Fire Emblem: Ages Anew
Disclaimer: I own naught the lands of Tellius, nor its people. 'Tis a shame really, but such is the case for them to be owned by t he lovely people at Intelligent Systems. Nor do I own anything relating to the tomes of Takahashi.
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Drip. Why couldn't he hit him? Drip drop. You'd think after all of his training, he might be able to at least tag him. Drip. But no, the man he used to call father still managed to avoid his strikes. Drip. Why was he fighting him? Where was he? The dastard, he'd have to use Ragnell if he wanted to beat him. Putting thought to action, Ike back-stepped from his opponent some small number of steps, wiping the sweat off of his brow. Before the opponent could start his attack anew, Ike sheathed his sword and drew the sacred blade Ragnell. Oh there was going to be hell to pay. He'd cram the sword so far up- well, needless to say, whoever was responsible for this was going to pay. Slowly and painfully. Jumping back again to avoid another swipe of his father's axe, Ike prepared for the final blow.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. He was lunging. - Griel was blocking with that monstrous axe, the usual smirk seeming out of place on his face. - He spun around bringing the blade to Griel's neck. Griel's lifeless eyes, those still lifeless eyes.
Mist awoke with a start, throwing the covers off of her, dripping with a cold sweat. What in the name of the goddess was that all about? It was a terrible nightmare, she knew that much. All she could remember though was the singular image of her dead father's eyes. They were empty and cold. What a terrible dream.
As she sat in bed trying to remember the dream, she glanced out the window. The sun was pretty high already, she must have overslept. Wait, what was that sme- Oh. Whoops! "Eep! I forgot about breakfast!" And in a blur, she got dressed and was downstairs in seconds.
-
The mysterious red liquid in front of him was finally coming to a simmer. He slowly dipped his ladle in to stir it just a tiny bit, bringing it up to take a taste of the brew. "Need's salt." The green haired knight reached off to the side, grabbing the salt and returning his arm to close proximity so as to add the salt. Where was Mist? Not that he minded cooking, but it was technically her morning to cook.
Ah, here she was now, if the pounding of feet was any indication. Oscar turned to face the door and favor Mist with something of a disappointed smile, he never could seem to not smile. Maybe his face was stuck, he was always told that when he was a kid...Suddenly the door was thrown open and some short...thing fumbled in, collapsing on the floor in a heap.
This was interesting. "Ummm...good morning Mist." Now he really couldn't help but smile. The unrecognizable heap in front of him had her undies on her head, her dress upside down, and a bow around her big toe. Wow. "Err, that IS you in there, isn't it"
"Sorry I'm late Rolf. I don't know how I slept so late." said the dazed and slightly confused Mist as she tried to untangle herself from mess of herself on the floor.
"Try again, Rolf's not here. Actually, Rolf can't even cook, why are you mistaking me for him?" He really wished he had a way to preserve this scene.
Peaking out from under the hem of her dress's skirt, her error dawned on her. Both of them actually. "Oh...sorry Oscar." Ugh, why was she upside down again?
"Maybe you should go try getting dressed again." Goddess did he want to laugh.
"Yeah. Maybe you're right." Oh boy. This was embarrassing. Hopefully she could get back to her room without Ike or Boyd seeing her.
"Go ahead, I've got breakfast taken care of now." She really needed to leave. Now. He had to laugh so much it was hurting him.
"Thanks Oscar, I'll make it up to you somehow." Finally managing to stand up, she peaked her head slowly out the door to make sure no one was coming. Good, the coast was clear, and with that, she began her mad dash to her room.
'Well, mad hop at least' Oscar observed as he finally broke down into a stifled laughing fit.
-
Deep deep in the Serenes forest, at the central alter, lay a small medallion. It was a queer medallion in that it appeared as though it were bursting at the seams. Which, though impossible, probably wasn't closer to the truth.
"Damned forest. That mortal Ashnard had started a war for it, and it was trapped in this accursed forest. If only it could leave. If only it could drink in the chaotic energies surrounding the humans and laguz among these lands. It could be free. It just needed a body. But it couldn't use the Heron clan's remains. They were too in balance. Well that, and the forest protected them.
For a brief moment, the medallion stopped glowing.
This was strange. Out of all of the searches it had made, it hadn't seen this body before. Probably because the amount of energy it was giving off was so insignificant. But...it was enough. A maniacal laugh could almost be felt as suddenly, the medallion flared back to life in its brilliant blue aura. Almost as though in response, a body stuffed out of the way in some bushes, slowly rose. The former man, dressed in green robes and hat, as though he were some holy man, steadily dragged himself to the central alter and grabbed the medallion.
