Aroughs was most definitely a seafaring town, built with two tiers of impressive walls that surrounded it's levels, outward side revealing five gates into the city, three of which sat atop canals.

As soon as it's people had spotted the approaching contingent, they had shut their gates and put bowmen at their parapets. But little did they know how quickly their defenses would be torn through with the looks of the skeletons.

None were as furious as Geno, the bloody glitch standing on his Blaster and peering at the city in disgust and unbridled rage. The rest had given him a wide berth because of it.

It was nearing afternoon when they arrived at the gates, just out of reach of the arrows. The soldiers preparing to siege began to set up the catapults and ballistae, their commander, Brigman, communicating with Cross, Sci, Alter and Red about how they would attack the formidable fortress of Aroughs as others studied the walls.

Scouts began their looping paths from the camp to the edge of the safe zone between the city and their allies, reporting back anything of note as the rest set out to plan their attack.

Geno had been glaring at the walls with frightful rage for an hour or so before returning to the makeshift command tent, to which Cross was preparing to leave.

"Where are you going?" The bloody glitch questioned the monochrome. Cross blinked at him before flicking his hood over his face, reaching for his dual sword belts.
"I'm the only one here with any experience in spellwork, so I'm checking their gates at the next patrol."
"Damnit, I knew she should've sent a magician." Geno swore lightly, eyelight still blazing somewhat.

"In the end, anyone she could send is likely not going to be as capable as any of us." Cross explained evenly, peering through the tent flap as a messenger approached with the latest news.

After a few moments of grumbling, Geno agreed. "That's fair.. watch out for their magicians."
"I think we can handle that." Cross smirked slightly as XChara flickered briefly into view beside him.
"Right." Geno nodded distractedly.

Cross's stern expression softened then.
"We'll get him out of there."
Geno scrunched up his face while studying the dirt floor before sighing. "I know. I know. I just can't help but.."
The monochrome rested one hand on Geno's shoulder. "Stop beating yourself up about it. You didn't know. Got it?"

They shared a long look before Geno gave in. "Right." He pushed the hand away then, turning to the table set up with their current schematics and plans for the city. "Go. Maybe have X scout inside the perimeter if you can."
"Not a bad idea." Cross noted as XChara appeared long enough to nod approvingly.

He left the tent then, jogging away to the nearest patrol setting out for the border between opposing forces. Geno turned to the table, raising his voice.
"What are we currently planning?" He strode over, glancing at the pile of parchment before him.

"Well we still can't read their runes for shit." Red explained in slight frustration.
"And they can't read ours either. That's why we talk. So talk to me."

He noted Alter's weary smile at that while a hint of respect gleamed in Brigman's eyes, the man's broad shoulders dropping somewhat as he pointed at one schematic.
"The city's prepared for a long siege, that much we've made out so far. We don't have the men to outwait or even defeat their forces should they attack, so you skeletons better have some neat tricks up your sleeves."

"Oh, we have more than enough-" "Red." Alter gently chastised. Brigman nodded brusquely before continuing. "We had an informant inside, but since communication has stopped we believe he was likely caught. As far as we know, Galbatorix has garrisoned nearly twice as many soldiers as ourselves atop their usual contingent. We were lucky to have arrived so soon, or we'd be looking at far more troops. As it is, the odds are already next to impossible."

"If you only had humans in your number, it certainly would be ridiculous." Sci muttered. "You don't have a single spellcaster."
"We have what we have, Nasuada seems to have deemed this fit for a successful invasion. Now will you tell me how this many untried skeletons are supposed to match the power of a dragon?" Brigman spoke with no small amount of exasperation.

"Well in my experience, we were all just as successful as Eragon in the Burning Plains, if not more so in some cases."
"You had Reaper helping you." Red growled.
"For only part." Geno defended coldly. "I'm not looking to undermine your capabilities."

He returned to Brigman, also regarding Sci. "What about the gates? How approachable do they appear?"
"They're made of solid iron and oak." Alter answered instead, pointing a phalange towards the northernmost gate on the map, tapping it twice. "Our current plan is to strike at this one." He sighed faintly.

