you drift off to sleep, you ponder your conversation with Aoife moments ago, and it's all you can do to hold back a chuckle at the idea of her trying to grasp the concept of your job as a programmer. The thoughts don't last long however as sleep quickly overtakes you.

______________________________________

"Sheridan?" a voice calls out.

"Aoife?" you answer, but your eyes refuse to open.

"Sheridan." the voice calls again, but it isn't Aoife's.

"Is that you?" you ask, as you manage to identify the person speaking to you.

"It is." the woman from the spirit realm answers.

"Why can't I open my eyes? What's going on? Is this a dream?" so many questions flood your mind.

"Rely not on your eyes for sight." she answers, no real emotion discernable in her voice. "True vision, true sight comes from within."

"Like with the vision yesterday?" you ask, unsure what the point is. You've already learned how this works.

"No. Think to when you found her." the woman answers "How did you know what to do?"

"I just...knew." you reply.

"No, you didn't." comes the familiar voice again. "How did you know what to do?"

Her insistence that you don't know what you did or didn't know aggravates you. "I just knew somehow."

"No, you didn't. Think traveler: how did you know what to do?"

You think for a moment. "I just...felt it."

"Felt it where traveler?"

"In my heart." As you say the words your eyes finally open and you see her standing before you, but not in the spirit realm. Instead she's standing by the river where you spoke with Aoife earlier that night. "Hey...I can see!"

"Yes you can. Now you can." she says as she smiles at you. "The light." she says as she approaches you and places a hand over your heart "shines in here. It shows the way. Follow it."

"I understand. Aoife was right: you will let me know what to do when it's time, won't you?" you say as you look her in the eye.

"She is wise beyond herself, traveler." she says as she backs away slowly "Listen to her counsel. She has been placed in your life here to balance your abilities."

"Thank you." you say humbly "But tell me, do I know Aoife in the other realms? Who is she there?"

"Dark times come traveler." she says ignoring your question. "The Dark One is rising to power here. He knows you are coming and he knows the light is with you. He hates you now more than ever, traveler. He will resist you. You must stop him." her voice softens and you could swear you see a tear come to her eye "A great price will be paid. A great price must be paid. Sacrifices will be made. Blood will be shed." even as the words leave her mouth, Aoife appears beside her, but she seems oblivious to you two. She looks several years younger, and she picks flowers and weaves them together into bracelets. When she's finished, she puts them on a younger form of yourself.

"No..." you say as a wave of grief seizes you and you fall to your knees crying out in tears "No, please. Not Aoife. Is there anything I can do to stop it?"

"There is but one way, traveler." the woman answers as she looks down at you in sympathy. "Blood must be shed. A life must be lost. A life dear to this party." she says as she gestures to a newly formed image of you, Sidhe and Aoife sitting around the campfire.

"There's nothing I can do to save her?" you wish with all that's within you that you hadn't heard this. Perhaps ignorance truly is bliss sometimes.

"There is one way to save her, traveler." the woman answers.

"What?" your head raises at those words. "What is it? Tell me, please! I'll do anything! Anything!"

"Are you certain, traveler?" she asks.

"Yes, you know I am!" you practically shout you're so grateful for the opportunity. "Just tell me what I have to do."

"I will tell you." she answers and you lean in close as though you're afraid of missing a single word. "Look and listen. You will know."

"No, tell me now please!" your vision begins to go black at this point.

"Open your eyes once more." she calls. "Your heart traveler."

"Okay...Okay I'll watch and listen." you say submissively, and your vision is clear once again.

"I send you back to your friends now, traveler." she says "But remember what you have learned and what you have heard, and tell no one."


"Sheridan, wake up." Aoife's voice calls out.

You open your eyes and see Aoife standing over you and Sidhe sitting atop the gruonhaar waiting on you.

"Here." Aoife says as she hands you a small piece of meat. "It's all I managed to save. I promise you, I turned my back for one minute to pack up my bed and this guy" she nods toward Sidhe "ate all of the the food. Fortunately I ate before I packed up." Sidhe shrugs sheepishly as she tells you this.

"Thanks Aoife." you say almost numb still after that dream.

"No problem. So where are we going next?" she asks as Sidhe helps her climb onto the gruonhaar. "Any idea?"

"I have no clue where we even are honestly." you say as you place a small piece of your breakfast in your mouth.

"Well there's a village to the East of here." Aoife offers "We could buy some supplies. I have some money on me still."

"Supplies?" Sidhe asks "Like food?"

"Among other things, yes." Aoife answers as she rolls her eyes.

"Then let's head there." you say and the three of you begin your trek again.


Before long you reach the village, but it's been attacked and little remains. You search for survivors and find a handful of them. They tell you bandits did it, and that they carried several of the people away with them to the Northeast. You look at Aoife who meets your gaze knowing what you're thinking.

What do you do?
A. Head after the bandits and save the captives.

B. Choose your battles wisely. This one isn't your fight. You've a much bigger one to worry about.

C. Ask Aoife. The woman from the spirit realm said she had wise counsel after all. Maybe she would know what to do here.



I promise, Aoife won't always be in danger. I apologize if it seems I'm over playing that card. She's too good of a fighter to be a liability like that.

I'm sorry for not being present for so long. Tried to update my OS from Vista to 7, and it turned into a complete catastrophe lol. 5 and a half days of nothing but working on the f***ing thing, and ended up having to do a factory reset because nothing else worked the way it should

I'm more experienced with computers than most, and even my dad who knows a little bit more couldn't get the piece of junk to work right (and yes, I tried a Clean Install of both 7 and 10, neither worked right). I'm still having issues, such as Windows Update using 50% CPU and 1.5 GB of RAM just to idle and never do anything (my comp only has a Dual-Core CPU with 2 GHz and 4 GB of RAM lol), and getting my Sound Card drivers updated to work correctly with Skype, but I'm slowly getting everything back to working order.

