Two Days

A true hero is measured by what they are in the dark.

D.L. Moody.

Official textbook of the nation of Vern, detailing the Vernian/Primid war of 1920-25.

Causes: The arms race of the 1880's culminated in the skirmishes along the Primid/Bulgar border, leading to the defeat of the Bulgarian forces and the subsequent occupation of their nation. Ten years of oppression followed, before the nation of Vern, under the command of King Long-hand, sent a Special Forces group consisting of the survivors of the celebrated Smash Regiment.
None survived. This was taken as a hostile act of war by the Primids, and they launched a full-scale invasion of Vern.

Consequences: Multiple resistance cells were set up in the nation of Vern, three inside the capital, Mir City, alone. Two of these were led by our national heroes, Isaac Mir – the present king of Vern – and the former duchess Lyndis Caelin. The name of the third and final cell leader is lost, and the third cell accomplished nothing in the war anyway.

That was about all Isaac could take. He slammed the book shut with disgust. His son, Lloyd, looked up in surprise.

"…dad? What's wrong with the textbook?"

His adjutant was equally surprised. "My lord, is it not satisfactory enough for you – maybe I should call the minister of education and ask him to change something?"
"It's fine." Isaac said harshly, standing up. "Authorize it. Excuse me, I need to be alone for a while."
He stormed off into his chambers, clumping along on a walking stick as he went, and looked over the walls of the rebuilt Mir city.

And he remembered.

1921. Mir City, Vern.

Saki Amamiya breathed a sigh of relief as the next patrol passed by him. Missed me…again… He slinked back out onto the streets, glancing around. Everywhere, the green-uniformed soldiers of the Primid army were waiting. He slinked out into the open, making sure not to look down.

Look confident. Like you're meant to be here. Do not act suspicious. Do not look like you're not trying to draw attention, but do not try to draw attention.

He sighed and walked carefully past them, making sure his dagger was concealed. Dammit, Isaac, why couldn't I use my sword? He cursed his friend mentally. Then again, it would stand out and they'd be on me in seconds…

But then he was safe, inside, where he was safe, and away from their eyes – and the threat of discovery and torture, and death. He sighed and took his hand off the hilt of the dagger.

"Lyn? Hey, Lyn, are you in here?"
"I'm coming, hold on." An irate voice sounded from upstairs. Saki sighed and hung his cloak up over a chair, settling down on it.

"I'm not getting any younger, and neither are you." He called again. Lyn came storming down, fuming.

"…watch your mouth, commoner…"
Saki snorted. "Commoner? We have social classes now? I thought we lost those with everything else after the occupation."
Lyn threw a shoe at his head. "Shut up, Saki. What's the report?"
Saki sighed. "Isaac's sent me to inform you that your cell is compromised. Hell, every cell is. Something's come up and we need to move."
The blood drained from Lyn's face. "Wha-what?"
"We've got a mission – problem is, getting it cost us our secrecy. You need to evac and change location now. My orders are to make sure your cell links up with mine and Isaac's outside the city, at which point we make a break for the Vulshock clearing as per usual. Am I clear?"
"Yes. But…I need to inform…"
"There's no need. I've sent my own cell to inform the rest of yours. We need to move, now." Saki muttered, glancing out the blinds.

A trio of green-clad soldiers bearing rifles was rapidly approaching the house. Saki blanched.

They were being led by the second-in-command of Lyn's resistance cell. Saki drew his revolver and motioned to the back door.

"We need to leave. Now!"
Lyn paused just to grab a sword and her own rifle, nodding quickly. "Right. Let's go then."
She snapped a round into the breech and disarmed the safety, and the two rushed off to the back door. They made it halfway through her garden when the first bullet slammed into the earth next to them. Saki snapped around and unloaded his revolver through a window, grunting with satisfaction as the gunman fell to the ground. Then the two of them were through the gate and running for their lives

Each cell consists of twenty rebels, armed with standard-patter one-shot rifles, occasionally the five-year-old Snider model but more likely the newer Martini-Henry. They each carried a revolver of some form, along with either a dagger or sword, as did the regular line troopers

Saki sighed in relief as he counted the heads. All twenty of Lyn's cell was here – so was all of his. He leaned back against a tree and mopped his brow with a handkerchief, and offered it to a winded Lyn. To his surprise, she accepted it without complaint before handing it back.

