Yes, I'm alive!! Sorry it took me so long to get back, I had a period of...drought? And real life got in the way, too. The computer with new chapters for my ongoing Fire Emblem stories won't connect to the internet, so sadly, those won't be updated yet. I'll try my best, though! For now, enjoy this! It's mostly random short stories about the random misadventures of various characters in Brawl. This chapter's Fire Emblem-themed...as you can probably guess from the fic's title.

I do not own Super Smash Bros. Brawl or the characters in it. If I did, LYN WOULD BE PLAYABLE. ;; And Phoenix Wright would be an Assist Trophy, calling forth Objections to stun your opponents and cause decent knockback!!!

WARNING: BRAWL ROSTER SPOILERS AND FE6 SPOILERS

Together We Ride
chapter 1

...Unfortunately, due to family resonsibilities and the funeral rites for the late Marquess of Ostia, I will not be able to attend the Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament. Please understand that these are unavoidable, and I offer to you all my deepest apologies. May Saint Elimine watch over you all...

He read the same paragraph of the letter over for...how many times was it, again? He hadn't been counting. It didn't matter at all. Not many things seemed to matter to him at all, at the moment.

Roy was gone.

He couldn't believe it. The clever and young tacticial genius who always gave the others quite the challenge in battle. The clueless teenage boy who didn't understand women (not that Marth DID). The first friend he'd made in a house full of strangers.

Gone.

Sure, out of sight wasn't out of mind--

"Excuse me."

--how long had his sister been out of sight, and how long had he strived to save her?

"...Hey."

But...all the same, it was painful. The prince felt as if he'd descended into an abyss. He was blind, mute, deaf--

"Are you ignoring me?"

He was hearing voices. Must be a side-affect of emo, although this hadn't ever really happened before. Marth sighed and continued his angsty introspective thought process. Blind, mute, and--

"Are you deaf?! I'm talking to you!"

Marth, his head down on his desk, finally turned around and looked up at what appeared to be a fellow--

Ike growled and shook his head, the dark headband he wore in his blue hair following the movement. "Enough with the descriptions, please. Everyone already knows what I look like. And quit being so dramatic," he said, frowning.

"O-oh. I'm sorry." This must be the "newcomer" I've been hearing about... thought the lord, avoiding the young man's eyes and staring at the floor.

"Well, I guess that might've been a little harsh. You've probably already heard, but I'm Ike." He smiled a bit sheepishly. "And just to clear up fanon rumors, I am not your son."

"Huh...?"

Ike's expression darkened. "You don't want to know."

"All right, then--" Marth was cut off by a female voice.

"Oh, that's nothing. You don't know the half of it..." groaned Lyn, dark green hair shining in the light showering down from the window in Marth's room. "You haven't been in the fandom that long--I've seen everything."

Wait a minute, wasn't I the first Fire Emblem lord...? Marth reflected.

"I'm very sorry for intruding," Lyn added quickly, punctuating her apology with a short bow, "but the door was open. And I also wanted to meet you. Er...Lord Marth. Although I am only an assist trophy, I hope we can be friends." The young woman grinned brightly.

"It is very nice to meet y--"

"Hold on a second." Ike raised an eyebrow, giving Lyn a curious look. "I've had to deal with getting paired with Mr. I-Wear-Short-Shorts, and Brawl hasn't even been released in America yet!"

"That doesn't mean anything," Lyn retorted with...venom? Marth shrunk in his chair a little. "I've gotten paired up with everyone from my best friend to the pink-dressed woman down the hall, and I'm not even a major character in this game! I believe that entitles me to be most experienced in handling such situations," she ended coolly.

"You're not the only one who can't be friends with anyone without the fangirls thinking I'm--" (here, Marth hummed the Fire Emblem theme song) "--ing them! Don't make yourself to be all high and mighty!"

"Excuse me?" The Sacaean's tone made Marth sink even lower into his seat. So scary...lucky for him, she was only an assist trophy. "I believe that's my line. Now, I'll be taking my leave. It was a pleasure to meet you, Marth. ...Ike."

Lyn strode out of the room with a turn of her heel and not one look at a shocked (and still fuming) Ike.

"Bah. Women," he muttered. "Thank the gods she's not playable." After gathering himself, the young man turned to the prince, beaming. "So. Marth, was it? Since we're gonna be fighting, d'you feel like sparring for a bit?"

He nodded, a bit stunned at Ike's sudden offer.

Marth, they called me. Not Marth-sama, or Lord Marth. Like he did.

...I don't think I'll be quite as lonely as I thought I would be.

The two swordsmen stood and left the room, happily talking, neither of them noticing a page of Roy's letter floating off the desk and landing at the foot of Marth's bed.


Sincerely,
Roy, Duke of Pherae

P.S. And by the way, just because I'm not actually fighting, doesn't mean that I won't be watching from the stands! Hope I'll see you all later! Roy

Hope you all enjoyed it! Reviews are appreciated, and thanks for reading!