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There was agitation in the Council Room. A new performance of Radiant Dawn was about to begin, and the Dawn Brigade was nowhere to be found. Not one of its members was present on stage or backstage, and no one else seemed to have seen them either. This was the first time such a thing had happened: usually, no one was missing or late! It was even worse in this case, as the first act simply couldn't take place without their presence. The whole performance was doomed to failure if no one could find them in the next ten minutes...
"What do you mean, the entire Dawn Brigade has disappeared? How is such a thing even possible? Are you sure you've searched everywhere?" asked the Council leader, in his shrilling, insufferable voice. It made you wonder how the others agreed to put up with him and abide by his orders... Maybe having the money and the power to suspend anyone's paycheck at any time if he felt like it was enough for that.
"We searched everywhere, even the locker rooms... but it didn't change a thing. They really aren't there anymore, chief!" replied another member, so frightened it almost looked like he was going to explode at any moment, now.
"And no one else saw them? It just doesn't make any sense. You don't lose a whole group like that, in two shakes of a lamb’s tail! I swear, if in ten minutes you don't-"
The chief is (unfortunately) cut off mid-threat by the sound of someone knocking on the meeting room door. Not without a sigh of annoyance – because who's stupid enough to disturb the Council in the middle of a meeting of the utmost importance, really? – he rises, and violently opens the door.
"What is it this time? We're busy, as you can see." he asks in an annoyed tone, and anyone would have understood that it was best to close the door and pretend nothing had happened at that point. But not the person who had dared to disturb the Council in the middle of its crisis meeting.
“I think you'll want to stop your meeting right now and come to see what's happening on stage, instead.” replied Sephiran calmly, and only he could restrain himself from responding aggressively to the Council leader, even when he was being aggressive with everyone else.
"And why would I order such a thing? You should be at your post right now, instead of interrupting us."
“It's about Micaiah.” he replies simply, and by this time the chief's mouth is so open his jaw could touch the floor. Without another word, he storms out of the meeting room, absolutely furious, leaving all the other Council members behind. He charged towards the stage, ready to yell at any straggler, but he was totally unprepared for what he was about to see unfold before his eyes...
The entire stage had been converted into a display, and Micaiah herself was standing on a podium, microphone in hand, in the middle of a speech. Surrounding her were the other members of the Dawn Brigade, holding up signs with various inscriptions on them. They read phrases like “We're not the Wimp Brigade”, “Justice for Daein” and... “I fight for my friends”?! What was Ike doing on stage, too? He's not even part of the Dawn Brigade!
"...and it's for all these reasons that until we're treated with more respect, we refuse to play for Radiant Dawn even for one more minute! I think we deserve much better working conditions than the ones we have now." declaimed Micaiah on stage, and the whole audience applauded her. Among them, Sigrun was crying tears of joy, absolutely moved by so much emotion, Soren was facepalming, absolutely appalled and Haar... despite all the noise in the room, he was somehow managing to sleep in his chair.
"What does all this mean! I demand an explanation!" the head of the Council yelled, even more upset than before (if such a thing was even possible) but no one seemed to be paying any attention to him, which pissed him off even more. “Answer me at once!” he adds, still to no avail, at least until he hears a faint throat-clearing behind him. He turns around, eyebrows furrowed enough to break a record, totally on the verge of verbally destroying the person who dared to disturb him at a time like this...
“It would seem that the Dawn Brigade has finally decided to go on strike... it was getting long overdue, in fact.” says Sephiran calmly, and all this calm irritates the chief even more.
"What do you mean, finally? You knew about this all along?" the chef snarls, and it's a wonder he has enough restraint not to just strangle the person in front of him on the spot.
"Maybe I knew all along. Or maybe not, you’ll never know. But you see, none of this would have happened if you'd listened to them earlier." Sephiran replies, a slight smile on his lips.