"…you said…my cell was compromised?"
"All of them were – our weapons supplier sold us out for money." Saki growled, spitting on the floor. Lyn shook her head in disgust.

"Commoner."

"And proud of it." Saki shot back, getting up. "Alright, ladies, let's move out – the rendezvous for Isaac isn't for another three hours rough travel."
That got far too many groans from the various cell members. Lyn put a hand on her sword hilt.

The moans stopped rapidly. Saki raised an eyebrow as the cell members started marching in record time.

"…useful trick."
"I do have some." Lyn admitted with a smile.

Three hours later

Saki glanced around at the assembled leaders of the Mir City resistance cells. Isaac was as formal as ever, that stupidly large broadsword strapped to his back as per usual. Lyn had somehow managed to regain her dignity, with only a bandaged arm to show their earlier escape, that damn katana of hers on her belt and a rifle leaning against a tree. Saki sighed and leaned back against another one, his rapier on his lap and pistol within easy reach.

"…what's the news, Isaac?" He asked casually, glancing at the entirety of the three cells patrolling the glade. There were sixty men and women in all, complete with combat training and more expertise than the majority of the Primids, not bad for a bunch of civilians.

"Grandbell Fortress is falling." Isaac muttered softly, not pulling any punches. Saki blinked in disbelief, while Lyn moaned softly.

"Impossible. Grandbell is impenetrable – literally! There's another fort inside it, for crying out loud, and it's on a HUGE HILL in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get any artillery near enough to blow down the doors, and the standing garrison must be at least one thousand men strong!" Saki protested desperately. Isaac sighed.

"I know…but there's so many of them. The Primids are going to overwhelm them with numbers…or at least we thought so. They pulled back."
Saki's face creased into a puzzled frown. "…why on earth would they do that?"
Isaac placed a worn-out parchment in front of them. "THIS is why."
Saki glanced at it. "…sorry, I can't read well. Looks like a giant cannon, though." He offered sheepishly. Lyn glared at him.

"…simpleton. I'll read it." She snatched the parchment away from him, and gazed at the statistics.

"…range…one thousand meters horizontal at 90 degrees, extension of up to 179 degrees… …rate of fire…one shell every five seconds…explosive force…"
The blood drained from her face.

"Just one of these could break through the outer wall in less than a day!"
"Exactly" Isaac said calmly. "This is why we are going to find them and destroy them before they can reach Grandbell."
Saki sighed. "Oh, yeah? And how many of these things are there?"
"Actually, just two – and these are the only blueprints – they forced Doctor Wright to design them." Isaac said calmly. "And now that he's back on our side, if we destroy these…'superguns'…"
"Then they can't make any more…and we can hold Grandbell indefinitely…" Saki murmured, realization hitting him

"…and we can finally launch a counterattack after they've been driven back by winter!" Lyn finished, amazed. "We actually have a chance of getting Vern back!"
Saki grinned in amazement. "I'll be damned. We've got a plan, for once in our lives! We can actually win this war!"
Isaac allowed himself a smile. "Yes we can. Now…who wants to hear more about the plan?"

The standard Primid infantryman had a green coat and carried Snider-pattern rifles or pole arms, along with a revolver – often built into the pole arm, called the Gun-Pikes. These Gun-Pikes were highly inaccurate, and most likely the Primids just ignored the gun function altogether.

"…I hate this plan." Saki said bluntly for maybe the tenth time since he got partnered up. Lyn glared at him.

"Will you stop talking? It's not my fault our cells got assigned the same gun!" She hissed dangerously. Saki growled and glared down the sights of his Martini-Henry, getting one of the guards lined up.
"Dammit all, I can't get a good angle!" He groaned, shifting again. It was then he saw the signal to aim before opening fire…but he couldn't get his target. The supergun was in the way – in retrospect, it was pretty damn big. Approximately fifty meters long, and the shells were maybe three – enough power in one of those to knock a hole in a wall, and that's WITHOUT the inevitable explosives packed inside it. No wonder there were only two of these things…for one thing, they'd only really need one, and for another, the amount of resources that thing must take must be STUPIDLY high.

