Tatsu: Well, my computer has been acting up a lot recently, and as I finished the first part I felt no strong urge to keep writing. But finally I've gotten past my laziness after a month of working hard at school, so get ready because here starts part two of the Fire Emblem Saga!
As for pairings and such, I think I'll develop as things move along, and we'll see how things turn out. After all, it's so much fun to keep people guessing. That and I have no idea what I'm going to write before I actually write it. So here comes the first chapter of Live, Love, and Perish!
Will: Tatsu does not own anything from fire emblem, he only partially owns the extra characters he brings into the story and the extra chapters that he writes. Basically, unless it involves this fanfiction, he really doesn't have any control over it. So too bad for him.
Chapter 1: Will's Journey
Life… Something so simple, yet something so precious at the same time. I once took many lives away from others. At that time, I did it to survive. Now, I no longer kill myself, but lead others into battle. That blood is still on my hands. That is the fate of tacticians. But it is also a path that tread correctly can lead to a better world. That is what I aim for now.
Love… a strange emotion. One I have never felt necessary before. But on my travels, I realized something. The ones who love their comrades can trust them with their lives. In this way, they become stronger, as they no longer consider everyone to be a threat. Bridges built between people can last for short periods, or for lifetimes.
Death… something I have seen to much of. Mainly I have seen my enemies fall before me or my troops, as I lead them into battle after battle. This past year, I have not had to do that. Seeing the world in all its wonders has taught me many things. The main thing is that everyone has a place they call home, or have places they can return to when life gets them down.
Maria… Lord Wallace… are you watching over me even now? It's been four months since Mirage and I came to this village, and yet we have no desire to leave. For once I am content, but soon I will return to Lyn, and keep the promise I made. It's strange… but things don't seem right without her around. Perhaps her blunt ways have left an impression on me. Of course, I seem to miss everyone else as well.
Kent… Loyal to a fault, but a strong leader, and very kind. Sain… not the most noble of knights, but always dependable in a pinch. Wil… shares my name, and one hell of an archer. Florina… She's shy, but strong, and we can learn a lot from each other. Dorcas… I heard he lives in a village near here, actually, and plan on checking out this lead soon. Erk… Maybe more quiet than most companions, but his fire magic always hits the mark. Serra… She's annoying, but she has a strong will and a good heart. Rath… the nomad of Sacae, the son of the Silver wolf… probably a better archer than even Wil, from what I've seen. I hear he still works as a mercenary. Lucius and Raven… I have the strangest feeling I'll see them in Caelin. Mark and Chaos. I have no idea where they are, but they told me we'd meet again, and I have no doubt that we will. Nils and Ninian… I'm not sure what happened to them. Sometimes I have nightmares, other times I dream that we meet again and live in peace. Matthew… I'm sure he's in Ostia now, bugging the heck out of whomever he works under. Maybe he got stuck guarding Serra, now that'd be a laugh. Guy… I wonder what happened to him. I haven't seen or heard hide or hair of him since he went to Ostia with Matthew. Maybe he's still there?
Despite that, I've come to enjoy this quaint little village. It's actually Wil's hometown. Ironic, in a way, that now I'm friends with his old friend, Rebecca, as well as a nomad who has made this village his home, by the name of Kram. Sacaen, obviously, just by the way it's spelled.
I have the strangest feeling I won't be seeing Lyn any time soon though… perhaps I'm getting paranoid from too much peace…
"Will! Get up you lazy bum! You sleep way too late!" A girl's voice cut through whatever good or bad dreams he had just been having, and Will sighed, heaving himself up. It was lucky he wore clothes to bed. For some reason, people had the bad habit of barging in on him.
"Rebecca, it's the crack of dawn! How is that late? Sheesh, that's way early for me, only Lord Wallace ever got up at this time of day." He scratched his head and yawned, then looked and the green haired, pig-tailed girl, who had a huffy expression on her face. "And don't start harping on me about how Wil gets up this early either. You're just weird that way.