Sci joined in, looking a good deal less apprehensive about the subject than the queen. "The gates should fall with a good shot with a Blaster, though the speed would rely on how warded they are. That's what Cross wanted to check. That and enemy magicians."

"Alright, that makes sense. He also might be able to scout within the walls with X's help."
"Wait, really?" Sci asked as everyone straightened.
"How is that possible? Who is this X?" Brigman all but demanded.

"The human ghost Cross is permanently tied to. I didn't know they ever cooperated." Sci explained quickly.
"Of course they cooperate, they've been stuck together for what, twenty years?" Geno hesitated. "Either way, that's more than long enough to get them to stop fighting each other."

"Even after the X-Event?" Sci asked, surprised at Geno's familiarity with the subject.
"Even after that. It wasn't really either of their fault's, it was something XGaster and Ink created."
"Yeah, fuck Ink." Red growled.

"He can't have done that intentionally." Alter suggested in concern.
"Oh no, he intended every bit of it. He's a Soulless bastard." Red shot a look over before Geno spoke up.
"Not to mention the fact that he's the reason any of us are in Alagaësia in the first place."

Alter hesitated, clearly not expecting that but not willing to argue with obvious truths.
"I do not appreciate that fact." He noted somewhat shakily.
"You don't have to." Sci muttered, still studying the map.

He abruptly changed the topic before Brigman could inquire about anything, pointing to the eastward land gate decisively.
"We should split up, attack both gates. We have enough to spare between the two and it would divide their forces. They should scatter before the Wyrdaí Islingrya due to our abilities. It would confuse their ranks to be attacked from above as well as all sides, right?"

Red leaned over as Brigman objected. "We don't have nearly enough soldiers to divide our forces! Are you mad?"
Then Red shook his skull. "No, that sounds like a game plan. Yer underestimating what we can do."

Geno nodded. "We have what it takes to defend a good portion of your troops and level theirs. Given the tight quarters in the streets, it should give us an advantage. We can throw dozens into the walls, conserve more energy that way."

Red slammed his fists into the table with a dark grin even as Alter cringed.
"Finally, somethin' other than those flat plain bullshit."
"Yes, it should make you feel better knowing it's like killing a dozen Charas at once." Geno stated drily.

Now the former queen blinked as Red's grin widened. "I hadn't even thought a' that."
"Does it help?"
"Definitely."
"Good. Don't let it get to your skull. You'll get yourself killed."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
"You make it sound like we're attacking today." Sci noted awkwardly.

"That's prepostero-" Brigman cut short at the vivid red-blue light flaring from Geno's good socket, his glitch vanishing.
"I'm not having After sit in that place for another second if I can help it, understand?" He stated in a low voice, his thoughts ramming into all of their minds, even as the human instinctively resisted.

Brigman was now standing straight, stiff as a board while the others watched him closely.
"We can all operate in the dark if night should fall, and continue to guide our allies if they falter while the enemy will be confused without night vision. Even so, immediate attack after arriving would give them less time to prepare, whereas everyone here is completely at the ready."

"Damn right." Red agreed, rapping the table with his closed fist, the muted clack filling the silence. Then Alter spoke.
"Do you object? Because I, for one, do not. They are not yet prepped for a sudden siege, nor are they equipped for our capabilities. Immediate attack is, truthfully, our best chance."

There was a long moment as Brigman studied them, his gaze mostly locked on Geno's intense stare, eyelight burning so vividly it was coloring the surroundings in faint tinges of red and blue.
"Fine." He gave in, unnerved. "But only I can command my men. I know the limits of humans and I will not let such undead creatures such as yourself attempt to command them."

"We are not undead-" Alter argued, before being interrupted by the bloody glitch.
"Technically I am. And Color. But only the two of us. And you have every right to be apprehensive, I admit that I don't know humans all that well compared to a general like you- at least, not the humans of Alagaësia. Ours are much stronger."