Ok, now that I'm done ranting...
I'm a little torn here, deciding to choose as myself (B), or the character in the story (A). I would think the best compromise is to go with C. Aoife (I always pronounce her name "Ay-fee,"  "Ay-oy-fee," or some awkward combination of that in my head rofl) knows how things work in this world, or at least this part of it, better than anyone. She's proven herself more than capable, and even your Guardian from the Spirit Realm acknowledges her value and wisdom.

Love your writing man. I always look forward to the newest installment

I include pronunciation keys in the story this time for new words. Let me know if you like this or prefer they be left out or moved to the opening as I did with Aoife, gruonhaar and ptratagon before. Also the story will be a bit less action focused and more story focused for a few more entries probably.


Mynamescox44 : It's fine man. Stuff happens.

____________________________________________________________

C.

"Aoife?" is all you say, but your meaning is clear.

Aoife hesitates for a moment, her eyes showing she's clearly off in another moment entirely. After a few moments she looks at you and nods. "Alright." she answers looking at the villagers that stand before you "We'll go find them and bring them back safely."

"I'm coming too." a man in an apron says as he steps forward.

"No." comes Aoife's reply without any consideration at all.

"They have my family!" he shouts. "I would have gone out after them even if you hadn't shown up. No way am I sitting back here and waiting not knowing what's going on out there."

"Not if you want our help." she answers "We're...we fight for a profession. We can take out the whole group ourselves."

"I'm going." he protests.

"No." Aoife's voice rings with authority "I only go to battle with people who I trust and who have proven themselves on the battlefield." she looks firmly at the man without seeming condescending.

With obvious effort the man gives in. "Fine, but if you're not back by dusk I'm going."

"Fair enough." Aoife says with a nod then turns to you and Sidhe "Let's do this."


The three of you proceed in the direction given by the villagers in silence until the village slips out of sight.

"So you trust me now?" Sidhe asks, his head turned to cast a glance over his shoulder at Aoife who is still seated behind him on the gruonhaar.

"I never said that." she answers.

"You said you only go into battle with people you trust." comes Sidhe's reply, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Sidhe," Aoife begins "when a guy is commanding a massive bloodthirsty killing machine that can take out half of your opponents by itself, you don't really ask any questions." a small laugh tugs at her words.

"Can't win 'em all, Sidhe." you say jokingly.

"What can ya do?" he replies with a shrug. "I'll win this one eventually though." he says, a mischievous smile on his face "Mark my words, shorty." he tosses back at Aoife. "And I kinda wish we'd let that guy come along with us. I have a soft spot for bakers." he grins.

"I wonder why." you answer jokingly.


The lighthearted chatter continues until you reach the top of a hill where you can see the enemy down below several dozen yards off.

"Alright," Aoife says calling for everyone's attention "this is no different than a hunt - we're gonna need a plan. Sheridan, what do you think about flanking them on the right while I take up position over to the left, and Sidhe charges in head on to draw their attention?"

"Whoa!" Sidhe objects "While Sidhe does WHAT now??" you can't help but laugh. "Yeah, easy for you to laugh about it, Sheridan." he shoots back.

"Calm down, Sidhe." Aoife answers "We'll have your back. They won't even get a chance to lay a finger on you before we spring into action."

"Yeah well it isn't their fingers I'm worried about them laying on me." he answers, more composed this time.

"Yeah well we won't let them lay a sword on you either, okay?" Aoife says as she places a hand on his shoulder. "Trust us?"

"Oh now here you go with the trust stuff." Sidhe says, though his voice says he's not being serious "You need to try taking your own counsel sometime shrimp."

"We'll see you down there." she says as she slides off of the gruonhaar and heads toward her spot. Turning back she calls out "I just hope we see you before they do."

"Reealll funny, Aoife." he calls after her "Hilarious. I'm dying here."

And with that you head for your position. Once you've both had time to get set he begins his charge and sure enough it draws the entire group's attention and they all rush to meet him. As they draw near him you spring from your place and quickly cut down three of them before they can even react.
Once they do manage to respond to your attack Aoife begins unleashing a volley of arrows on them taking out a few more before they realize what's going on.
By now Sidhe has made contact with several of them and the battlefield is clearing up quickly, with only a few confused enemies left. It's all going as planned.

A few more moments pass and all of the bandits are gone.

"Well that was easy enough." Aoife says as she makes the rounds retrieving all of the arrows she can salvage.

"Yeah, but where are the captives?" you ask, an uneasiness stirring within.

Before that question can be answered you look up and see people coming from the hills on all sides. You're surrounded by a large group of enemies rushing toward you.

"It was a trap. There never were any captives." Aoife says, rage building in her voice. "THEY were the bandits!"

"Worse." you answer with an even voice that carries a hint of fear "They were dark ones." No sooner have the words left your mouth, than you feel the same dark presence you did during the attack at the cave coming over you.

The three of you each begin fighting with all you have in you, but Aoife's bow can only do her so much good without a way of putting distance between herself and her target, and there are no trees nearby, nor any higher ground she can use to her advantage, but she does what she can before they close in too much, and manages to pick off several of them.
Meanwhile you have your sword drawn and charge into battle, your skills obvious as you block every swing taken at you, dodge and then strike back. You clearly have them outmatched as your skills are quite advanced and theirs seem rudimentary at best, but they have you outnumbered.
Sidhe is charging enemies, his mount slapping and tail whipping his enemies to the ground. A quick bite or stomp later and they're down for good.