"So...beautiful..." it was more of a rasping, desperate, depraved voice. One that hadn't seen use in nearly a year.
The medallion's aura flared momentarily, conveying a message to any who would hear it. "Now then, to Castle Nados"
-
Clunk. Even as the staff fell from Mist's hands, her mind was already elsewhere. She had felt something. Something, familiar, and it was calling to her. Telling her to go somewhere. Where? Go to...Nados? Castle Nados? But...why?
All the while, she was already moving. She was already at the stable and mounting her horse when Rolf walked past.
"Heya Mist! Going somewhere"
"..." "Mist? Is something wro- woah!" barely escaping being trampled by the horse, Rolf looked at the retreating form of Mist.
"Mist! Missst!" It was no good, he couldn't catch up.
"Heya squirt, what's with all the yelling"
"Boyd! Mist just rode off! I couldn't stop her, she almost ran me over in the process." He was crying now. He hadn't done that in a while. What was wrong with Mist?
"She what? Why would she do that? Did someone send her on a mission?" This was odd. No, this was really odd. This was Mist they were talking about. He knew the answer even before Rolf shook his head. "No, we need to tell Ike." With that, the two of them ran off to training hall.
-
"Yaaaah! haaaa haaaa I need haaa a break..." As much as he hated to admit it, his swordsmanship wasn't as sharp now as it was during the war. He trained even harder now, but they hadn't had a lot of missions, and there just wasn't any proper substitute for a human opponent. No matter how much he pushed his training, he needed a human opponent. Someone who would challenge his skills. Not that he wanted another war to start, of course. Boyd and Titana were good, but they didn't really challenge him. Speaking of Boyd, here he was now. With Rolf. Who appeared to have been crying. And Boyd was...out of breath? Uh oh.
"You two okay? Has something happened?"
"Mist...gasp...horse...wheeze...off..." That was a much longer run than he had anticipated. He was still a little winded from his training.
"sniff Mist ran off! I think there's something wrong with her"
...Click. She ran off? That didn't sound like Mist. "What?! Why? Where to? Which way?!" Something was wrong. "Nevermind, grab Soren, tell Titania that she's in command, we're going after Mist. Meet me at the stables when your done. And hurry!"
-
Meanwhile in Ranma's world.
"Be careful with that jar Shampoo. It contains an archaic and dangerous substance. If you were to drop it..." the menacing glare from the mummy was enough for the violet haired girl. "Yes grandmother, Shampoo no drop substance. But wait, Shampoo thought that jar over there was dangerous archaic substance?" she pointed at the small jar on the shelf above the stove. Really, what was with all of these jars.
"I'm a collector of sorts. Besides, that one is special. It was a gift from a good friend of mine. Regardless, that is a special substance, dangerous, archaic, and most importantly, blessed." Ah the memories, how she missed the old land.
"Blessed? By who?" This was strange, she didn't know her grandmother knew any holy people outside of the village.
"By a goddess dear. Now enough chit-chat. Back to work! NOW what do you want Mousse?" Never again would she run a restaurant. All she wanted to do was sit down and remember fond things. Maybe...maybe it was time for her to depart.
"Well old-ghoul, I just wanted to know what the manager's special was for the day. But you're busy, so I'll come back later." maybe he might even have a chance to formulate a new plan against Saotome.
"Not so fast Mr. Part Timer, I think, perhaps we'll have a number 9 as the special today." that should keep him busy. There's no need for him to pester son-in-law so much.
sigh...crap. "Yes ma'am" was the reply, the enthusiasm of which was in the negatives. Number 9. Of all the specials, that was his least favorite. There was always so much pepper!
Resigned to his fate, Mousse returned to the kitchen to clean up while awaiting any orders. At the ring of the bell, Cologne spoke up. "Shampoo, go out and greet our customers"
"Airen! Welcome, you go on date with Shampoo now, yes?" It was her guess that all the rumbling and ruckus had begun once again. She did not envy son-in-law, that much she was sure of.
"Ranma Saotome, I've seen hell because of you! Prepare to die!" Crap, the Hibiki boy was here now. She needed to run damage control before she lost her restaurant.
"Cease this nonsense at once!" was all she could get out before having to stifle a chuckle at the scene before her. Shampoo was for all intents and purposes, trying to molest Ranma's arm, before Ryoga had dived at him in hopes of doing...whatever to him. The end result of her intervention via vocal command into this little love/hate-fest was that they were all jumbled in a pile on the floor, looking like a game of Twister gone wrong, for a second time.
Mousse was simply stewing, both figuratively and literally. Boy he looked mad. Oh well. "Shampoo, stop fooling around and go greet the next customer." With but a small 'eep' she untangled herself from the two boys and made her way to the door.
