A/N: Yeah, I'm not all that into the Rufus/Alicia thing, as you can tell. This is basically an alternate scene to what happened during the reunion with Arngrim in Valhalla Castle. Arngrim's been one of my favorite characters in the VP storyline since I played the first one, and I wanted to write a little fluff between him and Alicia. Hope you enjoy it.

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

To Quell a Berserker's Fury

The mighty home of the gods, Asgard. Within these boundless fields of flowers stood a grand castle. It was Valhalla, dwellings of the Aesir. Within its hollowed halls were many things. There was, of course, Gungnir, the Treasure that kept the realm of Asgard stable. The leader of the Aesir, the Allfather Odin, also took residence in this seemingly impenetrable fortress. At his side was the Goddess of Fertility, Freya. The Allfather Odin, completely enveloped in his own ideals, brought down divine retribution on the mortal world of Midgard, specifically, the Kingdom of Dipan.

Dipan had been gathering all of its political, technological, and military strength to finally rid themselves of the meddling gods who continued to intervene with their lives on a daily basis. This revolt was to be led by King Barbarossa, but before his plans could come to pass, his kingdom was stormed in a blinding flash by the forces of the gods. His monarchy torn asunder, King Barbarossa was sentenced to death by the guillotine for acts of treason against the gods. As the razor sharp blade fell upon his neck, the entire country of Dipan collapsed at that very moment.

Any and all who dared oppose the gods would meet a similar fate. There would be no mortal power that would ever come remotely close to that of the gods. Valhalla's rule over Midgard would be absolute, for all eternity.

Or so, that is what was thought at the time of Dipan's destruction...

Alicia, the only remaining descendant of King Barbarossa's lineage, continued the fight her father had started against the gods. Within her small frame were two souls. The first was Alicia's, and the second, was that of Silmeria, a Valkyrie. This Battle Maiden had defected from the ranks of Asgard, and also sought to overthrow the tyannical gods that ruled Midgard with an iron fist. Using the powers of the Valkyrie kept within her body, Alicia was able to collect einherjar, mighty warriors who once dwelled on Midgard, but had pledged allegiance to Silmeria after she collected their souls at the time of their death.

However, it was not only einherjar that aided Alicia and Silmeria on their quest. There was also Rufus, an archer, who was actually a half-elf. His fate had been written long ago to be a suitable host for the soul of Odin should the Allfather's body ever start to wither. But Rufus openly defied his destiny and escaped from the Forest of Spirits in which he was kept. His chance meeting with Alicia in the port town of Solde would soon escalate into a bond of true friendship. From that very meeting, Rufus stayed at Alicia's side, and now, the two had come to meet yet another of their allies, or rather, former allies.

Within these regal walls of Valhalla Castle, a friendship once thought to be lost will be rediscovered, and strengthened tenfold...

He knelt down, his hands clasped behind his head. His sword lay at the feet of the young girl before him. He had put up no struggle this time around, deciding to simply forfeit, as he knew he had no chance. Arngrim, the mercenary from Artolia, once thought unbeatable on the field of battle, now was helpless before a young girl he had once fought alongside.

"It's your call now." Arngrim said, looking at the two people standing before him. His voice showed no sign of fear or intimidation. "If you want revenge for what happened in Dipan, now's your chance."

"What do you think, Alicia?" Rufus asked of his leader, the former Princess of Dipan, Alicia.

The young girl looked down at the two-handed sword Arngrim had carried with him for so long. It pained her to see Arngrim like this. While she never openly admitted it to anyone, Alicia felt a small sense of admiration for Arngrim. There was something about him that she always liked. While Rufus had his arrogance, and Dylan his sense of honor, Arngrim had a quiet sense of reassuring power emanating from him.

This wasn't something Alicia could sense due to the presence of Silmeria, but she was able to sense it just the same. When Arngrim had joined her ranks in the Serdberg Mountain Ruins, Alicia felt like she had gained a very powerful ally, not only for battle, but to travel alongside.

While he never noticed due to his constant bickering with Dylan, Alicia would shoot shy looks at Arngrim all the time. She took the utmost care as to not let anyone, especially not Rufus or Lezard, see her. Alicia knew right away that Arngrim would never acknowledge her completely, he only looked at the young Princess of Dipan as a traveling companion. That was fine for Alicia, as long as Arngrim stayed at her side, she was content. Along with Dylan, Rufus, Lezard, and Leone, Alicia felt safe for the first time.