Soon enough Aoife finds herself out of room. Her bow useless to her now, she slips it back in place on her back and pulls out a small dagger. Her enemies laugh at the sight of someone so much smaller than they facing off against them with only a dagger and they with swords. The laughter ends however when in one smooth motion she slips beyond the closest attacker and plunges her dagger deep into his back and through his heart. As he falls to the ground she grabs his sword and goes back to work swinging. She may not be trained extensively with a blade, but she's far from helpless, and her enemies quickly regret thinking her so.


The battle rages on and your strength wears thin, but there seems to be no end of enemies as they continue flooding in from all sides. You fight on as long as you can, but the fatigue finally takes it's toll and you find yourself unable to swing anymore. Falling to one knee you look up panting as sweat drips from your face. As your eyes settle ahead of you, you see an enemy about to put an end to your fight, his broadsword slicing downward at you. Before it connects however, Sidhe slips between you and blocks the strike, knocking the attacker off balance. Valiantly your comrades fight, risking their lives to protect yours as you rise back to your feet, but it's in vain as none of you can last much longer.

Suddenly the enemies stop advancing and as though commanded, they all retreat.

"What just happened?" Sidhe asks looking around at the retreating foes, afraid to lower his guard still.

"I have no idea..." Aoife says, sounding equally confused and looking just as nervous.

"Who cares?" you answer as you sheath your blade again. "They're gone. Let's get out of here now and find some shelter before they come back. We'll worry about the why of it all later." your friends nod in agreement as they put their weapons away. "Sidhe, where'd you get that sword? And where's your gruonhaar?"

"Over there." he points to the beast lying dead on the ground "The big guy fought as hard as he could, but they got the best of him finally. As for the sword, I uh...borrowed it from one of those dead bodies." as he says it you become aware of just how many dead there are here now. The ground is so covered that you practically have to wade through the carnage.


Not much is said on the way to shelter aside from Aoife's instructing you on where to go to reach safety. After you finally reach the area she guides you to, you find yourself before another cave, this one however is clearly manmade.

"They made this place years ago" Aoife offers a history lesson "during the Favhrir [fahv-rear] wars. It was made to protect our people, Sheridan." she says with a smile, her eyes full of pride for her heritage. "Our armies camped in here the night before the battle of Pirgthmah [pertch-muh] when they caught their foes unaware. It was a great slaughter, one so detrimental to the armies of the Mórfir [Moahr-fehrl]..." she stops and looks apologetically at Sidhe. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

You and Sidhe look at each other confused, then back at Aoife.

"You don't even know what you are?" she says looking at Sidhe. "You're a Mórfir. Years ago your people played waste to several of the villages of the beagchóna [behc-own-ah] or, mine and Sheridan's people. I guess that's why I was so untrusting of you when you asked where we were from. That's how my old village was destroyed. I suppose I was still stuck in the past."

"Oh..." Sidhe says softly. "Well I would never hurt you guys just because you were different."

"I know that now." she answers. "I'm sorry for treating you like that at first."

"I understand." he replies kindly. "It's not easy letting go of past hurts. But..." his expression now teasing "Does this mean you trust me now, small fry?"

"Don't push it." she says with a grin as she heads past him and to the back of the cave, playfully shoving him as she passes.


"Alright, you two get some rest." you instruct them "I'll watch again."

"Oh no, you need the rest more." Sidhe objects, much to your surprise. "You were nearly toast out there today you were so exhausted. Let me watch first."

"He's not wrong, Sheridan." Aoife calls from the back "You need the rest. We can't have that happening again. Let's eat and get some sleep. You and I can take the last watch."


What do you do?
A. Concede. You're outnumbered on this one, and you definitely need the rest.

B. Insist on keeping the first watch. You would like to think over the events of the day, and your dream last night. Sleep can come after waking Sidhe for the second watch.

C. Fake it. They won't let you get away with staying up, but you can't put this off. You'll lie awake in the dark and think over your strategy from here on out.

Ok, I waited as long as I could for someone else to reply first.

I'm going to go with A. I would think since Sidhe had an animal do a lot of the fighting on his behalf, he would be the least effected by fatigue, also meaning he's the one best suited for keeping watch for the time being (can't have the look-out falling asleep on us). If it comes down to Sheridan not being able to sleep anyway, then the choice doesn't matter much in the first place

Though I'm a little hesitant to listen to what Aoife wants after that last decision lol (through no fault of her own, of course).

Sorry for the long post, but I condensed two entries into one. This way the story can move on more quickly. Otherwise we had a three parter lined up.

Warning: drama alert. People got moody this time.


Mynamescox44 : Sure, blame it on the little one. Also I hope you like reading because *looks at post* yikes.


___________
A.

"Alright Fluffy, you win." you concede.

"Fluffy?" Sidhe replies confused as you laugh and walk away. "Wait, is that another cat comment??" he calls from the front of the cave as you prepare your bed.


After you finish making your bed, the three of you grab a quick bite to eat, then you lie down for the night, or half of it anyway. As you lie in bed you look across the small room at Aoife who is lying in her place already fast asleep, likely due to extreme exhaustion from the day's events. The light of the bright moons barely reaches the back of the cave, but just enough of it spills over your surroundings that you can see her sleeping with one hand on her bow which is resting beside her bed. She's always prepared for a fight, yet somehow doesn't let that make her a hard individual. You ponder the oddness of the fact that it seems the best souls are the ones that must endure the most, and how backwards it all is.
Soon sleep envelops you and you drift off into a deep slumber filled with dreams, but none seem of significance thankfully, and as such your sleep is a restful one.

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty!" Sidhe's voice calls out.

Your eyes flutter open and are greeted by a surprisingly bright light.
Sunlight?
Sitting up quickly you rub the remaining sleep from your eyes and turn to see that your comrades have indeed let you sleep the whole night through while they kept watch.

"What the heck?!?" you say practically shouting "You were supposed to wake me up for the second watch!"

"You're welcome." Sidhe answers.

"I don't remember thanking you." you say still upset.

