This is a short Jade Empire fanfic I wrote recently. Enjoy! (:
Female!PC/Sagacious Zu
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I couldn’t believe what I knew to be true.
I couldn’t believe it…
He couldn’t be gone.
The sound of Sky’s urgent shouting dragged me back to the present.
Right. The Fortress was collapsing, we had to get out.
But my legs wouldn’t move. What was the point anymore?
He wouldn’t have wanted me to give up. He sacrificed himself so that I could live.
That was all the motivation I needed. I took Sky’s hand and we ran like there was no tomorrow.
If I don’t run, there won’t be a tomorrow.
We sped up the stairs and into the cave. Rocks crashed down around us.
There it was, I could see it. The way out.
Sky pulled me back as the light disappeared; blocked out by the very thing we were running from. I froze, thinking about how many times I’d narrowly escaped death on various occasions. If it weren’t for my friends I’d be…
He lifted me up into his arms and ran back the way we had come. He made a sharp turn and sprinted through the tunnel; not knowing if it would lead to safety or death.
After the initial shock faded, I slipped down onto my feet and ran with him. Otherwise I’d only slow him down. We race through the tunnel and came to a three-way split in our path. Sky started towards the left cave, but my hand shot out and grabbed his arm, almost of its own volition. He turned back and gave me a quizzical look. Somehow, I knew which way to go. It felt as if… no. It must’ve been instinct. I pulled him along behind me and entered the cave on the right.
All I could hear was the sound of my own racing heart.
There it was again… the light; our only hope to escape the darkness. We launched forward and dove through just before the doorway caved-in; just like everything else.
We had made it. We had escaped.
But it wasn’t over yet. Even though I was ready to collapse, I managed to focus enough to see The Watcher approaching us, followed closely by three Lotus Assassins. I barely even heard what he said, but before I knew it, they had attacked.
I slashed at them with my sword, but my heart just wasn’t in it this time. My strikes were clumsy and I was too exhausted to even make an attempt at a counterattack. I fell back, my sword sliding from my fingers. The Watcher’s ominous red mask filled my view and he cut me, over and over again. I could tell he was enjoying it. I didn’t need to see his face to know that he was smiling behind that mask. He would make me suffer before I died.
Zu’s face flashed in my mind briefly, giving me the strength I needed for one final blow. I picked up my sword and brought it up into a deadly overhead strike, severing The Watcher’s head right from his body. I kicked the now lifeless corpse down the short flight of steps and collapsed to my knees, allowing my sword to clang loudly to the floor.
I stared at my hands, covered in blood and my thoughts drifted to Zu.
Those final moments before he died played over and over in my head.
I kept thinking there was something I could have done, when in truth, it was beyond my control.
Then, it hit me. Now that I had time to think, I realised that Zu was dead.
Dead.
That means gone forever.
Out of my reach.
That was when I broke down and finally let the tears flow freely down my cheeks.
Suddenly, I felt ill.
I think at some point I heard Sky comfort me. But it was all a blur.
It was then that I uttered those four words I had been waiting to say, but had taken too long…
I love you, Zu.