Author's Forward:
A bad ending I couldn't quite stop thinking about until I wrote something about it. My plan for this was to more or less push the MC into a plot of political intrigue as the numerous allies he'd made called for a shift in the politics of the realm with him at the forefront. Needless to say, it was entirely too complicated and ambitious for my own good, so it's little surprise I collapsed under my own ambition.
And of course, there was going to be a harem involved with the snake lady included, because I had a pretty one-track mind back in the day. I'm not sure that's changed much considering what I'm writing now...
A/N: I don't normally do Suikoden fanfics. This is my first attempt at one actually. I got this idea after I had played through the game the first time and got the bad ending. This story takes place after the "bad ending."
Although I have not read any of the books, I am going with the name Faourish for the name of the prince since that seems the most commonly accepted. I also named my castle Stormwatch.
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It had been three days since Faourish and his friends had beaten the Sun Rune, and Stormwatch castle had fallen into a slump. The war was over and everyone was happy. It should have been just like the fairy tale endings, right?
Wrong.
Lyon was dead. She had died, taking the final hit for him just before the sun moth had died. Now that she was dead, he could easily admit to himself that he had loved her deeply. No matter what circumstances were, she was always by his side, supporting him to the very end.
And now she was gone.
He couldn't recall just how he had been able to get through the funeral without breaking down right then and there, but he had managed to make it to his room before crying himself to sleep. No one saw him for 2 days afterwards. He had his meals brought to him by Shun Min so he wouldn't have to face anyone.
It was on the third day that Georg had come to his room.
"Faourish. Open up. It's me."
"Go away."
"You can't stay in isolation forever. Open up before I have to break the door down."
Faourish sighed and went to open the door. He was slightly surprised when Georg walked in followed by Miakis, Galleon, and Kyle. Taking seats around his room the Queen's nights formed a semi-circle facing him.
"What do you guys want? The war is over. We won. Shouldn't you all be going back to the castle to serve Lym?"
"That just it Prince," cut in Miakis, "No one has left the castle ever since we won the war. Everyone's been wanting to talk with you. If it wasn't for a personal order from Lucerita herself to give you peace, we wouldn't be the only ones breaking down your door right now."
"So what do you all want? I would have figured that you guys would have at least gone back to the castle by now. Your duty is to the queen right?"
"Prince Ranma?" Everyone's eyes turned to Galleon, "May I have permission to speak freely?"
Overcoming his brief moment of shock, Faourish responded, "You don't even need to ask."
"I am going to be completely honest with you. I am insulted that you still call me a Queen's knight."
Faourish's jaw dropped, "Galleon?"
"Ever since your mom and dad died, that bastard Gizel has dragged the name of the queen's knights through the mud. Not only did the so called "noble knights" set fire to a civilian village, they conspired with Nether Gate, and welcomed their assassins into their ranks."
"But Galleon, surely you cant blame-"
"Please your highness, let me finish," Faourish nodded and he continued, "While some of this can be blamed on the Godwins, I will not forgive the traitors Zahhak and Alenia who merely stood by and did nothing as the royal family fought for their lives."
There was silence following this little outburst. In all his history with the Queen's knights, he had never known Galleon to be one to speak his mind. Even when asked.
"You…all feel this way?"
"Well," said Kyle thoughtfully, "I wouldn't put it in those exact terms, but that's pretty much the case."
Galleon wasn't done yet though, "I refuse to be known as a Queen's knight any longer. If you will have it prince, I would like to join your side as your own personal knight in the years I have left on this earth."
With that, Galleon laid his axe on the ground and kneeled down at the prince's feet.
It took a full minute for what Galleon had said to register in Faourish's brain. After collecting his wit, he answered, "Galleon? Are you sure you want to do this?"
"My mind is set prince."
"Then I accept you as the very first "Prince's knight."
Galleon stood up and bowed one last time before taking his seat.
"I want to do the same," said Kyle suddenly standing up, "You've always been there for me Prince, and you never did blame me for any of my shortcomings, even when I failed the royal family."
Faourish had to interject at this point, "That's not true Kyle. If you hadn't saved me from Dolph and Childrech back in the sun palace, I wouldn't be here today."
"See? Your doing it even now. But the point is, I want to be by your side too."
Faourish put a hand on Kyle's shoulder, "You're a good friend Kyle. I would be honored to have you by my side."
"I would like to join you as well," put in Georg, "Not only do I have no desire to go back to being a Queen's knight, I doubt that I would even be accepted back into their ranks after…" Georg trailed off leaving the sentence unfinished.
"It's okay Georg, I don't blame you. I blame the rune. It took both my parents and Lyon's life. That rune is the only thing to blame. And I would also be honored to have you serve beside me."
Miakis stood up and walked over to the prince. Taking one of his hands, she clasped it in both of hers, "Prince, I know that I can never take Lyon's place, and I don't want to. And I'm also sure that you don't want me to either."
Her tone of voice was a far cry from her usual cheerful self, showing the prince the true gravity of the situation and how important this was to her.
"But I wanted to know, if you would allow me to serve you as your personal bodyguard once again."
"O…of course Miakis."
"Thank you Prince!" And with that she enveloped him in a warm hug, nearly knocking him off his feet.
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Faourish brought his right arm across his chest in a closed fist salute, "Dismissed." Everyone filed out except Miakis.
Seconds after the Prince's knights exited the room, Lucretia entered, along with her two guards Cius and Lelei.