"Sheridan," Aoife tries to calm you "you were exhausted,"

"So were you two." you fire back interrupting her.

"So I took your watch instead of us both doing it." she continues as though you never said anything.

"You left her alone??" you glare daggers at Sidhe.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Aoife's anger now rivals your own. "I'm not exactly helpless you know! If anything I've proven to be the more competent one the past few days!"

"Now Aoife," Sidhe tries to intervene.

"Shut up, Sidhe!" she practically spits the words out, and he listens.

"Oh really now?" you say as you take a few steps toward her "Where was that competence when you had to be helped twice in a single fight just a couple of days ago? Who saved you then? Oh the incompetent one!"

"Sheridan, really I don't" Sidhe interjects.

"Shut up, Sidhe!" you shout back, and he listens.

"I'm sick of your attitude, Sheridan!" Aoife shouts as she matches your steps until there remains not much scarcely a foot between you "This is so typical of you! I saved your life three times in a row and you sort of help me once and suddenly I'M the liability?!? Get over yourself already!" her voice drops low "Everyone else has."

"Oh you're going there, huh?" that comment hurt you for reasons you don't understand, but clearly it has significance to you in this realm "Well princess, I guess we can't all be as perfect as you, sharpshooter Aoife, now can we? You're just a spoiled little brat! You always have been. Grow up already!"

Sidhe watches helplessly as the two of you go back and forth only serving to anger one another even more.

"Ugh! I can't stand you!" she shouts in your face, fists clenched "I...I hate you, Sheridan! I hate you! I can't wait until this stupid mission is over so I can finally just be rid of you!"

An almost tangible shock fills the room and tears immediately spring to your eyes, tears that you refuse to let fall, but everyone sees them.

Aoife reaches out to you "Sheridan, I"

"Don't." you say as you push her hand away and head for the exit of the cave.

"Sheridan wait!" she calls and jogs up beside you "I didn't mean that."

"I don't care anymore." you say trying to sound as venomous as you did moments ago "I should have just let those gruonhaar have you and went on with my mission here. The sooner I can leave this place, the better."

"You don't mean that." she says in a voice that's consoling and it irritates you more.

"Don't tell me what I do and don't mean, alright?!?" you turn to her and shout "Just leave me alone for once. You don't always have to get all the attention or be right all the time."

She stops following, but you can tell she didn't believe you meant a word of it by the look on her face as you turn to walk again.

________

You stand before a small pond, watching the small fish swimming and a lone frog hopping around the bank looking for dinner to fly by. You came here after the screaming match you had with Aoife earlier, the one you've decided was quite juvenile to begin with, though you understand why she was upset by your initial comment. You've long since accepted that neither of you meant a word that was said, but you can't quite find the courage to return and apologize or hear her apologies yet, you don't know why, but pride is funny like that.

"We think we're smart, but in the end I wonder if we're actually the dumbest of all created things." you say to the frog who presently hops into the pond, blissfully unaware of everything you face.

Leaning forward to see the little guy, you see something else that catches your eye: your reflection. Until now you hadn't seen yourself in this realm and what you see both surprises you and looks entirely familiar. You saw yourself in a dream a few nights ago, but only a vague blurry image, perhaps because you didn't have a reference point? But here you are, staring at yourself in mild surprise.

Your eyes are a deep purple, hair a pinkish red, your skin a near match for Aoife's, though that much you'd seen already. Despite the differences, you look rather similar to her you decide, you could almost pass as siblings, though you judge that she'd certainly be the good looking sibling.

"Do you see the resemblance?"

You turn so fast that you nearly fall into the pond. "Aoife? How'd you know where to find me?"

"You always come here when you're upset." she answers as she sits beside you.

"I do?" your brows furrow at the revelation of your own behavior.

"Heck no!" she says with a small smile "We're miles away from home. I've been searching for you for hours. I was about to give up when I finally saw you here."

"Oh. You could tell me anything about myself right now and I wouldn't know any different." you say as you tear loose a handful of the dark orange grass blades and toss them angrily into the pond. The little fish swim up all at once to see if it's their next meal, then swim away hurriedly.

"Does that bother you?" she asks "Not knowing your own self I mean."

"Yeah. It's frustrating never getting to know who I am." you confess, surprised to find yourself feeling like crying again. Something you're getting used to doing here. "I mean I start learning who I am, and then suddenly I'm dead and moving on to the next realm. It's like reading a book and just when everything starts to click, turning the page and seeing half of it's been torn out."

"Dead?" Aoife echoes sounding hollow "Sheridan, you never told me you...I mean... That's how all of these realm journeys end? Does that mean you'll..." she swallows a few times "Will that happen here too?"

"I don't know." you say as you try looking at her but have to look away as you see the pain in her eyes, too intense for you to handle "I'm sorry I broke it to you like that. I didn't mean to blurt that out."

"But you do die every time?" she's still stuck in that moment, and you wish you hadn't said anything.

"Most of the time." you answer "I lived through the first one. But I think Sidhe may not have."

"I see..." she looks down at the grass and lets it filter through her fingers a few times "So one of us is probably going to...to die this time too then."

"Maybe not." you say, recalling that the woman from the spirit realm told you there was a way around it.

"Sheridan, don't shelter me." Aoife looks up at you, concern in her eye "I'm not a kid anymore. You tried your best to shelter me from everything when we were younger and I appreciate that," she says as she places a hand on your shoulder "but we're adults now. Tell me the truth. This is it, isn't it? One of us is leaving soon, aren't we?"

"I think...maybe." you say and turn to look her in the eye again. What you see there now is no longer concern, but a peaceful resignation and you swell with pride in her "There may be a way around it though. We'll just have to wait and see."

