A/N: Hiya guys! Chapter 4's already here hehe, I'm thinking (for now) that I'll try and update this series once awake since the muses, and you guys, are really enjoying it! This chapter is very OC centric with the canon characters showing up at the end so I hope that's alright. But there is a...hint at something to come in this series at the end hehe! And it's something totally new 👀. I hope you all enjoy~!
———
Alistar's mind raced as he and his squad members flew towards the village of Aramore. It was a small village surrounded by woods that sat between the Common and Forsaken realms. Usually a small bandit case like this would be given to the closest squad, but since the bandits were former Magic Knights the Wizard King decided to send in his best squads; The Golden Dawn and The Black Bulls.
But the young man's mind was elsewhere. His mind was still back in the Golden Dawn base, more specifically in the Golden Dawn's graveyard, where his father had just dropped a bombshell:
" Consider this your first real mission as the newly appointed Captain of the Golden Dawn."
His first mission...as the newly appointed Captain of the Golden Dawn? Did, that mean his father was retiring? But why? His father was completely fine and was still one of the strongest mages in the Kingdom! So...why?
" V-Vice-Captain! W-We're here!" Ulla Lunettes, eldest daughter of Klaus Lunettes, shouted at him so she could be heard over the wind that whistled past their ears.
Alistar quickly snapped out of his thoughts. He nodded as the group landed just outside the village, the didn't want to accidentally surprise the villagers or be mistaken as the bandits. Alistar placed his broom against the tree before turning around to look at the Golden Dawn members that he decided to bring with him.
Firstly there was Ulla Lunettes. She was very similar to her mother in personality and had even inherited her mothers Letter Magic, she was very shy and had very little self-confidence, but she was a hard worker and very powerful despite what she tried to tell others.
Beside her was her younger sister Celeste. Celeste and her other siblings had just recently joined the Golden Dawn a few months ago so this was her first 'serious' mission. She had Paint magic but her personality was very similar to her father Klaus's. She was serious and could be stern, but she was truly soft hearted and kind. She was a hard worker and powerful like her family, which was why Alistar had decided to bring her along.
The next person to land was Virgil Sandler, Alecdora's eldest child and only son. He was also a rookie and had just joined the Golden Dawn as well. He had Mud Magic and his personality was...very similar to his father, he could be very judgemental and prideful, but he was also very loyal to Alistar and his father William. He was a capable warrior and Alistar felt that he would be very stupid to not include him on this mission.
Finally the last one to land was Lunaria Vermillion, the eldest daughter of Mimosa Vermillion's twin girls. She was also a rookie who had just joined the squad this year. Lunaria was a very sweet and kind person who never had a bad thing to say about anyone, unless she was talking about her twin, then you would hear her sass and say something under her breath. But her twin could throw it right back, it was their love language. She inherited her mother's Flora magic and was mainly a healer and support mage but did have a few attack spells as well.
Alistar nearly laughed as he looked at his small group, everyone was rookies except for him and Ulla.
" Lord Vangeance," Virgil said loudly as he saluted. Alistar nearly sighed, no matter how many times he had instructed Virgil to just call him by his name instead of his title Virgil just didn't seem to listen " Should we go inside the village now and begin questioning witnesses?" Alistar shook his head.
" Not yet. We need to wait for the Black Bulls to arrive." He told the young man who wore an annoyed expression when Celeste suddenly stepped forward.
" But sir, the Black Bulls tend to...hinder missions and investigations more then help them. So I think it would be better if we went ahead and began the investigation before they arrive." Celsete suggested seriously as Virgil nodded in agreement.
" Celsete, Virgil, while I appreciate your thoughts and opinions I've already decided we're waiting. And despite the rumors that the Black Bulls are the 'worst' squad who causes only chaos and destruction, that's far from being accurate." Alistar said seriously as he looked at the two. He watched the two's faces grow red and they bowed their heads in embarrassment. Alistar smiled gently at them, they were young and still learning.
They only had to wait a few minutes before they heard a whirring noise come from above. The group of five looked up and saw what appeared to be a ship in the shape of a young Bull head, and Alistar instantly knew it was the younger members of the Black Bulls.