"And then what, again? Do you really think I'd accept their ridiculous demands? Making the Dawn Brigade really competent would fully go against Radiant Dawn ’s scenario!" the chief became even more exasperated, and this time it was certain he was going to strangle someone. Whether that someone would be Sephiran or anyone else in the room, he didn't yet know.
“This is not a simple lack of competence, but outright humiliation,” Sephiran retorted, as calmly as ever. He was used to the chief's fits of anger, even if this time exceeded all records.
"And this humiliation , as you call it, is necessary for the good of the whole room. How are we going to make the Black Knight as intimidating and powerful as he is if the Dawn Brigade is powerful itself? It's a necessary evil... and the audience’s frustration makes us sell more snacks at the intermissions." he replied, and it was pretty obvious that he was (already) running out of arguments to justify his choice. It was as if he just personally hated Micaiah and the Dawn Brigade.
“You decided that the Dawn Brigade would be among the worst characters in the play... just to sell more snacks? ” asked Sephiran, a slight hint of astonishment in his voice.
"Now listen to me. You're going to stop asking ridiculous questions, do your job as a representative for once and kindly ask Miss I’m frustrated with my life and her friends to get off the stage and get ready for tonight's performance. We're already late by..."
The chef looks at his watch quickly, and nearly chokes when he sees the time.
"... forty-five minutes! This is absolutely unacceptable! We've wasted enough time as it is!" he exclaims, to the point where he's screaming now.
"My job is to represent the other actors, not be the police. I'm sorry, but you'll have to deal with the consequences of your actions alone." replies Sephiran simply, before heading back towards the stage, not to ask Micaiah to reconsider her choices, but to find a place in the audience, not too far from Zelgius.
"Tsk... whatever, I will suspend his paycheck too! His and everyone else’s too!" he grumbles in his corner, seemingly oblivious to the fact that everyone continues to ignore him.
Finally, the chief decides he's had enough, and if no one else is going to put an end to such a charade, he should do it himself. So he goes to the stage, violently snatches the microphone from Micaiah's hands, and takes his place in front of the display, threatening to knock her to the ground in the process.
“Let all this cacophony cease at once!” he yells into the microphone, as if having his shrill voice already amplified by the speakers wasn't enough. “You will all return to your stations for tonight's performance, or else–”
“No. The only one who's going to leave here is you.” cuts him off directly, Sothe's gaze murderous as poor Micaiah had only just got to her feet, with the help of her friends from the Dawn Brigade. “I've had more than enough of your bullshit.”
"Watch your language, or you'll raise the rating of the play! And a higher rating means less profit! I refuse to let that happen!" shouts the boss again, apparently more mortified by the possibility of Radiant Dawn 's rating going up a rank or two than by anything else.
"I don't give a fuck about the play’s rating right now. So either calm down and think about our requests for real, or we get the hell out of here and you're on your own for tonight's performance and all the ones after that." replies Sothe, even more vulgar than before because that was apparently possible too.
"Sothe! There are other ways of expressing our demands than–" retorts Micaiah, or at least tries to.
"I'm just spitting the fucking facts. Aren't you sick of the way this asshole treats us just because we're not members of the Greil's Mercenaries?" exasperated Sothe, now only two steps away from the chief of the Council.
“Yes, but…”
"But what? Nobody respects you here! Even the generics don't give a fuck about you!" continues Sothe, without letting Micaiah finish her sentence once more.
Remembering such a humiliating truth is enough for Micaiah not to respond this time, but the chief is even angrier.
"I'm not going to be lectured by a teenager with garbage-bag-colored hair! If you value your pay, you'll–" he tries to threaten again, but this time it's too much for Sothe, who grabs him by the collar and lifts him up without any difficulty.
"And you, if you value your fucking life, you're going to shut your big, stinking mouth, and apologize for what you've just done. Otherwise I'll feed you to Caineghis." he answers coldly, and the lion roars in his cage when he hears his name.
With these words, he releases the chief of the Council, who for the first time in his life discovers fear. He runs away from the scene, and it is said that since that day, the Dawn Brigade has never ever again been nicknamed the Wimp Brigade.