Path of Valor
AN: So, I was reading a particular self-insert Fire Emblem fanfic and I thought to myself, 'Wait, I could totally do this. All I need to do is change my last name, and we're in biznez.'
If you thought you read this before, read again. I changed some stuff.
So I did. Enjoy!
'Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring, Banana Phone!' Chimed my cellphone. The ring tone already told me who it was, my good friend Daniel. I clicked the green button, and another one to put it on speaker.
"Oi, you coming yet Larson?" Daniel's deep voice comes out of the piece of plastic with only the slight hint he's moving.
"No, I'm not. You told me seven thirty." I reply annoyed. We were headed up to play laser tag with some friends in the city, and apparently I was late.
"So, you ever plan on coming? Or are we gonna walk there?"
"You're a track star, I'm sure you could handle it." I snark back.
'Well, I'd rather roll up in a bomb-ass caddy, if you get what I'm saying."
"It's a Bonneville, bro." I reminded him.
"And there is a house in New Orleans too, you wanna know what it's called?"
I sigh. "Could it be called The Rising Sun?"
"Good guess. Have you left yet?" "Yeah, Yeah..."
It didn't take long before I got to his house, and soon we were on the road again, singing Lonely Island songs. Daniel was sitting beside me, wearing a white tank-top and black sweatpants, for ease of movement. I was wearing something between a sweatshirt and a polo, and a dark pair of jeans. After a rousing rendition of Boombox, Daniel turns down the radio.
"Hey, you know Amelia from Sacred Stones, right?" Oh right, I sold my copy of Sacred Stones to him. He liked that game more than I did, anyway.
"Yeah, why?" She was a trainee, was he going to complain how she sucks or...?
"Dude, she has like, fifteen in every stat except Speed and Skill. She's kicking everybody's ass." We both laugh at that.
"How many times did you go though the Tower of Valani to get her there?" I smirk. I never liked that, it was effectively infinite experience points to anybody with a little patience.
"Oh you know, hmmermerm..." Daniel trailed off. "So, how's your Ike Solo doing?"
Oh yeah, I was doing an Ike solo on Hard, almost forgot. "Well, I got four maxed steel forged swords, so I think I got it locked up." I say with a grin. Daniel laughs back.
I don't think ether of us will forget what happened next. Time slowed to a crawl as the pickup in the other lane swerved to avoid some animal, putting him right in front of us. We finished the final chord of the song around the time of impact. Last thing I remember was the smell of burning gas.
And the blackness, that too. To be quite honest, my first thought was how many balls was I tripping and when did I get that way? Too bad some guy's voice broke me out of my haze.
Hmhmhm, seems like you're in a predicament.
I still felt rather high, so I decided to turn on the sarcasm generators. Oh you know, death is a slap on the wrist nowadays anyway. I tried to say, but apparently I didn't have a mouth. Yep, I must be so high.
You seem awfully cavalier of the fact you were just deep-fried.
Didn't even bother trying to open my mouth. Well, I guess I was wrong about there not being an afterlife. Is this my reincarnation, or is Hell just really dark?
Ha! Yes, you could say this was your reincarnation. I prefer to think of it as a second chance.
'Zat right?
It is. If you die again, well, I'll have run out of places I could send you.
Oh? And where are you sending me?
Oh you know. Inside a videogame. Bye Bye now.
Wait, wha-
And then it got really bright. Not white light, more like a really bright but dirty orange. Then it was like someone yanked back on the field of view lever, and I was quickly able to see the forest around me. Good thing I was sitting down, I'd have surely fallen over. Or maybe I did, judging by the distressed look on the woman's face in front of me.
She whispered something to me, I think it was something along the lines of, "Who are you?". I couldn't really hear, my ears were ringing and I had a killer headache. When the ringing stopped, I noticed she was still looking at me suspiciously. Of course, I probably had a stupid look on my face, because I knew who was in front of me. Sure, I had only seen that green hair and orange through the eyes of a graphics rendering program, but this was unmistakeably Queen Elincia of Crimea. In my stupor, I noticed a ruffling of leaves behind the Queen and to my right.
