A/N Okay, so this is yet another Tactician/Mark and Lyn story. Personally I never get bored of them because they are all so individualistic. Hence my own version. This story will follow the adventures in the prologue and will eventually end with the fall of Nirgel at the end of the game. I'll even be nice and attempt to give an idea of what the tactician did during that year in between lords.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that is mentioned in here except for random created characters and the name of my tactician. Nintendo, Intelligent systems, and all those guys own Fire Emblem. Disney owns HSM.

NOTE: I will not follow the dialogue in the game word for word. I'll even go entire chapters where the dialogue is not the same. I want to add more of an original flare to the story. Don't worry, the storyline is still intact. If I need help, that's what GameFAQS is for.

And without further ado (wow, I write a lot with out saying anything)…

FIRE EMBLEM: IT'S ALL IN THE STRATEGY

By IRLexington

CHAPTER ONE: A Girl from the Plains… and me.

Name: Alexander "Forenics Boy" Foren

Birth Month: May (not really, but I like supporting Lyn)

Gender: Male (You probably figured that one out)

*******

I awoke one grey February morning to the sounds of my brothers fighting upstairs. My mother was trying to keep a firm handle on the situation, which meant Dad probably had left for work already. My sister was probably still hogging the shower. A normal morning.

It's important for this insignificant part of my life to be known so that you, the reader of my tale, may know what befell me one day after play rehearsal and the events that followed.

Like clockwork I got out of bed, threw my clothes on, skipped breakfast, drove to school early (I'm 17) and ate from the Forensics team stash. That's speech and debate, not dead bodies. I went through the day, attempted to not fall asleep in chemistry, got yet another A+++ on an assignment in Global studies, and pretty much did anything I could that day to just get through it. My laptop slung over my shoulder and my book bag breaking my back, I walked down the theater to rehearse our production of High School Musical, in which I had landed the role of the coach. I sat in the house, listening to the director attempt to direct the rest of the students, who were more interested in texting their significant others then they were in learning blocking to We're All in this Together. I sat there flipping a coin lazily in my hand when my brother (they come to rehearsal because my mom is the assistant director) came up to me and said that the Game Boy Advance SP wasn't working.

And my story begins…

"Dawson, "I said to my brother, "I'm in rehearsal right now. I can't fix the SP, okay? Hold on." I attempted to care about the prices of our cast shirts, which is what was currently spewing from the director's mouth. Finally, I got bored and went and helped my brother.

I picked up the silver clam-shell-like device and assessed the problem. The screen had frozen on the Gameboy logo screen. The Nintendo name at the bottom was glitched and pixilated. I said to my brother in a quiet voice, "Don't worry. I can get it working." I didn't bother explaining the issue because he probably didn't care. I'm not certain if he even heard anything before, "working."

I pulled out the cartridge of whatever game he was playing now. I don't play on the GBSP anymore because I have the ROMs for all the games we own on my computer, which currently hung from my shoulder. I blew into the cartridge and noticed it was my old Fire Emblem game. I'd bought it off a friend for $15 back when it came out because the stores where all sold out. I remember falling in love with that game, though in my opinion Sacred Stones had more memorable characters.

Well, things then got weird. To make a long story short, I plopped the game back in the SP and turned the little machine on. My director was wasting even more time answering questions from the screw off seniors in the cast, which was annoying me because I really wanted to get into the meat of the situation and start acting. It's who I am and what I do. I love acting, and here we had the school's at-risk consoler as the director and he wasn't doing anything. My frustration level was reaching unprecedented levels.

The screen in my hand began to act up. I hadn't pressed any buttons, but the game had already erased the existing three files and selected a new game. I read quickly what the option was: Lyn's hard mode. I stood, staring in shock as the screen began to glow. Suddenly, like being struck from behind by a cement truck, I was hit in the back by a sudden force. I went over the railing of the second level of the house. Instinctively I reached out my hands, one of which was still holding the glowing SP and then…

… I fell through.

I flat out fell right through the screen of the SP. I looked back on it later and tried to apply physics to the situation and promptly gave up. But that was later. After falling through the screen, I hit the ground hard. Really, really hard. And for the third time in my life, I passed out.

When I came to I was in was looked like a someone's tent. However, who ever was living in this particular tent was obviously intending to stay. Someone had packed multitudes of objects around the walls of the tent. That someone, as I discovered quickly, was a smiling girl standing over my bed with a wooden bowl full of some soup in her hand.