The ship landed a few feet away and after a few minutes a small group of people walked out and came towards them. He instantly recognized Hikari leading her own small group an when she noticed him standing there she waved at him with a bright smile on her face.
" Hey Alistar! So your dad sent you out on this mission too, huh?" She asked as she stood in front of him, she then began to look around him. " And he gave you nothing but rookies I see." She added bluntly, Alistar smiled at her, knowing her words held no malice in them. But Virgil didn't seem to understand that as he became very offended.
" Hey these 'rookies' are a lot more powerful than you, a foreigner, and your little band of lab rats and kids of ex-convicts could ever dream of being." Virgil said angrily and in a cold tone, the Bulls immediately grew angry at the young man's words.
" What did you say you punk?" Aloys Adlai growled as he pulled out his grimoire and Virgil pulled his out as well.
" I mean, Virgil isn't wrong. We are more powerful then all, or most, of you. Being descendants of nobles already gives us a lot of mana, but we also get an extra boost because our parents were possessed by elves and were able to retain a small bit of those elves power." Celeste pointed out in a matter of fact tone.
" If that's the case," Ezio Roulacase, son of Finral Roulacase and Vanessa Enoteca, said in a slightly unsure voice. " Then Hikari and Aloys should both have an extra 'boost' of mana since their parents were also possessed and are from nobility."
Celeste's face immediately turned red and Virgil growled.
" And even with all of that you were still only accepted into the worst Magic Knight squad!" Virgil argued and Alice Legolant, daughter of Henry Legolant, suddenly pipped up.
" That's not true. Most of us joined the Black Bulls because they're our friends and family, and we feel more accepted there then anywhere else!" Alice defended strongly despite her tone being soft.
" And if we're all in the same place we can protect all our precious friends and family better!" Wendy Agrippa, daughter of Gordon Agrippa, said quietly as she crossed her arms.
" And you wanna call us lab rats, kids of ex-convicts, and foreigners when your Captain betrayed his squad and kingdom, is the bastard son of a nobleman, and his own kid loses control of his powers on whim!" Aloys threw back at them angrily and the two Golden Dawn members growled in anger.
" DON'T TALK ABOUT OUR CAPTAIN AND VICE-CAPTAIN THAT WAY!" The Golden Dawn members shouted angrily.
" THEN DON'T TALK ABOUT OUR VICE-CAPTAIN THAT WAY!" The Black Bulls shouted back.
The two groups all had their grimoires out and were about to fight when Hikari and Alistar both looked at each other apologetically before sighing.
" That is enough!" The two shouted and each of their squads.
The groups immediately froze, looked at each other for a moment, and then reluctantly put their grimoires away. They may not listen to each other, but they would certainly listen to their Vice-Captain's.
" Now, you all may not like each other, but you need to learn to at least be civil with one another in order to complete this mission successfully. If none of can do that then speak up now, grab your brooms, and go back to the base." Alistar told his squad seriously, they all looked at each other with a bit of shame in their eyes before they shook their heads and saluted him.
" We can do it sir!" They all said in unison, and Hikari looked over at her squad, who all were kneeling in front of her just as their parents did with Captain Yami.
" Did you hear that you brats? You gotta play nice with these Goodie Two Shoes just until this mission is over, if you can't do that, then Taxi Jr. can open a portal and take you back to the Hideout. And when you get there you get to explain to the Captain why you left and why you decided to let another squad take care of this." Hikari said seriously as she glared down at her squad mates, in that moment she looked and sounded identical to her father. Which was funny yet terrifying. " So, are you guys gonna at least try and place nice? Or do we need to go back to the Hideout?"
" N-No ma'am! We can get along with the Goodie Two Shoes!" They shouted in unison, causing Alistar to chuckle, Hikari to grin, and the Golden Dawn to glare.
After being scolded by their Vice-Captains the two groups walked towards the village to begin their mission.
—-
As the two groups walked through the small forest the eventually came upon the tiny village of Aramore. Despite it's small size it had quite a few homes in the center and spread ou through the area, in the center of town there was a small church with a tall steeple. It reminded Hikari of the one in Hage except larger and made of wood instead of stone.