Of course, that blew her top, and the next thing he knew he was trudging out of the village after her, sword and lance securely in place, and rubbing a rather nice bruise on the side of his face. If anyone is more of a tomboy than Lyn… I'd say it was probably this girl. He almost laughed at the thought, but held it in. His face still hurt quite a bit.
Ever since his arrival, she and Kram had been kind to both him and Mirage, but in return for the hospitality they had to work. Mirage was good at discovering the causes of illnesses and how to cure them, while he generally got stuck with hunting duty with Rebecca.
One thing he could say was that she was an excellent shot. Not quite as seasoned as Wil had been, but quite good all the same. As they lay in their positions, he wondered why the two of them continued to stick around. Perhaps it was because they wouldn't be able to travel far without being chased down by Rebecca, that and the deadline of a year was fast approaching.
He often looked at his old notebook, and in the new one he hadn't written much since their arrival in the village. Still, he updated it now and then.
In the Scourging, mankind vanquished the dragons thanks to eight legendary heroes. They brought the peace that Elibe experiences to this day. Nations formed around them, and the people have enjoyed great prosperity. Harmut founded Bern, which is famous for its military might. St. Elimine moved west and her sacred name flourished among the artisans of Etruria. The horseman Hanon's legacy lives on with those of the Sacaen Plains. The knight Barisan's terrain now is home to the renowned knights of Ilia. The berserker Durban's final glory was to create a warrior's clan in the Western Isles. The arch sage Athos is said to have retired to the barren wastelands of Nabata. The heirs of Roland became the lords of the Lycian League. This peace has lasted 980 years, but how much longer can it last before its foundations begin to crumble?
He shook his head, clearing the thought. A wild boar had just made its appearance, sniffing its way to its next meal. In a way, he found it Ironic that they had just found theirs. Rebecca's shot was quick, but the boar jolted at the last second, and the arrow pierced its leg rather than finishing the creature off. Will sighed.
"I always hated clean up." He muttered, as he walked up to the crippled boar. "I'm sorry." And he unsheathed the sword, stabbing the boar through the heart, and ending its squeals of pain.
"Well, it looks like this time we got a good one, huh?" Rebecca was practically skipping as Will dragged the dead beast back to the village. "At least now they can have some meat. We haven't had some in a while."
"Well, if someone wasn't so impatient we might've had better luck." Will smiled slightly.
"Come again?" He could swear he heard thunder in her voice, and the threat of more pain caused him to stop his teasing.
"Nothing." He shrugged, and continued dragging.
That night truly was what some would call a feast, or maybe even a party. The village didn't have many people, so the boar could cover for two or three days worth of meat for all of them.
Of course, Will always dreaded the next part. Mirage and Kram smiled slightly as they heard the call "Begin the music!"
It wasn't that he hated music. Quite the contrary, in fact. He loved the sounds of the instruments, and the starry sky above only made it better. The only problem was the dancing. He was never any good at it. Unfortunately, according to a snickering Mirage, he was "Quite good looking" and so many girls asked him to dance with them.
He wondered about that. A messy mop of brown hair wasn't supposed to be attractive. Perhaps it was the look of a well traveled man. Well, Mirage had that more than him. Then again, Mirage was a little… temperamental, as well as not being taller than most of the girls his age. It only soured his mood.
Since he still trained, he did have a lean physical shape, but he definitely wouldn't call himself a muscle man. Kram qualified in that area, but apparently he was a lot like Rath, and didn't talk to people he didn't like or trust, which wasn't many. Which left him, the mysterious stranger.
He really hated dancing. However, this time he had a plan. A simple plan that would hopefully work. Before the requests began he walked up to Rebecca. "Dance?" He asked, not managing to word his sentence quite the way he wanted.