"I guess we aren't meant to know the end are we?" she looks down at the ground again for a moment before meeting your gaze once more "Sheridan if this really could be it then I want you to know how sorry I am. I didn't mean"

"A word of it." you finish for her.

"Yeah."

"I know. Neither did I." you say as you grab her hand.

"I know." she says with a squeeze of your hand "We always have had a bad habit of flying off the handle like that at each other. It's in our blood. Our people... We're prone to strong emotions."

"I've noticed." you say with a chuckle "I'm not used to being this moody."

"You always have been though. At least here." she says as she leans in and hugs you "Whatever happens though, just know I really do love you."

You hug her back, squeezing tightly as though you're afraid she might float away if you don't hold on. "I love you too Aoife. And I honestly wish I could stay in this realm forever. You've been the best thing to happen to me in any of the ones I've seen so far."

"I wish I could go with you when you leave." she says, tears choking her voice out.

"Me too." is all you can manage to say. The two of you spend the next several moments holding on tightly, the chirping of some bugs and the croaking of your resurfaced amphibian friend playing a peaceful tune as a backdrop against this embrace.

"Well" Aoife says as she finally breaks the hug "who knows? Maybe we will be together in the other realms. Just look for me."

"I will." you say as you lean back and look at her.

"And do me a favor."

"What's that?"

"Tell me about us. I mean, in the next realm if you find me, tell me about this realm and who we are here." she says wiping the wet streaks off of her face.

"You'll think I'm crazy, but I will." you assure her as you too wipe your face.

"You are crazy, Sheridan." she says and smiles.


Together you rise up and head back to the cave where Sidhe awaits.

"You two get things sorted out, or do I need to brace for another war?" he jokes and you silently thank the spirit realm for his ability to make things better. "Let me know because I barely survived that last one."

"Shut up, Sidhe." you say with a smile.

"They said for the third time today." he adds. "Well at least I got a good day's rest out of this whole thing. Ya know it's surprisingly peaceful without you two running around."

"You know you love us." Aoife quips back.

"Yes, so help me, for some reason I do." Sidhe confesses. "You could make it a little easier on me though and warn me before your next blow up."

"And ruin all the fun?" you tease "Now where's the food at chef? Screaming makes me hungry you know."

"Oh no, you get your own, shorty." he says as he places a hand over a bag next him.

"That hurts me right here, Sidhe" you say as you place a hand over your heart. "Now tell me what you have in that bag for me."

"Some delicious food if I do say so myself." he answers and produces a rather large portion of meat for both of you "Just don't ask where I got it. Deal?"

"At this point I'm not sure I could care less as long as it won't kill me." you say as you take a bite.

"No promises."

"Fair enough." you say with your mouth full of the mystery meat.


Once you've eaten your fill, the others turn in for the night while you take first watch again. Everything seems perfectly normal as you stare at the stars until suddenly you hear someone approaching. Standing up you ready your blade and take a step backwards into the cave in case you have to call for reinforcements, assuming anyone could hear you over Sidhe's snoring.

"Who's there??" you call in your most menacing tone, but no one answers. Before you can ask again however, a figure emerges holding it's hand out. As it does so a power emits from it and you find yourself unable to move or speak.

To be continued.
If these posts are getting too long, let me know and I can try cutting them back down again. Also I promise more action and story progression next time. Oh, and a choice. Lol

Mynamescox44 :
The Star of Music :
Yuna1000 :
Sorry to summon all of you like that, but I thought you might want to see this. This will be the end of this realm if not the entire story (the latter depends on the outcome).

I'll wait until exactly eleven PM (CST) the night of the first reply and begin writing based on the feedback up to that point. If the first vote is after eleven PM then I'll wait until eleven PM the next night.


_____________________________

For a moment you stare in fear, trying to make out the form before you, but soon a light illuminates her - the woman from the spirit realm. Relief fills you, but you also kind of wish she could show up in less dramatic ways.

"Hello there." you say as you put your sword away.

Silently she stares at you. No sign of acknowledgement of your words.

"So...what are you doing here? Do you have something to tell me?" you ask, becoming a bit nervous.

Silence.

"What's going on?" you take a step toward her "Why are you so quiet? Is something wrong?"

She says nothing, just continues staring at you.

"I'm really getting uncomfortable here." you say as you walk closer to her. "Please, tell me what's going on."

Still and silent she remains.

"Is this another lesson or something?" you ask as you try to get her to answer any way you can "What is it?"

Finally decided she won't say anything, you sit back where you were before she appeared. At first it feels as though the silence despite your best efforts is going to drive you crazy, but over time you begin finding comfort in her simply being there, and even if she says nothing, you know it'll all be okay somehow because she is there.


Hours pass and it's time to wake Sidhe for his watch but she still remains there by you so you hesitate.

"Weren't you gonna wake me shorty?" Sidhe says as he plops down beside you, apparently oblivious to the woman before him.

"Do you see her, Sidhe?" you ask, eyes fixed straight ahead at the woman.

"See...who again?" he replies as he stares into the distance scanning for someone.

"The woman from the spirit realm." you answer "She's standing right in front of you."

Sidhe looks dead ahead "Are you sure? I don't see anything. You feeling okay?"

"What?" you say as you fight back a hint of anger at his suggestion that you're seeing things "Yes I'm fine. She's been standing there all night. That's why I didn't move to wake you."

"What does she want?" he asks, seeming to believe you now.

"I have no idea." you answer honestly "She won't say anything. She just looks at us."

"Not sure if that's comforting or creepy." he says staring in front of himself as though he's hoping to catch a glimpse of her too.

"No, it's okay I think." you say "It seems like a peaceful thing. I was really worried before she showed up, but...now I feel calm."

"Yeah, it is pretty peaceful out here." he says and you take heart in the fact that he too feels this calm "Why don't you get to bed. She doesn't seem to plan on leaving after all."