"What manner of world do you come from that produces men strong enough to fill your kind with fear?"
Geno blinked at that question, noticing Red's somewhat disturbed expression.

"A world where mankind had spellcasters strong enough to drive our kind to the brink of extinction and imprison the rest under a single mountain with a magic barrier, that's what." Geno began, somewhat aggressively.

"We come from a place where a single human child could walk through this Underground and methodically kill off every last living monster with just a knife, and have the magical prowess to turn back time just to commit Genocide all over again. We come from a place where this same story happened over and over in thousands of different, yet similar versions of this same world, repeating over and over and over and over again. That's where we come from. So yeah, some of us actually like it here." He indicated Red.

"And some of us are worried about how our homes are handling our absence." He gestured to Sci.

"And some are looking to improve this world enough so that the rest of monsterkind won't be murdered and imprisoned the second they show up here." Sci added, staring meaningfully at Geno.
"Right."

Brigman nodded slowly, processing the information with a calculating but not quite believing look. It was at this moment that the entrance flap to the tent parted, moved aside by an enormous brown wing as Bird stepped inside, followed by Lust, who was dressed in an impossible to ignore assortment of armor that revealed his bare limbs, arms crossed.
"We were wondering where the rest of you had taken off."

"We were caught up in the moment." Geno explained, stepping aside to give them space to examine the parchments themselves. Bird nervously adjusted his quiver before joining in.

"Alright, lemme give ya a rundown." Red leaned over to explain, Sci perking up as they all fell into discussion, the previous conversation all but forgotten by the time Cross returned, bringing the rest of the skeletons in their army.

. • ° . • ° . • °

The sun was on its descent towards the western horizon as the army began it's march, splitting into halves, both sides operating a single siege tower and a set of catapults and ballistae, the first half heading for the nearest gate, the north side. The second turned sharply to the left as they headed towards the east entrance further away.

Even from this distance, they could hear the cries of alarm coming from the city, the cacophony of movement sounding mutely from the other side of the wall as the invading army approached.

As the closest troops passed within range of bowshot, a flock of arrows twanged into the sky, aiming to land upon the heads of the soldiers below. Shields raised with the intention of stopping the missiles, but not one of them reached the ground.

Instead, rows of bone attacks had materialized into the air above them, acting as a roof that hovered along with their steps.
The confusion and fear from those within the fortress were very much audible at this point, a boulder sailing towards the approaching army.

A large dragonic skull materialized above the bones, red eyelights gleaming in it's four sockets in a snarl as a ball of light formed in moments between it's jaws, suddenly exploding out and pulverizing the rock into dust and burning pebbles that rained down like hail, falling between their ranks.

Shouts rang from both defenders and attackers as the siege tower was lifted, another one of the dragonic skulls appearing in front of the army as it neared the gate, straw yellow eyelights burning as it's owner took to the air on hawkish wings, aiming with frightening accuracy towards the enemy archers as his bowstring gleamed blue against his cheekbone.

Bird moved on to shoot down the archers, both dodging their shots and using his Blaster as a shield while down below Kin snarled and broke from the ranks, summoning his own massive laser skull and directing it towards the iron and oak gate, letting it fire with a flash of green and white light. The soldiers closest to the weapon all stopped short for a split second, the hesitation rippling throughout the main body before they continued.

From behind the army came a low but incredibly loud bellow as a quadrupedal beast came bounding around their right flank, trailing bluish flame from its teeth as it carried a slightly terrified Dance and wildly whooping Lust on its backside.

The horses in the contingent nearest Omega all stalled, many of them screaming at the creature that only snorted in amusement before barrelling himself through the remains of the gate, tearing what was left off its hinges and slipping once on the sooty channel carved into the earth by Kin's initial attack.

The soldiers on the other side were clearly unprepared for the onslaught, a good portion of them freezing in place at the sight of the skeletal beast. He was covered in more heavy bone plates and shielding, many spiked attacks lining his arms and legs like thin scales in an effort to protect himself as the hollow front of a Blaster covered the top of his skull.