But then the open fire signal came through, and Saki cursed. In one rapid movement, Lyn flicked off the safety and slammed a shot into their assigned guard – she always was one of the best shots the resistance had ever seen. The Primid column descended into chaos as their signaler, Gray, let off the command for Fire at Will and the road became a death trap, the smoke of forty Martini-Henry .45 caliber rifles rising from the forest at either side. Saki threw his own rifle over his shoulder and drew his .32 caliber Colt, creeping down closer to the actual gun. At that very moment, a Primid soldier who was playing dead leapt up and thrust with their traditional polearm. Saki kicked it away and fired point-blank into his head, causing the green-jacketed soldier to collapse in a bloody heap. He pulled out a handful of sticks of explosive and started rigging it, multiple other members of his cell joining him.

At that instant, the 'crack' of the Martini-Henry was suddenly accompanied by the higher-pitched 'Sha-snick' of snider rifles. Saki paled and turned to the forest, where Lyn's cell fled in terror as Primid troops rapidly approached them.

Green jackets with Red pauldrons. The infamous sharpshooters…at least fifty of them on either side. Saki glanced around desperately, diving behind one of the supergun's wheels – which were easily the size of a small horse, with spokes as thick as his thigh. Lyn joined him, reloading desperately.

"There's far too many of them!" She shouted, ramming the breech shut. "I'm going to hold them off and set it going boom, okay?"
Saki nodded slowly, touching her shoulder. "Take care of yourself, princess." He said softly, actual care flooding his voice as he realized he would most likely never see his most frequent ally ever again.
Lyn smirked and touched his cheek, before slowly kissing him. "…it would have been interesting, Saki."
"Fascinating, Lyn. Now go do your job." Saki muttered quietly, a sad smile on his face.
Saki clambered out of cover, gunning down two Sharpshooters and waving his sword.
"FALL BACK! ALL MEMBERS OF THE RESISTANCE RETREAT!"
The surviving thirty of the original sixty-man group scattered down the road, firing behind them in order to ward the sharpshooters off. But they were only interested in the supergun.

After three minutes of walking, Saki heard the distinctive crack of a Martini-Henry, followed by a roar of flame ripping up into the sky. A smaller segment of pale blue smoke drifted from the forest nearby – the obvious signs of Martini-Henri discharge. Saki smiled sadly, and shook his head.

You draw their fire, hide in the bushes, and then SHOOT the explosives we had near the ammo pannier…you magnificent girl, Lyndis Caelin. Here's to hoping you don't get shot, Lyn…or caught.

Lyn sprinted through the forest, panting. A small group of sharpshooters had somehow survived the explosion, and were chasing her through the woods.

She managed to get all of three meters from the end of the woods and out into Isaac's men before a silenced bullet ripped through her leg and another creased her skull. She dropped to the ground, unconscious, weeping subconsciously. The trio of surviving sharpshooters dragged her off.

Fuhrer Tabuu wanted any Cell leaders alive.

Isaac smiled grimly as his men continued to smash the hell out of the captured supergun. He glanced up at the bugle sounded by his watchmen, and his smile grew wider and more sincere at the sight of Saki and his troops.

"Successful mission, I hope?"
"Gun went boom, but we lost Lyn and suffered 50% casualties. Sharpshooters laid an ambush on an ambush – pretty smart, for Primids." Saki growled. Isaac's face fell.

"Ah. I see. Well, we had a zero casualty rate and a perfect record!" He said in a vain effort to cheer up his comrade.
Saki grunted. "…good for you. If you don't mind me, my men will be resting."

Martini-Henry's and Sniders fired .45 rounds, but Sniders had a shorter barrel and more prominent grooves, making them less accurate at short ranges, but more so at long ranges due to the lower amount of airspeed knocking the bullet off course . They were also more prone to overheating, so only the Primid Sharpshooters were assigned with Sniders as opposed to the gun-pikes.

One day later – August 3, 1921 (7 AM)

Isaac pointed at a chart set out between himself and Saki. "Here we are…and there's Grandbell – at least one day's march for regular troops, maybe three hours rough travel for us."
Saki nodded, deep in thought. "What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to take your cell, while I take mine and what's left of Lyn's to this location here." Isaac tapped a small set of ruins maybe three miles to the south of where they were right now. "I'm meeting up with the leaders of a hundred assorted other cells."