I was a little focused on the Queen to notice any possible nearby danger. Damn, there aren't any graphics in the world that can do the Queen justice. Even on the run, she still looked like the picture of a fragile aristocrat on the outside, but her eyes betrayed her inner fire. Somewhere in the back of my mind I noted she was hiding a sword strapped to her leg, but then less I though of Elincia's legs the better.
Naturally, after my inner purple-prose, I looked behind the Queen, and saw several soldiers in red getting slaughtered in a variety of painful, but mildly humorous, ways by a company of mismatched men and women. A redhead on a horse with shining armor, another in the back of the group with a bow, but most strikingly was the man with blue hair currently flipping around in the air. Again, it didn't take a rocket-physician to know that was Ike.
So, Ike and Elincia are here, with what I'm assuming to be the rest of the Greil mercenaries. Daein soldiers are getting their asses handed to them, but as far as I can see Mist isn't with them.
So, ether one of two things happened: I've gone insane, or I'm inside Path of Radiance. Or both. Probably both.
Elincia, growing somewhat impatient for her, was about to ask me again before another rustling to my right startled the both of us. As I rose up slowly, I put my index finger to my lips and made a 'Shh' sound at Elincia. She didn't seem to understand, but she kept quiet anyway, so what the hoo-hah. No reason to get a javelin sent our way for making too much noise.
I checked the bush beside me and almost fell back again when I saw Daniel sprawled out on the ground. He groaned and sat up, probably just as disoriented as I was. I walked over and crouched down by him.
"Dude, don't gasp, but we're in Chapter three of Path of Radiance." I explain quietly. Dan, to his credit, didn't seem fazed at all. He pointed at the increasingly confused girl and said, "But that's Elincia, you don't see her in Chapter three." I grew annoyed.
"Dan, I just told you we're inside a videogame, and the part you're focusing on is the exact time?" I whisper just so he could hear, exasperated. Daniel gets up and stretches his limbs.
"Well, you appear to be right, so what else would I say?"
"Point taken." I bite off the words. Apparently I came across as mighty hostile, because the Queen backed away at that. No wait, if we're in Radiance, she isn't a Queen yet. As I muse about about my circumstances some more, I am rudely interrupted by a voice calling out, "Hey, there's some people over there!"
The three of us freeze. All the Daein soldiers appear to be dead, so it has to have came from one of the Greil Mercenaries. Quickly, a cover story began to form in my mind. Ah man, this won't be good.
Eventually, we were brought out into the clearing. Ike was standing before us, with Titania and Soren behind him. Odd, Soren was looking a lot more...feminine then I remember him being in the game.
"Who are you?" Ike's usual tactlessness is spot on, I see. Somehow, he sounded exactly like I thought he would. Because of the beginning cutscene in the game, but I digress.
"I am Elincia, Princess and heir to the throne of Crimea." She said, with a noticeable amount of hopefulness.
Ike and Soren had somewhat disbelieving looks on their faces while Titania merely had a look of simple shock. Soren suspiciously inquired, "How's that possible? There was no news of your birth at all."
Good god, Soren's voice was high. It's almost like...
Me and Dan looked at each other at the exact same moment, the same thought going through our minds.
Elincia sighed and said, "My father kept my existence a secret from the kingdom."
Ike nodded and said, "That would explain why those Daein soldiers were chasing after you."
Titania looked at Daniel and I with a sharp look in her eyes. I could tell she was trying to figure something out. I didn't like the look of where this was going. After a minute, Titania stopped and asked me in a tone that was a little more polite than Ike's, "Who are you two?"
I make a quick, unnoticed hand gesture to Daniel, signaling 'I got this shiz, bro.'