In the moment of stunned silence, his passengers hopped off and he raised one arm to nudge the impromptu helmet upwards. "Heya."
Then they swallowed their fear and charged.

"Well that's a mistake." Omega commented, grinning savagely as he stretched one arm out and bowled the first row over like pins, attacks erupting from the ground straight through their armored bodies.

Then Dance swung himself around the spear of a pikeman and kicked their face in, stealing the weapon and stabbing it through the helm of another as the one on his other side had their throat slashed by Lust's handheld bone attack.

The sexualized skeleton smiled at Dance as he glanced over before both were swept away again, dodging the superheated blast from Omega as the bestial skeleton stepped closer, a struggling soldier crushed under his clawed hands without a second thought.

Kin was already bounding on all fours towards the next regiment, launching at one human faster than they could react as his tail knocked over the pair beside them. Before the rest could so much as raise their weapons he was up, face bloody from tearing out a human's throat and leaping at the closest body, blue magic throwing the rest further away.

"Now that is violent! I like it!" Lust grinned as the Varden began streaming into the city around them. Dance blinked at him in shock. "Are you okay?"
"Perfectly fine darling, now let's kill a bunch of humans!" He took off faster than the rest with a wicked grin, bounding down the street as he summoned a Blaster above himself and above the invading army.

Dance sighed, glancing back to start blinking in surprise at the sight of Alter, his dramatic purple robe forgotten as he was clad in armor that clearly dated back to the old war days.

The former queen had his hands ablaze in purple flame, the fires shooting towards archers that aimed at their allies from the rooftops, the rest fleeing in panic.

"Alter, how- when- where- you-" He cut short as one of the former queen's hands extinguished and scooped him up, seating him on shoulders that stood higher than most of the humans around them.
"I kept it in my inventory, if that is what you were wondering." He answered smoothly, summoning a wall of burning bones at one side to impede the approach of another troop.

"But why? I didn't know you kept it at all!" Dance shouted above the noise while bringing down a wave of attacks on the very same men.
"I didn't appreciate seeing it every day and nor did I wish to be rid of it just yet. It appears to be of use once again, does it not?" Alter threw out his arm to summon a bone between a Varden soldier and a stray arrow.

"Yeah, it definitely would seem like it!" Dance replied in a higher voice than usual, summoning a Blaster to carve a path closer to the fortress in the middle of the city.

A warhorse then pranced to a near halt beside them, before trotting at the same place as the former queen. Brigman sat at the reins, Sci seated behind him in a pathetic attempt at looking dignified despite shaking with fear.

"Wouldn't you be able to do more if you were both on foot?" Asked the captain. Alter hesitated as Dance blinked.
"You're right." He slid off of Alter's shoulders and landed easily. "Got carried away. See you at the castle?" He glanced between everyone present.

Alter suddenly pulled out an elegant gold and purple hauberk from his inventory, the weapon glowing faintly- bone beneath was visible. It matched the former queen in height and resembled Asgore's trident to Dance, down to the teal gem embedded near the tip.

"I uh.. I expected a trident." He stuttered as the others gawked in surprise.
"That's a king's weapon, Dance." Alter explained with a note of amusement.
"You have a weapon?!" Sci squeaked in amazement.

"Why of course, dear." Alter smiled softly, tapping it to his own helm. "I was a queen once."
The shock and disbelief in Brigman's face were downright comical as the surge of soldiers drove them all apart.

Dance grinned at the spectacular thought while he turned and charged to the front, shouting words of the ancient language in giddy excitement as he conjured spells against the enemy, leaping over soldiers to the front lines.

They may be outnumbered ten to one, but they had more than what the people of Aroughs did.
They had magic and a queen.

. • ° . • ° . • °

The eastern gate blew open with a vengeance, the reason behind it an enraged red and white wraith with a glitch over one side of his face, hand raised and an army at his back.

There stood a feeble force to oppose them, most of the fight happening at the north end, the skeletons over there slaying their numbers by the dozen. What few men were there shivered at the sight of the clearly famed White Wraith of Death, as rumors named him.