Saki whistled softly. "Nice. And who's going to be the leader of this little army of around two thousand men?"

Isaac stared at him bluntly. Saki smirked.

"You, huh? Well…when I get to Grandbell, I'll tell them that the world's greatest rebel's bringing an army to save our asses, right?" He joked. Isaac laughed and pulled himself up, offering a hand to Saki. Saki took it, wrapping his hand around Isaac's wrist and hauling himself upwards.

"You do that." Isaac smirked. "So, you get there, tell them I'm coming, and then help in the defense."
"Got it." Saki grinned. "After all, it's not like the outer wall's been taken yet, is it?"

On August 3, 1921, at around 10 am, the Vern army occupying Grandbell abandoned its outer walls and retreated to the inner fortress out of fear of the approaching super-guns – not knowing that they had been destroyed, and Isaac was likely marching with a relief force at that instant.

Saki Amamiya stood, annoyed, in front of his troops. They were half-way there, and judging from the sun, it was around 8:30.

"Come on, guys, we've got no time for a break" He hissed, kicking one of them into action. The annoyed rebel in question smoothed his mustache.

"Even for me?" He asked in a thick Italian accent. Saki sighed.

"Even for you, Waluigi. Now let's keep moving – the sooner we're in Grandbell, the safer I'll feel."

"Amen to that." The passing cell marksman, Goroh, muttered. Saki smirked and nodded towards the forest.

"Let's keep moving. We should make it before the Primid reinforcements.

To cover the retreat inside the inner fortress, the Vern military led a brief sally as a diversion to allow the civilians to enter the streets from the dungeons without fearing the bombardment of mortars.

"I am Colonel Gray!" A proud, aristocratic man perched atop a stallion cried out. "We shall give these Primids hell, and then retreat further within the fortress! GRANDBELL SHALL NEVER FALL!"
There was general cheering from the Vern lines at that point. Gray beamed and pointed his over-decorated sword out the gates.
"Fear not, my brothers, for I shall lead this sally myself! We shall not fail!"
The gates were flung open and, Colonel Gray at the lead, a full one thousand fully-armed Vern soldiers hurled themselves out the gates and at the surprised Primid regulars. Gray raised his sabre and slashed down.

"FIRE!"

A thundering volley burst out of the lines, slaughtering the first group of Primids. The return fire was, as was to be expected, minimal and innacurate. The Vern troopers got one more volley off, before Gray swung his sabre in a circle.
"FIX BAYONETS!"

The troopers finished reloading and slotted the bayonets over the muzzle. Gray pointed forwards.

"CHARGE!"

With a great roar, the blue-suited Vern infantry hurtled themselves at the Primid 'line' – if it could still be called that, after sustaining two volleys and the threat of a third. However, the Vern troops were outnumbered five-to-one, and soon the numbers took their toll as the Primids adopted their usual strategy – form a ring around the enemy, trapping them with the gun-pikes, and force them closer and closer together until even the notoriously inaccurate gun function would be guaranteed to hit something important.

Colonel Gray started panicking – he'd never been in a real combat before, not against trained troopers.

'It's not meant to be like this! It's meant to be easy! A pair of volleys and a charge, and the battle's done! They flee! We would have been heroes! We should have been heroes!"

It was at that instant, that a great cry arose from the forest behind the cowardly Colonel.

"VERN LIVES!"
Like a madman, Saki led his fifteen remaining cell members in a wild charge that took the Primids completely by surprise. A young Ensign saw an opportunity, and managed to get the regiment – now at 50% strength – to break out and flee towards the gates. Saki and his men joined up with them, fighting a rearguard action at every pace while the regiment fled. The Primids reorganized themselves and marched steadily onwards towards them, pikes raised.

Colonel Gray was one of the last of his regiment in. In his panic, he looked back and saw the hordes of green coming on, and their proximity to Saki and his cell.

He threw the lever to shut the portcullis himself. Saki turned around at that precise moment, screaming out loud.

