Okay, this is kind of an experimental fic....well, all my fics are experimental, but whatever.
Warnings-Yaoi (Kent/Sain) and some violence that some people may consider graphic. Oh, and angst. I have a thing for angst.

'' signifies thought, because I'm not sure if italics is working.

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Sain trotted along after Kent happily, appreciating the beauty of the day. They were in the middle of a battle, but it had been going well, the tactician expertly utilizing every tool she had to win the day.

"So, what are we supposed to find?" His cheerful voice broke the monotony of the horse's hooves as they rode through the thick vegetation.

"Weren't you listening?" Kent spoke up angrily. "The tactician told us there were two magic users out here that we had to take care of." Kent was far less positive than Sain was, being overly cautious and strictly adhering to the rules of war.

"Yeah, whatever." Sain responded airily. Eliwood had already defeated the commander of the forces they were currently fighting, and their task now was pretty much janitorial work. Sain made no attempt to locate the said magic users, nor did he bother trying to hide his presence in an attempt to lay an ambush. Of course, this was all to the annoyance of his companion, who turned to him irately.

"Sain, if you don't start taking this more seriously, you're going to get yourself"-

Kent was interrupted as a bolt of lightning hit a tree only a few feet in front of them, splitting it to the center with a thunderous crash. Sain's horse reared, and Kent heeled his own mount and darted forward, looking quickly for the mage with the bolting spell. Sain followed after regaining control of his steed, doing his best to keep up with his friend.

Kent reined his horse to a halt, taking in the scene before him. A red cloaked mage stood in the clearing, frantically turning the pages of his anima tome. The back of Kent's neck prickled; the tactician had said there'd be two magic users, where was the other one?

Sain, unperturbed by Kent's sudden unease, rode up and dispatched the enemy mage with his lance, slicing him cleanly. He looked around as Kent had done, pulling his lance from the mage's still form, and was the first to notice the cloaked druid standing in the shadows.

Sain was sure that the outnumbered druid would flee, but he was wrong. The cloaked figure, hard to distinguish from the trees that had disguised him, raised a staff in the air, and a strange reddish aura surrounded the tip. Sain didn't know what the staff was supposed to do, but didn't bother to find out, and ran the druid through with his lance.

"Well, that wasn't so hard," Sain commented, wiping the blood off on the grass. "You okay?" Sain turned to Kent, only to see his comrade looking at him very strangely. "Um, Kent?"

'Kill him!' The voice hissed in Kent's mind, and the enchanted paladin had no choice but to obey.

"Kent?" Sain backed up, confused, as Kent raised his lance, and a look that Sain had never seen before and never wanted to see again crossed his features. Kent smiled and stabbed toward Sain, missing him by a hairs breadth.

It didn't take long for Sain to figure out what had happened, and what that staff had been. 'Oh no...'

Kent grinned malevolently and his horse moved under him uneasily, unused to the change in its rider's demeanor. It was trained to obey, however, and did so, following its rider's commands to advance slowly on the retreating Sain.

Sain was at a loss. He knew his life was in very real danger, but he couldn't bring himself to raise arms against his best friend, the man he secretly-

The lance slammed into Sain's chest with a sickening thwack, the sound of tearing muscle and crunching bone audible in the clearing. Sain paled as blood flowed from him, and his own lance fell from nerveless fingers, vital connections severed. He coughed involuntarily, and his body convulsed as he did so, blood spurting from his mouth and staining his green armor. The world spun around him, and he felt himself fall, his body hitting the ground with a bone jarring thud. He didn't feel it as he should have, however, as he continued to feel himself fall, the blue sky and his horse standing over him seeming to recede farther and farther away.

'Finish him!' Kent, or what was Kent in form but not in spirit, raised his lance again, laughing as he prepared to finish off what remained of his companion.

The twang of a bowstring sounded faintly in his ears, and Kent grunted, dropping his lance as the arrow hit his shoulder. He looked up at the form of a red haired archer, who stared at him in horror, shakily holding his bow. Kent narrowed his eyes and wrenched the arrow from his arm, blood spattering the ground as he did so, and licked the blood from the tip before throwing it away. He hefted a javelin in place of his lance, and the voice sang in his ears, 'Kill the archer!'

Wil backed up a step and fumbled another arrow into his bow, trying to decide how he could incapacitate Kent without killing him. The paladin seemed not to notice what Wil did, however, and began to close the distance between them faster than Wil could move, the javelin raised for a killing blow. Wil shut his eyes tightly.

Kent paused before striking, becoming aware of a second presence. A woman on a horse...The voice railed in his mind, confused, before screaming 'Kill her first!'

The voice was too late. Priscilla raised the restore staff, and the voice vanished from Kent's mind, leaving him disoriented for a moment before coming back to himself.

"...Kent?" Wil's voice, hesitant and afraid. His bow remained trained on the paladin.

Kent ignored Wil, his mind suddenly bringing into memory what had occurred. 'Sain...'

Kent immediately looked toward the still form of his green clad companion. Sain lay motionless in a pool of blood, his tunic and armor stained with it. His face was deathly pale.

A black cloud seemed to form around Kent's psyche, and everything save for the prone form of his friend faded into obscurity. 'He's dead..' Kent could not keep what had occurred from playing over and over in his mind; how he had stabbed the man he secretly longed for, and enjoyed it! 'I killed him I killed him I killed him-'

Kent mechanically drew his sword, the last weapon he had available to him, and turned it so the blade faced his own heart. He closed his eyes, preparing to drive it into his chest.

"Hey!" Wil moved faster, running over and knocking the blade out of Kent's hand. "Holy shit, Kent, snap out of it!" He shook the paladin fiercely, his face white with shock over what he had seen take place.

Kent didn't notice the archer below his horse, looking over at Sain. Priscilla knelt next to the object of his focus, feeling his neck with her fingers. "He's alive." She stood and raised the mend staff, a blue glow enveloping her and Sain both. "Barely."

The black cloud lifted, and Kent felt his emotions returning with the feeling of hope. His mouth was dry, and he moved his horse toward Sain, but Priscilla was quicker, her face an unreadable healer's mask.

"He needs more medical attention than I can give him here. I'm taking him back to camp." With that said, she slung Sain's prone form over her horse, mounting it and setting off at a gallop toward their encampment. Sain's body flopped like a rag doll as Priscilla galloped away, blood marring his features.

"Kent?" Wil looked up at him questioningly, and then quickly stepped out of the way as Kent leaned over the side of his horse and was violently sick.

"Um..." The normally gregarious Wil didn't know how to address the obviously distraught paladin, so he simply said what needed to be said. "We need to get back too; I'll lead Sain's horse."

Kent spat into the dirt, then nodded. Part of him wanted to get back as soon as possible, while another part of him wanted to remain here, afraid of what he might find. If he had killed him......

"I'm sure he'll be okay." Wil piped up, as if reading Kent's thoughts. Kent desperately wanted it to be true, Wil's words echoing in his head. He had to be.

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Okay, if I get positive reviews I'll update. This is the second Sain/Kent fic I've done, 'cause I'm addicted to the pairing. The other one isn't here'cause it's a bit too...er, graphic to put here. So if you're into that, just ask for the link, I guess.