Battle Cry IV

“Oh no, that must be—” Galgi whispered, eyes wide.

“It’s Suguille!” Cedric finished, throwing the slide door open in a panic.

“Cedric!” Galgi cried, following him out to the balcony.

The two men had just lit their flare and were about to watch it fly into the sky when the tall man shouted as he ran down the shoreline, followed by five of his men.

“What the hell?” the man in ragged clothes named Dax exclaimed, dropping the sword to look over the railing. “Suguille, you weren’t dead?”

“No, of course not!” he responded in a frenzy. “Now stop the damn ship!”

“Uh, yeah!” Dax responded in a panic. Just as he turned around, however, a boot met his chest with a thud. Cedric’s flying kick landed with enough force to send the man backward over the rail, where he fell with a splash into the water.

The other man attempted to draw his weapon on Cedric, who had fallen on his back after the aerial attack. Just in time, Galgi landed a standing straight-kick to the man’s neck. He wobbled, teetering out of consciousness, and fell over the rail, splashing into the water next to his comrade. Just as he fell, the small explosive fired off from the balcony floor into the sky.

“I should have known!” Suguille shouted, reaching inside his uniform’s jacket.

Cedric stood to his feet, watching as the flare from their ship exploded into a small firework display above them.

“Cedric, I think he has another one!” Galgi cried, pointing at the pursuing Suguille. The tall man struck with a knife at a small package in his hand, one that from a distance resembled the explosive they’d just seen.

“Not good, another flare will send them searching for us!” Cedric yelled, snatching the sword from the balcony floor and stepping over the railing.

“Cedric, don’t!” Galgi shouted, pulling him back by his vest just as he began his jump. “There’s two in the water and five on shore, don’t be foolish!”

“There’s no time, Galgi!” Cedric shouted back, fighting to break his grip and leap over the railing. “We’re done for if he sets that off!”

“Then, let me do it…” Galgi responded with calm resolve, pulling him back over the rail where he fell onto his back with a thud. As Cedric fell, his gaze panned over the fragmented wall, where he noticed movement behind one of the ballista bolts. Galgi, unaware of the movement, focused ahead.

“You’re the Heir, Cedric… you’re the one who needs to escape.”

Galgi pulled a knife from his belt, and as he leapt over the rail, threw it with a grunt.

“Galgi, no!” Cedric cried as he lunged over the railing toward his airborne friend.

The knife soared across the water and struck Suguille’s explosive package, knocking it from his hand onto the beach. The man scrambled to his knees, picking it up and frantically striking at it.

Just as a few sparks sprang from the object, a loud snapping sound echoed from the wall. Suguille looked up just in time to dive into the water, along with his five men.

The ballista bolt crashed into the beach with a blistering impact, flinging up a storm of sand and flames along the shoreline and into the water. Smoke billowed beyond the flames, rendering the result of the strike impossible to see—aside from the muffled sound of an explosion underneath the water’s surface.

Cedric’s legs were wrapped around the rail bars, the railing digging into his stomach as he held onto his friend’s forearm with one hand.

“Cedric!” Galgi cried, shocked at his desperate attempt to reel him in.

“Get up here, Captain,” Cedric answered calmly despite his strained voice and muscles. With a heave he pulled Galgi upward, until he was able to grab the railing and pull himself over.

The two landed on the balcony and doubled over, catching their breath while the smoke cleared just enough to bring the wall back into view.

“The person up there… could it be?” Galgi muttered through deep breaths.

“Uohhh!” a man’s deep voice shouted fiercely over the beach, his voice wavering. Cedric and Galgi both spotted his silhouette, fist raised toward the sky, as he teetered over and fell out of view.

“Commander Giro…” Galgi mumbled, a warm smile forming as he raised his fist in the sky. Cedric smirked as he did the same, and the two bellowed out.

“UOHHH!”

“UOOOOHHH!!!” the burly voice of Ralin rang out from behind them, even louder than the two of them combined.

They both turned to watch Ralin throw the last of the Red Wolves over the balcony and into the sea as he delivered his war cry.

“Sorry I’m late,” Ralin said through labored breathing, shooting them a precocious grin. “Looks like we won?”

Cedric and Galgi’s gazes shifted from the thrown man to Ralin. They then turned to each other with shocked expressions before breaking into hearty laughter.

“Yeah Ral, we won,” Galgi answered with a grin. “Now, let’s keep this ship moving and get Cedric away from these battlefields. Even if there’s no one left right now, it isn’t safe here.”