The squads looked around as they noticed there wasn't a single soul in sight. They villagers were probably too scared to come out of their homes due to the bandits and their actions. Hikari and Alistar looked at each other for a moment before they nodded.
" We're splitting up. Each of you pair up into groups of two and start knocking on doors and asking any person you see for information. Got it?" Hikari asked as she looked at the squad members, The Black Bulls nodded and began to take off in separate directions as the Golden Dawn just stood there, awaiting their Vice-Captain's orders.
" You heard her. Go." Alistar told them and eventually they nodded and went their own way. Alistar sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking apologetically at his friend.
" I'm sorry about earlier, I'll properly scold them all when the mission is over." Alistar said softly as a apologetic smile appeared on his face. Hikari shook her head a bit before rubbing the back of it.
" I'm sorry about my brats too," She began to apologize. " They should've just let it go."
" They were protecting themselves, their Captain and Vice-Captain, and their families honor. So don't apologize" Alistar said quickly but Hikari shrugged.
" Too late, I already did,'' She told him with a grin before turning around and walking towards the church. " C'mon, let's see if the village leader's here." Alistar nodded before quickly following behind his friend.
The two walked up the small steps before Hikari pushed open the two wooden doors. They walked inside and noticed that the church appeared to be abandonded as well.
" Did they all leave? If so why did they call us out here?" Alistar muttered as he looked around the room, he wouldn't think that someone would call them out here just to waste their time and resources. Hikari walked into the center of the room, took a deep breath, and then spoke loudly and in a commanding tone.
" You can come out now old man! I know you're in here hiding behind the altar!" She said so loudly that it echoed throughout the church and caused Alistar to even jump. After a few minutes Alistar watched an older man pop his head out slowly from behind the altar and looked from Hikari to Alistar and back again.
" Are...you with the Magic Knigths?" The man asked hesitantly as he tried to look at their robes. After the two confirmed that they were indeed Magic Knights the older man sighed in relief and stood up and walked around the altar, down the small steps, and towards them.
" Oh thank goodness! For a while there I wasn't sure if the Magic Knights would ever show up!" The man said happily as he quickly grabbed both their hands and held them gently. " You'll help us with the bandits won't you?"
" Of course we will," Hikari said firmly and confidently as she squeezed his hand back gently. She could be rough like her father, but at times like this she could be as gentle as her mother. " but first you need to tell us everything you know."
" Right, right, of course. Firstly my name is Father Dareau and I'm the leader of this church and this village. Everything's been peaceful here for as long as I can remember, but then suddenly we started getting attacked by bandits."
" How long has this been going on?" Alistar asked with a frown and Dareau tilted his head in thought.
" At least six months, it started shortly after the new Wizard King was announced." Dareau said and Alistar and Hikari frowned.
There had been quite an exodus of Magic Knights after Asta had been announced as the Wizard King, mostly because nobles hadn't wanted to take orders from a manaless peasant despite him having saved the kingdom multiple times over. So maybe these bandits were Magic Knights were some of the ones who had left?
" When do they usually attack? Is there a pattern or is it mostly random?" Hikari asked and Dareau tilted his head.
" I'm not too sure, I think there's a pattern to it. They usually attack at night when everyones asleep, or are trying to sleep, and then they just break into any homes they first lay their eyes on. I also noticed that they really don't attack the church, but they'll attack the homes surrounding it." Dareau said after a moment of thought, Alistar couldn't help but snort and roll his eyes.
" Bandits with morales? How ironic." Alistar muttered under his breath before speaking loudly. " Do you happen to know how many there are? Or where they come from?"
" There's about a dozen or so I think? And they usually come from the woods, but not from the same direction." The older man explained and Alistar and Hikari looked at one another, it wasn't much, but it was a start.
After talking with Dareau a bit more the two walked out of the church. They instructed him to gather all the villagers into the church, since it seemed to be the safest place for them at the moment, and to convince them to let the Magic Knights stay in their homes and lie in wait for the bandits.
Alistar and Hikari saw the members of their squads waiting outside of the church for them.
" Got anything?" Hikari asked and her squad shook their heads.
" Nothing, the villagers are all terrified. A few of them even thought that I was a bandit!" Ezio said with a sheepish laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. " I may steal the hearts of beautiful maidens everywhere, but I don't steal their material property." He added with a bit of a smuggish grin, Aloys frowned.