She giggled, and nodded. "You know, sometimes you do remind me a lot of Wil." She said, as she lead him in the steps. It was becoming easier, as he had been taught them so many times already, but he still wasn't very good at it.
"Come on, I'm no master archer like him. And he's certainly done more good than I'll ever do." He laughed, but Rebecca looked curiously at him.
"So you do know him! I knew it. You always acted like you didn't know who I was talking about, but you accepted the information given to you a little to readily." Will sighed and shrugged, not sure he wanted to go into this at the moment.
"I… traveled with him, for a little while anyway." He decided she wouldn't stop prodding him until he told her everything, so he gave her the truth… sort of.
"Really? You'll have to tell me all about it later." She giggled. "When your fans aren't watching." Will rolled his eyes, as the girls in questions were either glaring at the two from the sidelines or with their partner. Small village, small mentality… I guess.
It had been three hours since the end of the party, and sense then he had been telling the tale from when he met Lyn to how they defeated Mark. It was now probably midnight, by his guess. "And that's it. My year is almost up, so I guess I'll be leaving soon."
Rebecca seemed slightly shocked at the news, but even more intrigued. "Can I come too?" That nearly made Will fall off the bed. It was almost exactly what Lyn had asked him a long time ago. "Would your parents allow it?"
Again, the question stirred memories within him. "I don't know…" She answered, seemingly thinking it over. "But I want to go. That way I can give Wil a good smack!" Will sighed at this. He should've expected as much.
"Well, how about you ask your father tomorrow? We're leaving in two or three days, so know by then and be ready." He said, stretching and yawning.
"Okay…" He glanced at her, only to see her droop and then fall onto his shoulder, sleeping like a log. Again he sighed. Just like Lyn, she was strong, and yet had moments of weakness. He considered it… cute. Yes, that was the word. Laying her down on his bed, he walked out of the room and out of the house to the empty street.
If only things would go as smoothly as he hoped they would… then there wouldn't be a need for them to fight. But by the change in the air, he could tell… someone was out for blood. Hurrying to the front of the village, he saw multiple torches out in the distance. This was bad. Really bad.
"Elder!" He didn't mean to be so rude or to bash in the door, but an emergency had come. "Do you have warriors?"
The old man looked up, dazed. "Will? Where's Rebecca? What's going on?"
"Bandits are coming. I need all available warriors. Everyone else should evacuate." Will was already calculating a strategy, and had a feeling he knew what was coming next.
"We have none but Kram and my daughter." The old man replied.
"Fine. I need everyone awake and in the square within the hour. We haven't much time."
He was surprised that everyone was present and accounted for. Even Rebecca, who slept harder than anyone else, despite her early waking, was in the square. "Listen up! Bandits are headed for this village. I've planned a counter attack, but in case it fails I want no civilian casualties. Everyone is to evacuate to the mountain caves. We'll come for you when the coast is clear."
They nodded, and began to file out. Only the three that would fight with him remained. Mirage already had his tome out, Kram and Rebecca were fitting arrows into their bows, and Will had the Tiger Eye out and ready. This was going to be one hell of a fight.
"Listen, we can't make a stand outside, there are too many of them for that. Once they enter the city, we can take them. We know this city and its layout far better than they do. That's how we win this, with the home field advantage." The others nodded.
"You three position in a triangle with plenty of ammo. Once the fight starts it'll be hard to reload, and we may need to run for it. I'll be right here in the elder's house, and the moment I come out, start shooting any enemies that come." Again they nodded. Kram and Rebecca seemed surprised that their kind guest was now a cold and calculating tactician, but there was no time for arguments. Everyone dispersed.
The bandits were now inside the village. Rebecca could see the look in their greedy little eyes as they stormed in. She was worried about Will, who was the only warrior among them. She was also worried about herself and the other two. An Archer's nest wasn't exactly invulnerable. Dawn was only an hour away now.