You start to object, but he makes sense. Nodding you rise to your feet and walk to your bed. As you climb in you look over to Aoife and see the woman sitting between the two of you now. Somehow you know that no matter what happens, it will all be okay, and this knowledge soothes you. Closing your eyes, you slip off into rest with no difficulty.


"Sheridan?" a woman's voice calls out.

"Yes??" you answer with a start and sit up so quickly you nearly fall off of your makeshift bed.

"Whoa, easy there." it's Aoife.

"Oh sorry, I thought...well no matter what I thought." you say sheepishly as you rise to your feet and turn to look at Aoife. As your eyes land on her you see not just her but also the woman standing beside her.

"Sheridan? What's the matter?" Aoife asks noting the surprise on your face.

"Nothing. Nothing" you say as you grab your sword and strap it back on yourself.

"No you just looked at me like I had two heads." Aoife insists "Tell me what's wrong."

"She's standing next you." you say and Aoife spins around quickly, her dagger in hand. "No, the woman from the spirit realm. She's been here all night."

"Oh." Aoife says seeming a bit uneasy as she shifts from one foot to the other "Why? I mean...why is she here? Is it a bad sign?"

"No, no I don't think it is." you say as you study the woman's face but can't read anything in it "Let's go ahead and eat and head out. I think we've a big day ahead of us today."

"Okay." Aoife says still quite uncomfortable "We haven't gathered anything this whole time we've been out so I had to just hand out the last of our rations. I'm afraid it isn't much." she adds as you reach the rock where the food sits.

"That's fine." you answer as you grab a few pieces of dried fruit "I'm not all that hungry anyway."


As soon as you finish breakfast the three of you set out on your journey once more, but as you do the woman from the spirit realm steps in front of you and draws a flaming sword.

"Hold on." you say as you hold a hand out on each side of you signaling the others to stop.

"What is it, short stuff?" Sidhe inquires uneasily.

"I'm...I'm not sure. Hold on. " you reply as you look at her "What is it?" you can tell how uncomfortable this is making your friends, but you're too concerned by what's happening before you to stop.

Silent still, she turns her back to you and looks to the West. With a quick glance back at you, she heads in that direction.

"I think she wants us to go that way." you say as you grab your sword "Keep your guard up."

The others follow and do as instructed. The journey lasts a good mile before you finally approach a cliff, as you do so she stops and turns to look at you.

"What is it?" you ask as you halt.

"The time has come." she finally speaks, and as you look down you see a band of soldiers standing around a man seated on a throne. The throne has handles on it and is being carried by servants.

"This is it." you say, trying to hide your nervousness as you turn to your friends "That's him down there."

"Are you sure?" Aoife asks as she walks up beside you, an arrow ready.

You turn to look at the woman again, who nods slightly. You in turn look to Aoife and nod as well.

"Alright then. Let's do this." Sidhe says as he too walks up beside you "Round two."

"Actually it's round three...or four maybe." you correct.

"Really?" Sidhe asks "What happened the other times? I don't remember."

"Really you two?" Aoife pipes up "We'll have plenty of time to worry about that later. This seems more important right now."

You nod and hope she's right and that you'll all three still be standing afterward.

"Alright, every hunt needs a plan." you say with a smile at Aoife who smiles and nods in agreement.

"They don't see us. I can pick him off right now." Aoife says "We can handle cleanup of the others together afterward."

"It couldn't be that easy could it?" Sidhe says, clearly remembering your last easy plan and it's results in the previous realm "Maybe we should pull the same trick we pulled the other day on those bandits that weren't you know...actually bandits."

What do you do?

A. Follow Aoife's plan.

B. Follow Sidhe's plan.

C. Charge in head on.

D. Taking Sidhe with you, charge in head on while Aoife offers support fire from the cliff side.

Eirinn : Woo.....so after reading like 10 or more mins to catch up with this. It felt weird reading the previous chapters in a way to know whats going on. And I see we have some people who joined in with the story as well? That's pretty cool to know I think either A or D would be best I'm not sure since I would want to see what the others have to say.

Sidhe's plan (B) is a bad idea. If I recall correctly, that ended up being an ambush last time, and we may have only survived because they retreated.

I can't imagine leaving Aoife alone on the cliff (D) is a good idea either. If The Dark One knew where to find you before (the attacks with the fog and whatnot), then it's possible He already knows you're coming, and leaving her alone is how she dies.

Charging in (C) isn't the best option when outnumbered, though at least the group would be sticking together. 

Aoife's plan (A) is the best way to go. With luck (and a lot of it lol), you can end The Dark One in this realm with a single shot. If it works, you could retreat without wasting another single strike, and if it doesn't, you're more or less going with Option C anyway. It's better to live and fight another day, over rushing in and losing the war due to haste or impatience.

Sorry for the long wait. Part two will be added tomorrow unless something comes up.

Eniitan : Yay! You came back! :3 lol It's went a long way since you had to leave, hasn't it? Crazy what all has happened.

Mynamescox44 : This outcome is all your fault! For better or worse...but if it's bad, promise me you'll feel guilty okay?

_______________________________
A.


"Okay, yeah." you say as you nod at Aoife "We'll go with that." turning you look for a sign from the woman from the spirit realm, but she's gone. Now of all times.

Aoife raises her bow to take careful aim. Locking in on his head, she lets the arrow fly. Straight and true the shot travels, but it stops mere feet away from The Dark One's head and falls to the ground as he stretches his arm out toward it as though commanding it to stop.

"What the....how?" Aoife asks, clearly shaken. "Sheridan, who is this guy?" she turns her head toward you, fear clearly written on her face.

"I'm not sure really..." you reply weakly "and I'm not sure I want to know."

Presently the entire band of soldiers turn toward you, but the servants continue carrying The Dark One forward. The soldiers all in perfect synch race around the side of the cliff and up the hill toward you.