" Isn't those 'maiden's hearts' also their property?" Aloys asked causing Ezio to blush and cross his arms at his friend.
" I was trying to sound romantic Aloys!"
" Did you guys find out anything?" Alistar asked his squad members, cutting off Aloys and Ezio's arguing. The Golden Dawn members all shook their heads.
" No sir, the villagers wouldn't talk to us either. Even when we knew they were inside." Lunaria said with a sheepish laugh as she scratched her cheek with her index finger. Suddenly, Ulla spoke up.
" U-Um...I found something." Ulla said sheepishly as she stepped forward, admittedly she didn't like having all their eyes on her, but when she saw Alistar's gentle and patient smile she couldn't help but become a little more confident.
" I...I was able to talk to one of the villagers. She said that they start their attack around midnight and that they only take stuff that they can carry, like Yul or smaller items like silver candlesticks. They also start out in the furthest parts of town before working their way in. They attack every three days and the last attack was exactly three days ago so...that's why the villagers are all so nervous, because they're going to attack again...tonight." Ulla said, her voice full of nervousness and hesitancy. Everyone stared at her with wide and surprise eyes, but Alistar just smiled.
" Good work Ulla, that's very helpful information." Alistar said warmly as he walked up to her and gently patted the top of her head. Ulla's face turned a bright red but a sheepish smile appeared on her face as well. Hikari watched them with a grin on her face.
" And you wonder why so many girls fall for you," She muttered with a chuckle and Alistar turned to look at her with a confused look on his face.
" What'd you mean?" He asked with a tilt of his head, he almost looked like a confused puppy. Hikari shook her head but didn't eleaborte further.
" Alright brats listen up," Hikari began in a commanding tone. " Alistar and I talked to the village leader. He said he's going to gather all the villagers up and bring them to the church, since the bandits don't attack the church, and that he'll convince a few of them to loan us their homes for the evening. Once all that's done we'll split up into teams of two and try to get as many of the bandits as possible, understand?" She asked and th Black Bulls nodded.
" Yes Vice-Captain!"
Alistar looked at his squad and gave them a look that said 'Do you all understand?' and they each reluctantly nodded before saluting him.
" Yes Vice-Captain!"
—---
Later That Evening
Alistar and Hikari waited patiently inside the small and dark room, their only light source being a single candle. Dareau had managed to do as he promised and secured them a few houses to use in order to bait the bandits. Alistar's mind was supposed to be focused on the task at hand but instead it kept wandering back to his fathers words.
" So, why did your dad send you here instead of coming himself?" Hikari asked quietly, Alistar was pulled out of his thoughts at her question.
" Why did your's?" He threw back at her quietly, Hikari shrugged and let out a dramatic sigh.
" He said he didn't feel like going and that he was tired, so he gave it to me and told me to gain some more experience and told me to bring Alice, Wendy, and Ezio along so they could gain some too. Aloys just volunteered so he could get away from his dad." Hikari answered bluntly, and Alistar chuckled. Captain Yami wasn't a dumb man, if he felt that this mission was too serious or too dangerous he would have come on it himself. So he must've believed that Hikari was strong enough to handle this mission on her own and with a group of rookies.
" Now back to you, why did your dad send you out on this mission?" She asked with a raised brow and Alistar couldn't help but smirk a bit.
" Maybe because he knew you would be on this mission and wanted to give me the opportunity to try and woo you without your fathers interference?" Alistar asked with a flirtatious tone to his voice. Hikari snorted and shoved his shoulder a bit.
" Don't dodge the question by trying to flirt with me, you know it doesn't work on me." Hikari said with a chuckle and a shake of her head. Alistar chuckled as well before he sighed dramatically and in a disappointed fashion.
" A man can only hope."
The two fell into a comfortable silence, just as they tended too. He remembered when he and Hikari's quiet moments were full of awkwardness and slightly tense conversations, but luckily after that event seven years ago the two had grown more comfortable around each other and the conversations flowed with ease and their silences had become comfortable. Alistar closed his eyes for a moment before another sigh escaped his lips.