However, at the Palace of the Venerated Dragon, that feeling of security slowly began to slip away...

Leone was, in actuality, Hrist Valkyrie, the one who had pursued Alicia for so long, with the intention of killing her and reclaiming Silmeria's soul to return it to Asgard. She led the raid on Dipan, laying waste to Alicia's kingdom within the course of a single day.

Dylan had disappeared, his soul replaced by the Lord of the Undead, Brahms. However, Brahms had allied himself with Alicia, so in a sense, Dylan was still with her. But, now even the undead master had been captured by the Aesir, and he now resided somewhere within these walls of Valhalla.

Lezard had turned against her, caring only about his plans to attain the power of the gods for his own insane reasons. Atop the world tree, Yggdrasil, he had accomplished this task, and then vanished, only a sickening cackle left behind.

And Arngrim, perhaps one of Alicia's most trusted friends, had also stabbed her in the back. After becoming an einherjar of Hrist, Arngrim once again met Alicia, this time as her enemy, during the raid on Dipan. It was Arngrim, the very same Arngrim Alicia would silently admire, that released the lever of the guillotine that claimed the life of her father, King Barbarossa.

And now, here he was, surrendering without so much as a fight. This was the perfect oppurtunity to finally claim vengeance for her father, as well as all the people of Dipan that were slain at the hands of the gods that fateful day.

But, even as Alicia stood before Arngrim, her victory and revenge against the traitorous heavy warrior guaranteed with one swift strike, Alicia could not bring herself to take his life. At least, not in the fashion in which Arngrim was implying.

"Stand, Arngrim." Alicia said, the once timid girl's voice sounding commanding and stern. Placing her boot on the hilt of Arngrim's weapon, she kicked it back over to the warrior who had moments earlier thrown it away.

"What?" Arngrim said, raising a brow in confusion at Alicia. He wrapped his hand around the hilt, but did not pick up the weapon, instead, he continued to stare in awe at the young princess.

"I would not want to end your existence in such a way. There is no honor, and I know that is not the type of death you desire. I will not strike you down in such a manor, as you had done to my father..."

Alicia's face went somber for a moment as she thought back to her father's final moments, but then returned to its serious tone.

"You sure this is a good idea, Alicia?" Rufus asked, readying his bow for battle.

"No, Rufus." Alicia said, holding her arm up. "This is my fight. Only I am allowed to honor my father's name with this duel. I would appreciate it if you stood down."

"Are you crazy?!" Rufus exclaimed. "You think I'm going to let you fight this guy alone?!"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Alicia said, beaming a warm smile at Rufus. "I mean, I can't rely on you all the time, can I?"

Rufus considered the options, and then ultimately obeyed Alicia's request. He returned his arrow to the quiver on his back, lowered his bow, and then leaned his weight on one of the pillars in the area.

"Alright, but if I see you in trouble, I'm intervening, no ifs, ands, or buts about it." Rufus said defiantly.

"Deal." Alicia nodded contently, turning her gaze back to Arngrim.

"I will avenge my father's name." Alicia told Arngrim as the mighty berserker got to his feet, bringing his gigantic blade onto his back.

"You've changed, kid." Arngrim said in a tone that almost seemed to praise the young girl. "If this is what you really want, then..."

"Have at you, Arngrim!" Alicia bellowed as she charged Arngrim with furious energy.

Arngrim barely had enough time to react as the petite warrior bounded towards him. Opening with a furious thrust, Alicia gained the immediate offensive. Arngrim withdrew one hand from his sword and deflected the strike with the metal gauntlet covering his arms. Alicia's sword put a deep gash in the cold steel of Arngrim's protective gear. Such an intense attack showed Arngrim how serious Alicia was. She was no longer the timid and meek girl he had known, she was a true warrior.