"Sheridan I can't stop them all!" Aoife calls out as she rains arrow after arrow down on them taking out each of her targets without fail. You know she's right. She's doing plenty of damage but there are far too many to take down with one bow, and you fear there may be too many to take down with only three people.
No, you know there are too many for three people to take down.

"What now?" you ask desperately as you look to the sky, but no one answers.

"Behind you!" Sidhe calls out and you instinctively spin to the side and strike, taking down the first of many foes rushing up the hillside toward you.

Several yards away from the base of the cliff The Dark One now sits watching the battle unfold, a smile on his face. He knows you don't stand a chance. Seeing that look on his face however, fuels you all the more and you begin fighting harder than even you knew you could. You determine that you might not be able to take down this entire army, but you can sure take him down, and so you press on through the battle, driving back attack after attack in hopes of making it to him.

Behind you comes a shout from a familiar voice. Casting a quick glance over your shoulder you spy Sidhe lying prone, one of The Dark One's minions standing over him. You whirl about to help but before you can make it to him, an arrow emerges from his back and he stumbles backward, giving Sidhe a chance to scramble to his feet and finish him.

"Thanks shorty!" he calls back to Aoife who's found herself a nice little perch atop a massive pile of stones that appear to be there as part of the remains of a dig site of some sort.

Satisfied with the outcome, you turn back to your battle and find yourself faced with a speeding blade coming for your face. In a desperate attempt to stay alive you fall backward to the ground and kick your legs out toward the charging enemy. Planting your feet in his gut, you roll back, throwing him behind you to the rocky earth.

Time never slows in the battlefield however and you look ahead once more to see a sword crashing down at you again. You roll to evade the hit and jump back up to your feet but find the soldier dead, an arrow in his head.

Aoife is busy today.

Rushing to the man you threw, you finish him before he can recover. The battle is going in your favor, but there are still too many. This whole thing smells too much like the ambush from before, but this time you doubt they'll retreat like before.

Casting another glance at The Dark One you see his smile has faded and he now frowns, and once more you find a reason to fight harder than before. Before you can turn back to the battle however you notice he winces as though in pain. But why?

Turning back to the fight you see that both sides of the enemy front are still gaining ground slowly and have managed to close in on your group. Before you can react, arrows start flying.

"They have archers!" Aoife calls out.

Oh great. Now what?

"Can you take them out if Sidhe and I cover you?" you shout, trying to get your voice to rise above the noise on the battlefield.

"I can try!" she shouts back and you immediately rush to her position, Sidhe following suit and the two of you fight as hard as you can while she takes aim and manages to neutralize several targets. As she does so you notice again The Dark One wincing in pain.

You understand it now.

"Aoife!" you shout "Aim for The Dark One again!"

Unquestioning, she takes aim once more and lets another arrow fly. This time however he doesn't stop the arrow. Instead one of his servants leaps in front of it. But why sacrifice them unless...

"He can't block them!" you call out "He's losing power!" and indeed each enemy downed seems to weaken him more and more as he flees for shelter from Aoife behind a tree. His followers appear to be all that gives him any strength. "Keep fighting!"

"Kinda what I was planning on doing, Shrimp!" Sidhe calls back over his shoulder as he continues blocking and slicing his way through the onslaught.

However, the ghost of victory proves but a shadow fleeing from the flames of defeat that licks at your feet as The Dark One sends a bolt of energy flying just behind you, striking the rock pile Aoife sits atop, sending her flying forward.

"Aoife!" you shout and rush to try and save her, but it's no use and she falls over the edge of the cliff and rolls down the steep edge, her small body bouncing as it collides with several large rocks protruding from the side of the cliff on the way down. "No!!!" you close your eyes tightly, fighting back tears that turn from tears of sorrow to tears of anger. When you open them you find yourself filled with the most intense feeling you've ever felt in your life. A rage like you'd never thought possible.

Screaming at the top of your lungs you charge directly into battle, slaying soldier after soldier. Before you realize it you've cleared out every enemy coming up from your side of the hill. Turning back you see that Sidhe is still fighting and you rush to his aid. You can't lose both of them in one fight.

_______


How fitting that "Shadows" came on as I was finishing typing this. Seriously, read those last few paragraphs while listening to "Shadows" by Red.

Oh my.....what a battle that was. I do hope Aoife is ok but.....after that fall she might not be.....I do hope Sidhe can hang on. Man this chapter in a way was a little sad, and brutal I now what will happen since the Dark one has an upper hand in a way. Lets hope that doesn't last forever....

Looks like a three parter. Sorry, I wasn't expecting it to be this long or I'd have made the first one longer and squeezed it into two parts.

Eniitan : Yeah I didn't get the reaction I expected. I figured everyone would be mad at me. "Aoife died?? Why??? D:" lol

Mynamescox44 :

____________________________________
Side by side the two of you fight, making good progress despite being outnumbered and forced to defend against multiple enemies at once. The battle is slowly turning in your favor once more and you fight on past the fatigue if for no other reason than to avenge Aoife.

Aoife. At the thought of her, tears begin coming to your eyes again. Tears you can't afford right now. Tears that blur your vision at a moment when awareness is crucial. You call to mind the man that did this to her in an attempt to channel your emotions in a more appropriate and helpful manner in this situation, and your attempt is successful as you fight the tears back and fight with a fervency akin to what you showed moments ago when the incident occurred.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Sidhe's blade go flying as he's disarmed. But he's not to be defeated so easily as he catches his enemy's arm and wrestles him to the ground. As they go at it you're forced to face the charging forces alone, a task you can handle, but not for long.

Sidhe's battle ends quickly however when he produces the same instrument he used on the gruonhaar days before, reaches behind his foe who is currently on top of him, and plunges the pin-like end into the base of his neck. A moment passes and the familiar light shines about it. Sidhe removes it and the man stands to his feet and helps him up then turns to fight alongside the two of you.