"NO!"
Colonel Gray, whimpering in terror, turned away – only to see his regiment staring at him in disgust.

"What?" He asked, straightening, his bluster coming back full force. "They were only mere peasants! Now retreat into the main fort! NOW!"

The regiment complied out of fear for the man. The young ensign glanced back once, seeing Saki wave his rapier around and rally his cell as the Primids marched on.

Full of regret, he slowly turned and walked away from the doomed men. They were probably only going to break down now, weren't they.

Saki, surprisingly, felt no fear. Neither did his cell.
He cleared his throat and raised his sword. "MEMBERS OF THE THIRD RESISTANCE CELL OF MIR CITY! IF WE'RE GOING TO DIE, WE'RE TAKING AS MANY OF THEM WITH US! NOT BECAUSE WE WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY, NOT BECAUSE WE MIGHT SURVIVE – BUT BECAUSE VERN LIVES!"

The cell roared in agreement, and shots rang out at the approaching Primids. Saki stared at the sky for one brief second, the clouds seeming to shape Lyn's face.

"As I said…it would have been fascinating, Duchess Caelin." He muttered sadly, before joining his men.

Alone. You are never alone, and yet you are always alone. But when you are alone…you find out who you really are

- Unknown Author

FIN

Epilogue

Saki Amamiya lasted seventeen minutes from the time the gates closed. Together with the survivors of his cell, he accounted for one-hundred and nine enemy casualties before he succumbed to one of his many wounds. No one witnessed his heroism – even the lone ensign, who only had time to see the complete lack of fear and acceptance in his eyes. He was twenty-one years old. No other member of his family lived through the war.

Isaac led a relief effort against the beleaguered fortress. Thanks to him and his troops, three thousand men lived. Afterward, he led a counterattack that eventually led all the way to the Primid capital. For years afterwards, he was hailed as the hero of the Vernian/Primid war. Never a day went by when he did not remember Saki's sacrifice, or the sight of his broken body outside the gates of a fortress he relieved just ten minutes too late to save him. In fact, it was seeing his second-in-command, Roy – leader of another cell – in a similar position while the two were fighting Fuhrer Tabuu that encouraged him to fight harder, even with a stab wound through the right leg that never healed.

Lyndis Sacae lived through her captivity, and was eventually rescued by Isaac during his counterattack against the Primids. She never forgot Saki's bravery, and never loved anyone else afterwards. She instead worked on bringing down the class barriers that had forced her to not make any moves before the day she was captured, and eventually succeeded, with all slaves found and freed, and all civilians gaining access to basic education rights.

Colonel Gray forbade any member of his regiment to report Saki's involvement in their successful return to the fortress, on pain of death. He was later executed for cowardice when he tried to pull back his men from the line in the final battle against the Fuhrer's personal regiment. If it were not for a specific young ensign known as Ensign Marth, the regiment would have folded and the battle lost. When he was to be knighted, he told Isaac in private of what he saw that day. Isaac thus learned the truth of his friend's death, and made Marth his general.

The nation of Vern hailed Isaac, Lyndis and Marth as the true heroes of the war, while Saki's bravery went unrecorded in history. Somehow, Isaac thought it was better that way.

Post-Script

Isaac looked at the end of the textbook, reserved for character summaries and shaking his head in amusement.

Isaac Mir –King of Vern. Married with children. A perfect command record. Alive.

Lyndis Caelin – Duchess of Caelin, celibate. Spent half the war captured, but once freed, was given a command and eventually led the capture of the Primid Capital. Alive.

Marth Lowell – Ensign, later General. Assumed command of a regiment on the field during the final battle. Single, but has far too many fangirls for his liking. Alive.

Colonel Gray – executed for cowardice.

There was a blank space at the end. For some reason, Isaac picked up a pen and started writing in it.

Saki Amamiya – allowed the escape of future-general and hero Marth Lowell, and responsible for the entirety of Lyn's cell making it out of Mir City alive. Also aided in the destruction of the Primid super-guns. Deceased

Even that just made him feel a little better about what happened – even if the public would never know.

A/N: Would appreciate it if someone told me whether or not the plot is worth expanding into a full series – the first year, the final battle, Lyn's rescue, etc. Written for Souldin's assist trophy competition.