There was enough time to hear murmured prayers before a dozen Blasters burst into existence, only five of them firing and wiping their lives away in an instant. Geno was enraged.

He marched forward, leading Color and Cross on either side as Ganz stayed by Red's side at the front of the troops. They had no intention of getting in the way of the Determined trio.

Cross was the first to hop on a Blaster and take to the air, Color following shortly thereafter. Geno remained on the ground even as Red and Ganz chose to hover above the soldiers, the bloody glitch storming towards the castle in the middle of Aroughs, face locked in a snarl as everyone in his path was immediately slaughtered- most often by Blasters.

The rest of the small army struggled to keep up with the rampaging glitch as he wreaked havoc through the streets, carving a path of destruction up towards the castle. Cross and Color fought to lessen the burden on Geno so he didn't overexert himself killing off enemy soldiers, mostly because talking to him was so obviously out of the question as he stormed to the second wall of Aroughs.

By now there was a considerable distance between the trio and the rest of the soldiers they were meant to protect, but it seemed that most of the army was drawn towards the fighting at the north side, what little forces that had attempted to repel them from the east had quickly fallen to Geno's excessively violent tirade.

He didn't wait for anyone as he blew open the next gate with a glitched shout, the white glitches spreading around him and causing hysteria as they struck enemy soldiers, a simple distraction that did wonders for taking them out.

Cross gasped from where he stood, shaking his skull as one eyelight gleamed red, lowering his blades. Color glanced at him in concern before spinning and killing a group of soldiers, red tunics blackening as flames overtook them.

Geno had stopped to yell at nothing in particular in pent-up frustration, panting and gripping his skull while glitching wildly. The pause lasted long enough for soldiers to flow in from the breach, heading for the castle.

After he regained his breath, Geno leapt onto a Blaster and zoomed directly for the fortress. Both his self-assigned guards muttered curses and leapt after him, Cross pausing long enough to tell Red to capture the lord of the city, Lord Halstead. Red nodded and both leapt to their duties.

It quickly became obvious that Geno had focused on one single thing, blasting through the doors and breezing past the guards that were quickly slain by the others, before they paused to find the bloody glitch already racing down a set of stairs to the underground cells, heavy breaths glitching and echoing down the halls.

Cross was the first to find him again, seeing Geno staring through the barred entrance of some cell with a wild, but somewhat calmed expression. Cross decided it was now to take a moment and breathe, hands on his kneecaps.

"..Geno?" The weak voice of a Sans reached him. Cross glanced over, coughing slightly as the glitch reached through the bars.
"Paci.. shit. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I came as soon as I could.."
"I didn't know you were here.."
"I didn't know you were!" Geno laughed weakly before glancing at the lock.
"Just.. let me get this open."

Cross pushed himself back up, glancing at the other cells and finding them to be empty. He reached the cell where Geno was forcing two sharp bone attacks around the lock in growing frustration. He blinked in shock at the dirty, weakened skeleton within, After flinching away at the sight of him. He wore his classical clothes, jacket missing, shirt ripped and full of holes, most of the shorts torn to near ribbons. His slippers were greyed and crusted with what looked suspiciously like dried blood.

"Fuck, what did they do to you?" He sputtered in shock. Geno shot him a vicious look. Cross stepped away. "Sorry, just surprised."
"You're.. that scar. Your Cross, aren't you?"
"That's me." He answered between Geno's irritated grumbles with the lock, glancing back up the stairs they'd arrived to see Color.

"We don't have a lot of time, they're sending reinforcements." The flaming one explained.
"Damnit, someone must've seen us and escaped."
"I don't know why they're not sending them to the bigger threats."
"Because we're the bigger threat. We've breached the castle and are closer to Halstead." Cross explained while tapping his swords together.

"Hello?" A vaguely familiar, weak voice called out. "Someone..? I can't.. see.."
After perked up slightly. "Please. Get Doggo out too."

Cross immediately followed the direction of the voice, seeing a chained dog monster dressed in rags squinting in his direction.
"Eh? I hear you bastards out there. What you want, eh?"