"The woman of the hour," said Faourish in way of greeting, "I don't think I've been given the proper opportunity to thank you for all the help you have been in this war."
Lucretia gave a small bow before speaking, "Not true your highness. I am only part of the reason why we won this war."
Faourish chuckled good naturedly, "Oh spare me. Right now you could tell me to jump off a cliff and I'd do it thinking it was all part of your strategy."
"You flatter me Prince, but I speak the truth."
"Really? What do you mean?"
"Hmm…" Lucretia thought for a moment, "Prince, do you know the difference between strategy and tactics?"
"Aren't they just the same thing?" He asked.
"Not quite. Strategy is the overall long term plan that you follow to win the battle. That is my area of expertise. Tactics are snap judgments made on the battlefield so your strategies don't go to pieces."
Faourish nodded in understanding.
"Every single battle from the time you fought off Armes while under lord Barows banner, to the final invasion at Sol-Falena, it was always you leading the troops into battle. It was you who directed the troops when they were vastly outnumbered and it was you who always emerged victorious."
Faourish sat and thought about that. It had always seemed that he had done nothing but follow her orders, but when she put things into that perspective…
"And that's not even considering all of the places you visited and all the troops you rallied to fight against the Godwins and their supporters."
"I see your point. And I also would like to point out that you haven't turned against me yet, so I must be doing a good job."
"Very true Prince," she turned to face her guards, "Cius, Lelei? Could you step outside for a moment?"
The two agreed and left the room.
"Miakis, could you leave the room as well?"
"But why?"
"I need to talk to the prince about a very delicate matter. The less people that know about it, the better."
"Its okay Miakis, its better that you don't hear this anyways."
Seeing Miakis about to object, Faourish added, "Please?"
"…Alright."
Lucretia sat down in a chair across from the Prince at his desk. They sat in silence for a minute or so before Faourish spoke, "You already know don't you? I should have known I couldn't hide it from you."
The strategist closed her eyes in thought for a second before speaking, "Let's say that I have a reasonable suspicion. Do you wish to confirm it?"
"Not really."
"Do it anyways."
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At the baths…
(Girls Side)
"So what do you plan on doing now?" asked Lorelai.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Your not going back to…wherever you came from?"
"I can't."
"Why not?"
Zerase sighed, "I need to keep an eye on Faourish. Ever since Lyon died, Faourish has wanted to get away from it all and just disappear. Unfortunately, he can't do that now. He's too important."
"Why's that?"
"That will be up to him to explain."
(Guys Side)
"Hey Levi, you ok?"
Levi snapped out of his daze to see Ernst in human form, sitting across from him in the bath.
"Ernst! I was just thinking about you."
"You…were?"
"Yes I was. It's about your beast rune. I think that I might have finally found a way to remove it, or at least give you control over it."
"You have? Finally! What do I have to do?"
"Get the prince to go along with the plan. You see, during the final battle, I was present. When Lyon died, he inherited the twilight rune. But that's not all. I can't be certain, but I think he also picked up something that could help you as well."
"Don't keep me in suspense! How can he help me?"
Levi sighed, "Well, I can't be certain…so I'm going to leave the final decision up to him."
Ernst stood up and clenched his fist in front of him, "I'll go ask him right now!" With a flash, Ernst transformed into his cheetah form and raced out of the bath, scattering water everywhere.
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"So you were planning on running?"
Faourish sighed, "I was. Lyon was the only person who could tell us apart. No one would have noticed Roy had taken my place until I was long gone. But since the ex-queens knights pledged their loyalty to me, that's not really an option anymore. Not to mention…"
"Indeed. So what do you plan on doing now?"
"I…really don't know. I kinda just expected to go back to the castle, take a position on the sentate and help Lym become the official queen. But I guess I really can't do that either. It would create too much controversy between the warring factions."
"Very true prince. Now that you…
CRASH!
Faourish only had a few seconds to push Lucretia out of the way before he was tackled by a wet, panting cheetah. Seconds later Miakis ran into the room yelling.
"Ernst! What the hell are you doing?"
Ernst apparently wasn't paying attention. Quickly, he morphed into human form, speaking quickly and excitedly. Almost too fast to hear.
"Prince! Levi said that you had a cure for my beast rune! Do you? Huh?" He would have gone on if he hadn't been silenced by the Prince.
"Ernst, get off me and put on a towel or something."
As if just noticing his surroundings, Ernst sheepishly got off the Prince and grabbed a towel from the Prince's closet. It didn't stall his enthusiasm for long though.
"Well? Do you really have a cure?"
"Did Levi tell you what this cure is?"
"No. He only said it might work and that you have the power."
Faourish put his hand on his forehead and sighed in exasperation, "Of course. We have so many of those people here it couldn't stay secret for long," he turned to Ernst, "The answer to your question is maybe. I might have a way to cure it. But I'd need Levi and Jeane to help me, and I don't know if I want to reveal it to them just yet."
Lucretia, noticing a significant drop in Ernst's mood, spoke up, "Prince, you can't hide it forever. And you are using it to help someone in need."
Faourish sighed again. He'd been doing that a lot lately, "Miakis? Could you get Levi and Jeane up here for me?"
"Sure thing Prince."
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A/N: Any guesses to exactly what Faourish is hiding? Anyway, leave a review on the way out. This is my first attempt at one of these fanfics after all.