"As for you two, Hibiki, I've told you before. You will not fight in this restaurant. I can barely afford to repair the holes Mousse makes when he's fighting Ranma." Hibiki's reply died on his tongue at the stern gaze from the old mummy.
"Ranma, the same goes for you. Now, if the both of you are finished, sit down and order something. It's an exceedingly slow day and Mr. Part Timer needs work.
Looking utterly blindsided, the two rivals sat down at a booth and made a simple order of the manager's special.
"..." Like hell he was going to talk to Ranma like this. Why was he even sitting down? he should be trying to pound the guy sitting across the table.
"..." Well this was awkward. He was sitting in a nice, albeit deceptive, Chinese restaurant with his eternal rival. Ordering food. It wouldn't be so awkward if it weren't for all the part-time pig's glare of utmost contempt, firmly aimed in his direction. Oh great, its going to rain soon. He didn't know how, but he seemed to have been developing a weather sense. It was useful enough, so he had no complaints.
"..." This was absurd! He was going to get up right now, and pound Ranma into the ground. Old, but exceedingly skilled, lady be damned! He had his right for revenge, and he was going to exact it, with interest. Though, he DID order the manager special. He hadn't much experience with food, his most recent home cooked meals coming from his most hated rival's fiance. And he always cried whenever he had to induce vomiting to rid himself of the bio-hazards, but he wasn't really looking forward to dying from some unclassified substance. He was lovesick over the girl, but that didn't mean he wanted to be physically ill too.
"Sooo...Did you bring your umbrella?" Warning him couldn't hurt, could it?
"...Why do you care? Hoping to make fun of me when I change?" What was up with him? Did he have to kick him while he was down too?
"Err not really. Just thought I'd let you know in advance that it's going to rain later. Weather-sense. Don't ask, don't know." Maybe he'd lighten up a little if he had fair warning for once. Or at least, he'd give him a bit more the next time he tried to kill him.
"...Oh." The hell? Weather-sense? Did the wretch think he was stupid? No, he was actually trying to be nice for once. Maybe he should apologize for the whole wedding incident..."Thanks. Umm, I'm sorry about the whole 'I'm going to kill you at your own wedding' incident"
"'sal right, we were both tricked into it anyways. You know, we really don't want to get married." This was interesting. He was apologizing for trying to kill him.
"What, isn't Akane good enough?! You bastard, how dare you treat her like that!" The nerve of this guy.
"Shut up and sit down P-chan, you know darn well that's not what I said." Maybe...just maybe, he could get through to the guy.
"We just don't mix. Ya know, like in Chemistry when ya mix two things together, and they blow up? It's like that"
"..." He couldn't help but stare. Ranma, Ranma Saotome, had just made a reference to Chemistry. "Kinda like Shampoo and Mousse, except they don't so much explode as they just tend to melt everything." He hadn't actually paid too much attention in Chemistry, he just picked up a bit here and there.
-
In the kitchen.
"achoo!" In her sneeze, she accidentally bumped Mousse, causing him to hit the shelf above the pot and shifting a small jar over in front of the pepper. "Someone must be talking about Shampoo. I bet its Airen! Hurry up stupid Mousse"
"achoo!" In his sneeze, he accidentally knocked the handle into the shelf, causing the jar on the shelf above to bound even closer to the edge. "That's just the pepper from the dish. Though he's probably is talking about you. The wretched cur. If only I could think of something to end him, once and for all." That Saotome...but he just couldn't beat him. Especially not now, after the incident with Saffron. Mmm, needs more pepper. Maybe if I teamed up with Ryoga again. Not paying attention, he grabbed the small jar from the edge of the top shelf and sprinkled a generous amount into the dish. "Yeah, I'll make it extra spicy! That'll show him. Shampoo, order's up"
"About time. Stupid Mousse, Shampoo go take to airen and lost boy now"
-
At the booth.
"Hey Ryoga, I've been meaning ta ask. What's with the fangs?" They really were kind of strange, he hadn't seen many other people with teeth like that before.
"Oh well, I don't actually know. My parents never seemed to have an answer either." What happened to all of his anger? Why was he simply sitting here, chatting it up with his rival?
"Food ready! Airen go on date with Shampoo later"
"Ummm...I'll uhhh have to see what I'm up ta later. I'll get back to ya." Gods did she make him nervous. Honestly, she reminded him of a preying mantis, like she was eager to rip his head off and...well yeah.
"Son-in-law, once you are finished, I must speak with you. I have a...request." It really was time, she had been here too long. She longed to escape from this place.