While Arngrim knew this may very well be his final battle before meeting the emptiness of oblivion, he felt very satisfied. He was bred for battle from the very outset, and meeting his end in such a grandiose way was something he always dreamed of. He always cringed at the thought of being struck down by a cowardly attack, the the pitiful and meaningless death in obscurity that would follow. He would never die in such a miserable way. Only one who could overcome his nigh immeasureable strength would have the right, the privelage, to take his life. The day he died would be a glorious battle, one that would take every once of will of his opponent to finally subdue him. Now his wish was finally being granted, not by a god, not by a hideous monster, but by a young girl of the utmost ferocity.

Swinging his sword around his body with the hand that still clenched onto it, Arngrim fended Alicia off with a furious shove. Alicia skidded backwards a few feet, but the second she regained her bearings, she was on the attack once more. Jumping into the air, Alicia brought her sword down on Arngrim, aiming for a decapitating blow to the neck. But Arngrim, while a heavy melee, was still nimble enough to jump out of the way, but just barely.

Not even thinking, Arngrim thrust his sword with all his might at Alicia. His attack met nothing but air. As he was withdrawing his sword back to its resting position on his back, Arngrim saw Alicia at his knees. She swept her foot along the ground, trying to trip Arngrim, but she did not possess enough leg strength to do so. Now at a disadvantage, Alicia quickly tried to scramble away. Her evasive maneuver proved worthwhile, as Arngrim arced his sword downward at her. Alicia barely avoided having her leg forcefully severed. The ground in that met Arngrim's blade gave way with ease, leaving a small crater and tattered pieces of carpet underneath it.

Arngrim doubled back, this time it was he who was charging madly at Alicia. But Alicia stood firm in a defensive position, ready to take on the brunt of the berserker's attack.

Letting out a loud warcry, Arngrim brought down his blade on Alicia, his muscles rippling with pure power. Any lesser warrior would've been crushed under the weight of the blade alone, and those who managed to survive that would've been sliced in two. But Alicia was no ordinary warrior. She actually managed to hold Arngrim's attack off, although his blade as well as her own hovered less than a millimeter away from her face.

Trying to force his sword down onto her, Arngrim could see Alicia's face was drenched with sweat. Her light golden hair was matted to her forehead, and her tiara was barely hanging on. Her breaths came out in short spurts, signalling that she was getting very tired very fast.

Thinking nothing of what might happen, Arngrim continued his attempt to smother Alicia under his sheer brute strength.

Rufus looked on nervously, keeping his hand on the arrows stored in his quiver. He was an expert marksman, and could easily pick Arngrim off at this range with a single, well placed shot. But he respected Alicia's wishes to remain out of the fight, even though things were quickly starting to look dire. The anticipation of the battle was murder on the Archer of Fate's nerves...

Alicia, being the obviously more strategic thinker, quickly learned that remaining like this for much longer would be a death wish. She quickly formulated a plan and then put it into action. Dropping to her knees and withdrawing her sword, Alicia ducked forward as far as she could. Arngrim's blade came crashing down behind her, slicing a small hole into the back of her dress, but ultimately leaving her unscathed. Alicia crawled underneath Arngrim's legs and rolled away from him as he was reclaiming his battle stance. Jumping to her feet, Alicia saw that Arngrim's flank was open. This looked to be her only oppurtunity to end this battle once and for all.

Capitilizing on Arngrim's cumbersome recovery, Alicia charged once more, rearing her blade back for the killing blow.

However, something unexpected happened...

Arngrim quickly turned around, not even bothering to return his sword to its resting position. He scraped it along the ground, shearing away the blood red carpets of Valhalla Castle with ease. Now he held it close to his body, the tip of the blade pointing toward the incoming Alicia.

"Alicia, watch out!" Rufus yelled, readying his arrow. He took aim, and within a split second, had a perfect bead on the back of Arngrim's neck, a fatal shot to be sure. But just as he was about to release the projectile, he stopped. Something within his body told him to cease and desist, and, in the moments that were to come, his hesitation would certainly pay off.

Alicia's sword met Arngrim's in a hail of sparks. Dragging the edge of her weapon down Arngrim's sword, Alicia was able to keep Arngrim from attacking long enough to make it to the handguard. Her sword's hilt locked with that of Arngrim's, and with her last bit of remaining battle prowress, she wrenched back. Arngrim was not able to react in time, and his sword was ripped out of his hands, landing a few yards away. However, Alicia retained her weapon, and was now standing before him, her sword pointed up at his neck, the tip of the blade barely touching his skin.