She trained her bow on the one closest to the leader, as they approached the elder's home. Her well trained ears didn't need to strain themselves to hear the shouts. "Come out old man, and bring all your gold with you! The knights of Pharae are gone, so it's first come first serve for us bandits now! This village now belongs to Groznyi!"
She saw the door open, and out stepped a man wearing a battered green cloak over his Sacaen garb, a lance held in one hand, and in the other a gleaming sword. The bandit's smiles were more like leers, and even she could spot them from here. "So, you plan to resis—" His line was cut off as Will cleanly swept off his head, and the head and body both fell to the ground in a heap.
Immediately, dark magic and arrows flew into the mass of bandits, causing them great panic and they began to charge Will. In her own panic, Rebecca also began firing off arrows, and several bandits fell, but not nearly enough as they surrounded Will. She had to turn her attention to the archers, who were aiming at spots they though the arrows had come from.
Will sighed. "Can't you all just surrender peacefully so we can avoid this messy business?" This was followed by several axes swinging down on him, which he dodged, having left Wallace's weights in the cabin so that he could move freely. "I guess that's a no."
Several were blasted by Mirage's next spell, and others were cut down by Will's blade, while still others were killed by Arrows or His spear. But after an hour and no end to the attack in sight… they began to fatigue. The bandits had apparently dispersed through the countryside, while still others remained in the village to fight the four. Half an hour ago Rebecca had been forced out of hiding by a bandit that had snuck into her building, and Kram's shots had stopped after an archer hit him in the arm. Luckily, he hadn't been found by the bandits, so he was still alive.
Mirage had also been forced out of his hole when a fire mage set his building ablaze, only ten minutes ago. Now was the time for do or die. "Great… never figured we'd die from common thugs." Mirage muttered, spitting out a mouthful of blood from the other fire ball that had hit him. A vulnerary fixed him up, but the wound still affected him enough that he was slowed.
Rebecca had run out of arrows, and Will had finally taken a gash to his right leg that ended his speedy movements. Now they were encircled, and all he could do was sigh. "We're only human; after all, what did you expect?"
"Not this." Rebecca groaned, holding Will's dagger in a defensive position, which he had just given her to protect herself. "I at least wanted to get married before dying."
"So even a tomboy like you has girlish dreams huh?" Will asked, chuckling softly.
"What's so funny about it?" She asked dangerously, and Will merely gave a non committal shrug of his shoulders in response.
It seems, however, that fate was on their side that day, as at that moment a strange hair-colored man came bursting through the gate of the village with his sword raised. "Beware you foul demons of Banditry! I, Lowen of the knights of Pharae, will bring you to justice!" The bandits seemed to freak out about the Pharae part more than the actual knight's threat, but that gave them their chance. Cutting their way to the horseman while the bandits continued to flounder, they explained the situation.
"Hmm… I see. It may be hard on my horse, but all of you should hop on. I will take you to my lord so he may hear your tale." Mirage clambered on, but Will pulled Rebecca into the stable, and a moment later came out on another horse.
"Borrowing it." He said at the quizzical look from both the knight and Mirage. "Let's go!"
Tatsu: I know this is a short chapter, but it's hard at the beginning, and the next chapter has all that Eliwood stuff going on, so I need to stop here to get it.
You see, I am a very fickle person, so I lose interest in things, and have very little motivation. Luckily, once I started this chapter I continued it until I was done. My beta is available right now, so I have to post it as is. I hope you don't mind.
I know I have a bit more Tactician/Rebecca than intended, but I promise once more people come in you'll see it lessen. There are just so many pairing ideas for Will buzzing through my head that it's hard to let go of any of them. If some of you will do other pairings in fics, which will ease my guilt for not choosing them over whoever I do choose.
Anyways, I hope you liked this start, and will stay tuned for the next chapter, TAKING LEAVE. Sorry, but as most people know this chapter quite well, there isn't a preview in my mind right now. I just want my readers back first!