"Hunh? Uhh...sure. I guess." Well this was weird. She never asked anything of him unless it was to marry Shampoo.
"So I was wonderin, why are the males such low class citizens in the Amazons?" Taking a healthy sip of his soup, he noticed it wasn't quite up to par. Oh well, it was probably because he was so used to Kasumi's cooking.
"Its seems pretty obvious to me Ranma, they're a society who value women, because they value the gift of life." The soup didn't taste as good as usual, but he wasn't about to let Ranma show him up.
"But that doesn't answer my question, I mean guys are important too, right? So..." He trailed off after getting a funny feeling in his stomach. Well this was odd. It was kinda similar to vertigo, but isolated in his stomach. Upon closer inspection, it was doing something crazy with his ki. "Great, so what did ya add this time? Not more passion spice I hope."
"Excuse me?" "Hunh?" were the simultaneous replies.
"What arien mean?" This was odd, she wasn't planning on spiking his food until their date. She had no plans to do it now, especially not with the lost boy around.
"Yes, please explain son-in-law." She had this annoying feeling of dread coming up.
"He's saying that you spiked our food. It's doing something crazy to our ki, so I don't think its passion spice. Mind enlightening us?" He almost felt pity for the part-time girl as he watched him visibly untense. Was it that much of a problem for him?
"Ayiahhhh! I no do that. Shampoo have special blend. Have saved it long time for fateful date with Airen." She turned to the side and looked thoughtful for a moment, so she completely missed Ranma's obvious twitch of the eye at this statement.
"It wasn't me son-in-law. I was hoping for you to be in a good mood for when we talked." Sighing, she glanced down at the soup. Why did he have to be so persistent. "I'll go have a word with Mousse. This is most likely his doing, hopefully we can discover the substance and administer some counter measures before it gets too serious." Turning around, she started to pogo back to the kitchen. Mr. Part-Time was going to get a very physical reprimand for this.
"...Too late Cologne. Magic circle." Stupid magic, always cutting in at the best of times.
...He NEVER used her name. Not unless it was serious. "Relax son-in-law, I'm sure it's just a simpl...e..." ...Shit. Damn. Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn DAMN. This was bad. This wasn't a magic circle, it was an array. A very particular array. An array characterized by a very specific substance. "...Dammit. MOUSSE! OUT HERE, NOW!" No. She didn't need him right now. She didn't need his verification, she knew. Rubbing her temple, she sighed and spoke up.
"Ranma, Ryoga, listen up. The substance in the soup was an archaic substance known as Warp Powder. It was a gift from a dear friend of mine, and has a very special property. I'm sure even the two of you can guess what. The problem is this powder won't transport you anywhere in the realm." Dammit, it always happened to Ranma, didn't it?
"So, where we going this time?" The nonchalance was unnerving. Had he really been through so much?
"The two of you will be going to the continent of Tellius. Its significantly less advanced, but its dangerous all the same. When you arrive, I want you to search out King Deghinsea, he should be able to help you return."
"So wait, I'm being dragged along as well?" ...Dammit. He had plans for the night too!
"Sorry P-chan...But we'll be back in no time, so just think of it as a vacation." An annoying, fight for you life kind of vacation was his guess, but Ryoga didn't need to know that.
"Ryoga, be careful. You may have more to worry about than son-in-law here." Oh how she hoped Deghinsea wasn't as stubborn as he used to be.
"Hunh? What do ya mean by that?" He had a slight sinking feeling about this little vacation.
"Well, guess I'll see ya soon. Mind telling Kasumi I might be late for dinner?" The two of them were already fading from view, but that same arrogant smirk was pasted across his face.
"Whatta ya want Old Ghoul?" Mousse stepped out from he kitchen, only to watch in awe as the two of them faded from view. So concentrated on this that he never saw the fist coming.
-
AAN: So there you have it. Yes, it is another crossover. I apologize for nothing.I hope this will be as interesting as it is in my head. (Yeah, that doesn't sound crazy or anything.) So anyways, we have the typical prologue, typical "omg Ramna goes to another world" plot number 17. I think I've set the stage, the players are moving into position, so now, everyone can hurry up and wait. Goddess knows when the next chapter will be up. Hopefully this makes a better prologue than the one in my 3P story did. Just a question, does the writing seem too stiff? Maybe its just a side effect of waking early, but it seems...cumbersome.
In regards to timelines, naturally, this takes place after the failed wedding for Ranma's world.
For Tellius, some number of months after the end of the war. I'm assuming that it was some short number of months after they left Begnoin. Also of note, this, obviously, is not in keeping with the Radiant Dawn storyline. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, I suggest you do some research or play it., it's really quite grand.