"I didn't think that would work." Sidhe mouths as the battle continues, now affording you some semblance of a break as the attacking forces are split between three of you instead of one.

Suddenly a cool sensation surges through your body, not unlike the one you felt when the healer healed your leg shortly after your arrival. As this happens you again feel as though your heart is being lifted and moved, this time toward the cliff edge.

"Cover me!" you shout to Sidhe and your nameless helper as you fall back and they do just that.


Using the time you've been granted, you go to the cliff edge and look down. At the bottom you see something you didn't expect: the woman from the spirit realm stands beside Aoife her hands lifting Aoife as she slowly rises to her feet, leaning heavily on her bow for support.

Without so much as a second thought you do something crazy: turning sideways you stretch your left leg out as far ahead of you as you can and place it on the ground as you squat, leaning back on your right leg and right hand, and slide down the edge of the cliff. You manage to slide most of the way down but are thrown off balance a few feet from the bottom by a rock, causing you to tumble end over end the rest of the thankfully short distance.

As you rise to your feet you see Aoife looking at you with a weak smile. "At least someone finally fell for me. I'm flattered, but you're not my type."

"The feeling's mutual." you reply as you rise to your feet . "I think Sidhe's bad sense of humor has rubbed off on you."

"Wait...where is Sidhe??" she looks up the cliff side and scans it but the battle is obscured from this point.

"He has a new friend up there helping him." you answer and note the confusion on her face "I'll explain later. But for now we have a score to settle with that coward behind the tree there." you point toward the poorly concealed figure of The Dark One.

Aoife nods and the two of you walk toward his position, you with your sword raised and Aoife, who seems to be managing fairly well given the tumble she took, with her bow drawn.

"Thought you had us, didn't you?" you call out, your voice a mixture of anger and mockery "It's game over buddy, and this time, you lose." as the words leave your mouth he emerges to attack once more, but Aoife lets her arrow loose and hits him in the chest.

To your surprise the arrow goes clean through without so much as slowing or leaving a mark, and he disappears.
An illusion?

"NOW!" you hear the voice of the woman from the spirit realm seemingly shouting and you know what she means. This is the chance to spare Aoife her fate.

Turning your head quickly to cast a glance over your shoulder, you see The Dark One emerge from another tree, this one behind you, and throw a javelin at Aoife.

"Look out!" you shout as you dive toward her, pushing her out of the way. You just manage to spare her, but it comes at a price.


"A great price will be paid"
Those familiar words.

A sharp pain in your side.

"A great price must be paid."

Now it's your other side.

"Sacrifices will be made."

Now it's a dreadful pain throughout your entire midsection.

"Blood will be shed."

The javelin hit you below the ribcage and passed clean through the other side.

"Blood must be shed."

You land face first and struggle to rise to your feet again, but the pain is too intense and your arms give out.

"A life must be lost."


"Sheridan!!!" you hear Aoife's voice screaming as someone grabs you. It's her hands. You can tell by their small size.

Turning your head you open your eyes and see Sidhe has made his way down the hill finally, but his helper seems to have fallen along the way. He now engages The Dark One, and you watch the two evenly matched men as they fight it out. Your eyes are too heavy to keep them open for more than a few moments at a time, but you keep prying them open each time they close, though it gets more difficult each time.

Sidhe has the ability to defeat The Dark One, but he's weakened by the fight he's already endured and The Dark One is quite well rested. As their blades lock once more Sidhe is slowly pushed down by The Dark One's strength. You try once more to rise, but your arms will barely even move. Presently however an arrow sticks into The Dark One's back causing him to arch back with pain. Soon another arrow hits him in almost the same spot. Then another. And another. Finally he falls to the ground, still alive but weak. Sidhe looks at Aoife as she coolly walks up to The Dark One and slowly draws back her bow once more, stares for a few moments at the downed man, then lets a final arrow go, finishing him with a shot to the back of his head.

Turning she rushes to your side once more, and Sidhe follows her.

"We did it." you whisper as a smile comes to your face.

"Yes, we did." Aoife says as she lifts your head and places it in her lap.

You feel the life slowly leaving you. It's a feeling you've grown accustomed to, but at the same time you can never really get used to it. It's a strange thing.

"You made sure he paid too." you say softly, looking at her "I know you could have had him in one shot."

"A quick death was too good for him." she says as tears begin sliding down her face.

Sidhe takes your small hands in his comparatively large ones "It's over now, shrimp." he says as he squeezes gently.

"Yeah." you say as you smile at him once more. "Thank you. Both of you. For everything." your eyes close, and you feel the last of your life force ebb away.

Eirinn : *Cries* *Is too shocked and speechless to say anything*

I'm a little preoccupied at this very moment, but I promise to read through it all soon enough to make the next decision ( I'm sorry, but I can't help but compete when the chance arises, at least for the time being. It's in my blood XD ).

But yes, if Aoife dies I will feel extremely guilty. That little girl has touched my heart, and having her introduced into my life, even if it's only through a story, has been a blessing none the less. Although I'm laying it on a little thick, I am being entirely sincere about that lol.

I get the feeling that someone dying was going to be completely inevitable no matter what our choice was. I guess when it's all said and done, I would rather see the protagonist go, over him having to sacrifice one of his two companions. I feel like that's the way he would have wanted it, if a death was an unavoidable price of victory.

But yea. I definitely feel bad now. Thanks for that

Eirinn : I guess I should say something....as I told you before this last chapter was the best, and yet the saddest. It was a good run to read this story from the beginning till the end. Something was going to happen as Cox said a sacrifice being made to protect his friends....I'm sure you had fun making this chapters as doing the sad ones as well.