The monochrome straightened. "We're getting you out." He stated before jabbing the tip of Harmr into the lock and flinching at the flash of weariness that accompanied it breaking.
"Geno, these locks are warded."
"Motherfucker." The other spat before glancing over. "How did you break it?"
"Sword." He stated simply.

Geno scowled for a moment, then sighed and drew Hivtrfreohr, slashing it down in an arc and slicing clean through the lock he'd been previously struggling with.
"How the hell does this work better?" He asked somewhat rhetorically while barging into the cell and grabbing After.

Cross was helping the Doggo out of his chains before he replied. "Figured out that they're charmed against those things. Helps in situations such as this."
"That woman.." Geno shook his skull and put the blade away as Cross helped Doggo to his feet, draping the arm of matted fur over his shoulders.
"Let's go. It's unsafe here."

Just then, a flash came from the stairwell they had previously come from, Color hissing as the dull thuds of attacks meeting flesh and clangs as they struck metal sounded.
"Color! Are you okay?" Cross called out.
"I'm doin' peachy! We need to leave, now!"
"We're ready!"

"Careful there, ears' a bit sensitive." Doggo muttered beside him, still confused.
"You might want to cover them then, because it's a lot louder outside." Cross replied while they started for the stairs.

"Wait!" XChara yelped at him. Cross shot him a look.
"That path's comprised, we have to go the other way." The pale human gasped even as the others continued, blind to his presence.
"What do you mean compromised? What did you see?" He asked aloud, making the rest of them pause.
"Soldiers are swarming, and we sure as hell can't repel them well enough carrying those two. I saw a path with fewer soldiers down the other way, but it's closer to the other half of the army."

"Fine, fine! We're going the other way. Color, you got that?" He turned around as Geno sighed in exasperation and followed, Color already racing to get in front of them.
"Wha wazzat?" Doggo murmured in confusion as they walked, blinking at the bright glow of the flaming skeleton ahead of them now.

"Short answer: I have an informant that was keeping watch and the way we came from is now swarming with soldiers."
"Why're so many soldiers about anyway?" The dog wheezed.
"Because we brought an army to take over this city, and because Galbatorix garrisoned it with a ton of his troops."

"Innit that the mighty king everyone keeps talkin' about?"
"Yes that is, and we're fighting the madman."
"He's got a dragon."
"Yeah, we'll deal with Shruikan when we reach Urû'baen."
"Where's that?" Doggo asked as a dozen men crossed their paths, clearly having not expected them.
"Questions later!" Cross exclaimed while a storm of attacks dispatched the group.
"No time!"

"Yeah, stab them humans!" Doggo cheered hoarsely. "And take me to Asgore, yeesh. I need a treat."
"UNFORTUNATELY, we don't have any dog treats for smoking-" Cross started while jabbing Haina through the gut of an unsuspecting warrior. "Nor do we have Asgore with us. Any Dreemur, really!"

They raced out of a side entrance and into the sun, Doggo whining at the light and noise as they spotted the fighting a few houses away, Omega surrounded by soldiers and devastating their ranks with little damage to himself, often hopping onto roofs- which shocked the soldiers due to how they didn't realize how little he weighed as a creature of only bone.

"Okay, I'm giving you to someone who'll take you to safety, alright?" He explained to the dog monster.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Geno questioned, After blinking in exhaustion at him.
"I'm going after Halstead. You coming?" He asked Color.
The blazing one nodded.

So he handed Doggo to Geno, who sighed and set both After and the other on a Blaster. "You two better not get yourselves killed." He grumbled while hopping on himself.
"We'll be fine." Cross told him, watching as the bloody glitch took off for the camp outside the city walls.

Then he sighed, facing Color. "Ready?"
"Not really. But who is?"
They both chuckled. "Been too long, man."
"You too. Still haven't caught up."
"Well now's not the time, we have a Lord to capture."
"Right."

They both faced the entrance, turning their backs to the world and entering the castle once again.