" 'Consider this your first real mission as the newly appointed Captain of the Golden Dawn.'. That's what my father said after he gave me this mission, he then called me 'Captain Alistar Vangeance'." Alistar admitted softly, his eyes still closed. " I think...my dad's retiring."
Alistar opened his eyes and looked at his friend, her blue eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly agape in surprise. She blinked a few times before she shook her head to clear her thoughts.
" Your dad's retiring?! When did this come about, and why didn't my dad tell me?" She asked a little louder then she had intended. She quickly quieted herself down before giving Alistar a serious look. " Does anyone else know about this?"
" I don't think so, if I had to guess I think only the Captain's, the Wizard King, you and I know about this. I doubt any of the Golden Dawn knows, otherwise I'm sure there would've been a big stink about it." Alistar muttered, and he watched as Hikari's eyes softened.
" Between that comment and your Ki I can tell how your feeling about all of this." Hikari muttered as a soft and tender smile appeared on her face. Alistar smirked at her before he moved closer to her and turned to face her.
" And what is my Ki telling you?" He asked curiously.
" That you're scared and worried, that you think there's more to your fathers retirement then just him 'getting old'," Hikari started softly. " You're scared that your father's making a mistake by giving his squad over to you. You're worried that the other's will feel the same and so they'll argue against your appointment as Captain, and you're scared of losing control again."
Alistar wasn't sure why he was feeling so bold at the moment. Maybe it was the way the soft glow from the candle illuminated her beautiful face, or the way her rose scented perfume seemed to mesmerize him, or maybe it was simply the way she seemed to understand him and his feelings better then anyone. But right now, at this moment, he wanted to confess his feelings and kiss her.
But before he could dwell on his thoughts Hikari suddenly snapped her head to the right, and Alistar did the same.
The Bandits were there.
—---
Back in the Capital
Yami walked quietly, but hurriedly, through the Magic Knight Headquarters halls. He already hadn't been able to sleep due to his nerves about the mission he sent his daughter and the rookies on. But after he got a concerning call from Marx, telling him he was urgently needed at Headquarters, he was more awake then ever. His mind began to race, fearing the worst had happened to the brats. When he walked into the Captain's meeting room and saw the same expression on William's face that he knew the slightly younger man felt the same as him:
Terrified. Terrified that they had sent their kids and a bunch of rookies out on a dangerous mission that either seriously injured them, or worse, killed them.
" Thank you all for coming so late," Asta said between a loud yawn. Apparently Marx had woken him up as well. " I told Marx we could just leave it until morning but he said it was urgent."
" It is urgent Asta," Marx said with a sigh. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Magical Device. He set it down in the center of the meeting room table and hit the side of it, after a moment of static a pair of face's appeared before them.
Hikari and Alistar's to be exact.
Yami and William both sighed in relief as they kids looked unharmed, and in the background stood their other kids, who all were unscathed as well. In between the group of kids, on their knee's, were the former Magic Knights turned bandits. All tied up and looking a little worse for wear.
" Hey Papa! See? I told you I could handle this!" Hikari boasted cheerfully as Alistar turned to smile at her for a moment before looking at his own father.
" The mission was a success, so, I don't think you'll have to worry about things anymore, father." Alistar told him confidently, and William smiled knowingly.
" So you decided to give Goldie Guts and I a heart attack in the middle of the night to tell us our kids mission was a success?" Yami asked Marx, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. Marx rolled his eyes a bit before shaking his head.
" Of course not! I'm a father myself to a pair of Magic Knights so I know good and well how worried you must've been when I called you!" Marx said with annoyance in his voice as well. He quickly regained his composure, cleared his throat, and looked from Yami to Hikari.
" Show them what you all found." He instructed, and Hikari nodded.
She pulled out a long dark cloak from behind her. It was similar to the ones that the Magic Knight squads wore, except different colors. It was dark, had a grey trim around the edges, but what really stuck out to them was the emblem.
It was of a Three headed dog, or more commonly known as Cerberus. The Captain's all looked at each other for a moment with confused yet concerned looks on their faces.
" What the hell is that?" Yami asked as he looked from the emblem to Marx, who only shook his head.
" That's the problem; we don't know."