I take a breath. God, I hope this works. "Well, my name is Adam and this is my friend, Daniel. I'm searching Tellius for someone to instruct me in Elder Magic." I lie though my teeth. Daniel gives a small grin. "My friend here is serving as my bodyguard. He's quite skilled with axes. However, it seems they weren't quite up to snuff." I send a fake glare met with real confusion, further selling the story.
"What do you mean, Elder Magic?" Titania questioned carefully. Soren jumped in before I could say anything.
"He means Dark Magic. This man here is a wannabe shaman." Soren said, with a touch of hostility.
As they reached for their weapons, I stammered out a response, "H-Hey now, it's not the magic that is evil, it's often the wielder. I intend to not go crazy, thank you very much." While Soren seemed unconvinced, that settled down everybody immensely. Elincia helped by adding, "It's true, they had numerous times to harm me if they wished, but they didn't. Please, my lord..." She trailed off, embarrassed.
"Oh. My name is Ike, the redhead to my left is Titania, and the mage is Soren. Titania is our leader right now, and she," he points to Soren, "..Is our tactician."
What.
Daniel and I are frozen in shock. A girl? Soren's a girl? I mean, yeah he looks like a girl in game but...
Titania turns her questioning back to us. "So, you were saying about your friend's skills...?"
I grin, recomposing myself. "Right, well, apparently Daniel skipped the day they went over 'What to do when surprised.' in axeman academy." I was having a bit too much fun poking at Dan's ego it seemed, "Right, well if you actually got a spell off I might have had an easier time." Now it was mine turn to be flustered. "Not fair! You know I'm damn fast for a shaman."
Ike was rubbing his temples, before finally having enough of us and shouting, "ALRIGHT, I got it."
Me and Dan jumped a little, intimidated. Carefully, I continued, "A-Anyway, we'd like to see your commander." I said. This was the most dangerous part.
Ike raised an eyebrow. "Why is it you want to see my father?"
Boldly forward I went, "I have a...personal message for him." "You could also say we're fans of a sort." Dan added.
Ike nodded. "Alright. First, show me what you can do. Boyd!"
Boyd walked over, thankfully still a man. It seems only Soren was genderbent...
Boyd grins at Daniel. He throws a hatchet-looking ax at his feet. "Show me what you can do with a throwing ax."
Nodding, Daniel picked up the ax, looked over it for a a moment, and threw it at a tree many yards away like you'd throw a discus. Both of us seemed surprised when it embedded itself cleanly in the tree.
Boyd shrugged. "Nice throw, but very sloppy. Not surprised you went down against trained soldiers."
Soren stared holes in my head. 'Well? Have any Dark spells to show us?" I smiled nervously. No, No I didn't.
"Of course. I'll ah...I'll need a target though." I stammer out.
"I'd be happy to volunteer." A man in priest robes walked forward. Soren was still glaring at me. "Are you sure Rhys? He could try and use lethal force."
I gasp, mock offended. "Soren, I'm in shock you would be suspicious over someone like me!" Daniel and Boyd snort in contained laughter, while her eyes narrowed.
Uncomfortable, Rhys put up a circular shield of light magic. I, pulling on my memory of Fire Emblem magic, copy a shaman's hands and say the first words that come to my mind.
Requescia Timpachi Tenebrae, I intone. A sphere of darkness begins to form above my head. I'm freaking out inside, but I have to continue. My hands were raised to keep the ball over me, now I wind back and point at Rhys, Phoenix Wright Objection-style and yell, "Flux!"
The ball drips into the ground, and a vortex of blackness springs from the ground around Rhys, trapping and crushing him. He groans in pain, but manages to keep his shield up. I release the spell.
"Are you alright?" Titania, who has so far been passively watching, asks with much concern.
Rhys gives a weak smile. "I'm alright, nothing a quick nap can't handle. I'd be a lot worse for wear without that shield though."
With that settled, and Soren grumbling a, "I suppose they're legitimate." we begin our journey.
Hopefully, we can figure out why we're here.