Arngrim raised his hands in surrender.

"Pretty good, kid." Arngrim said, grinning all the while. "I guess you've got what it takes to defy the gods after all."

"Whoa..." Rufus looked on in shock, lowering his bow and arrow.

She had done it, Alicia, the frail princess of Dipan, had bested Arngrim, an einherjar of Hrist, in a one-on-one duel.

"Alright, you won, now get it over with." Arngrim commanded.

Alicia barely had the strength to move. She was so exhausted from her fight that she couldn't even speak. Her entire body wanted to collapse then and there, but she refused. It didn't matter if she passed out from overexertion afterwards, she HAD to take revenge on Arngrim for what he had done to her father and her people.

Bringing her sword back a few feet, Alicia prepared to impale Arngrim through the chest, and end his existence once and for all.

"Thanks, kid." Arngrim said, closing his eyes. "Thanks, for everything."

Alicia let out a, exasperated cry, one that was mixed with anger, frustration, and despair, and then lunged forward.

Rufus turned away and looked down at the ground. He didn't care too much for Arngrim, but he also didn't want it to end like it had. However, Arngrim had sealed his own fate by choosing to ally with the gods, and now he had to pay the price.

"Tch..." Scoffed Rufus. "Damn...why did it have to be like this?"

An unsettling silence floated about the area for a few moments...

"Uh, kid, you okay?" Rufus heard the voice of Arngrim call out.

"What the...?"

Rufus turned back around to see a shocking scene.

Alicia's sword now lay at the feet of Arngrim, no hint of blood on it. Looking closer, Rufus could see Alicia's petite arms wrapped as far as they could go around Arngrim's waist. They held onto his muscular abdomen for a few moments, then fell limply to the side.

"Alicia...?" Rufus called out.

Arngrim turned to face Rufus, his strong arms holding the unconscious Alicia.

"Heh, she passed out." Arngrim said.

"No, really, you think? I hadn't noticed..." Rufus said cynically. Arngrim gently set Alicia down on the ground, and Rufus went over to her.

Some time later...

"You alright?" Alicia heard Rufus' voice. Her eyes fluttered for a moment, and then opened fully.

"What happened?" Alicia asked.

"I was hoping you could answer that." Rufus said, pointing over at Arngrim, who was sitting against a pillar a few feet away from the two.

Alicia grunted slightly, pulling her battered body up.

"Hey, hey, take it easy!" Rufus shouted.

"I'm alright, just a little tired." Alicia said. Slowly getting to her feet, Alicia made her way over to Arngrim.

"Hey." Arngrim said.

"Hi." Alicia said timidly, sitting down next to him.

"You didn't finish the job..." Arngrim said bitterly.

"No, I did." Alicia rebutted.

"What are you talking about?"

"I avenged my father by striking down the one who killed him so dishonorably." Alicia said proudly.

"I...don't follow." Arngrim mumbled.

"It's okay, Arngrim." Alicia said with a shy smile. "So, are you ready to go?"

"Go where?"

"Why, after Lezard, of course! We're all in this together, right?"

Arngrim looked Alicia up and down. She was physically spent, but still had the strength to smile so warmly at him. She was a wonderful young girl, and held a deep sense of admiration for the heavy warrior before her. While at first, she was a traveling companion, then an enemy, now she was, to Arngrim's shock, his friend. Friends during times of war were truly a rare gem, and Arngrim, as self-dependant as he were, knew what he had standing before him.

"Yeah." Arngrim said with a nod. "Let's get going, I'm sick of being an underling for the gods."

"So, you'll come with us, Sir Arngrim?" Alicia said with a sly wink.

"You know it." Arngrim replied, picking up his sword with one hand. Using his other, he offered it to Alicia, who accepted the gesture, and was helped to her feet by Arngrim. As soon as she was standing once more, she snatched her hand away and quickly turned away, trying to hide her face, as it was splashed with a tinge of red around her cheeks. Returning to Rufus' side, the two looked at Arngrim.

"Welcome back, Sir Arngrim." Alicia said with another warm smile.

Arngrim let out a low chuckle, and the trio then left the area, their destination was the deeper parts of Valhalla Castle...