"Oh," she said. "You're awake. I found you unconscious out on the plans and brought you back here. The plains are no place to be taking a nap." She laughed at her little joke. I got a good look at her while she was telling me this. Her hair was sort of a green-blue color, leaning more towards the green. She wore a blue robe-like outfit that was decorated with some kind of tribal design. With a jolt of familiarity, I realized that I knew this strange woman who had carried me here. She was Lyn, the main lord of the first ten chapters of Fire Emblem. And she was standing here, in front of me, feeding me soup.

I think that I hit the ground harder than previously written. Add another really to that sentence.

Sure enough, she introduced herself. "I am Lyn of the Lorca Tribe. You're safe now." Lyn gave me the soup. "Who are you? Can you remember your name?"

I ate a bit of the soup and almost spit it back out. Dang that was hot. I gasped, "A-ander Foren." I tried to say my full name but I was dealing with a burnt mouth.

Lyn gave me an odd look, as though I just called myself Luke Skywalker. "Your name is Ander Foren?" she said. "What an odd sounding name…" I wanted to correct her and tell her my name was Alexander, but you know what, Ander didn't sound so bad, especially when a girl named Lyn was saying it.

I retaliated with my first official sentence in the presence of the plainsgirl. "And Lyn… isn't?" Okay, not a masterpiece of vocabulary, but I still hadn't a clue what I was doing, lying on a bed talking to a video game character. I'm surprised I even managed to do anything. I quickly decided that just running with the game was a better idea then nothing at all.

Lyn laughed. "Oh, pay me no mind," she said. "It is a good name." The green-haired girl apparently found a change of subject in order. "I see by your attire that you are a traveler."

I looked down at myself and indeed I was dressed in what could be called 'traveler's garb'. I wore a green cloak over a pair of brown pants and hiking boots. My shirt was a puffy beige piece of material that I think I wore when I was in Brigadoon. Not at all what I wore when I fell through the SP, but I guess that this day just loved surprising me. I was still staring at my clothes when Lyn asked, "So, what brings you to the Sacae Plains? Would you share your story with me?"

I was going to come up with some wild story, something I'm usually good at, but this time I couldn't think of anything. I tried desperately to remember my Fire Emblem trivia. I had finally decided on saying I was from Bern when a load scream sounded from outside. Lyn, who had by now seemed to grow impatient with waiting for me to speak, looked up.

"What was that noise?" she asked. I suppose she was thinking out loud because, even though I knew the answer, she probably had no reason to suspect that.

Lyn ran outside, telling me to stay there. While she was gone, I quickly went over my facts.

I was in Fire Emblem

I was in the company of a Fire Emblem lord

She just ran outside to probably find the bandits from the prologue, which means that I'm at the very beginning of the game.

I am apparently the Fire Emblem tactician.

Result: I'm screwed.

Lyn came running back in and grabbed a sword off a rack. I knew right away that I was right about what was out there. And sure enough, after she clipped the sheath to her belt Lyn said, "There are bandits out there. They must have come down from the Bern Mountains. They must be planning a raid on the local villages. I have to stop them." She looked out the window again. I followed her gaze and saw two bandits, one of them walking this way. "If that's all of them, I think I can take them on my own. Ander, you'll be safe here."

I don't really know what possessed me to do what I did next, but I did it anyways. Rising to my feet I said, "I want to help." Yep, I'm screwed.

Lyn stopped. She eyed me and turned skeptical. "You… want to help?" She asked. "Well, can you use a weapon?" It didn't sound like she had much confidence in my fighting ability, but at the same time she seem hopeful that I answered in the positive.

If I felt like it would have helped, I would have mentioned my two-and-a-half years of being a black belt in Taekwon-do and that I probably wouldn't need a weapon against two stupid bandits. I looked at the rack of Lorca weapons on the wall and figured that I had absolutely no idea how to use any of them. I know that in Fire Emblem the tactician never spoke, but I had a clear idea of what he did say in this situation.

Disregarding the black belt I said, "I'm a… a strategist. I can plan your… battle strategy." Okay, yes, it was corny. It worked.

Lyn's eyebrows rose. "Ah, I see." She didn't have confidence in me and absolutely no hope. "So, you are a strategist by trade. An odd profession but… very well. We'll go together." I followed her out the door. I stopped suddenly and crossed my left arm over my stomach and rested my right elbow on it. My index and middle fingers touched my forehead to finish my 'character ready' stance, the one I use to get ready to go on stage before each scene. I breathed deeply and followed Lyn.

Once outside I got a good view of the plains. I quickly understood why Lyn loved them so. The hills with the grass blowing on them and the endless blue skies were very picturesque. This is probably how Lewis and Clark fell the first time they saw the Great Plains of North America. I quickly focused on Lyn, who had been talking. She was telling me what a ger was and that she would be happy to have me advise her.

I quickly got into my newly created 'tactician mode'. The bandit from earlier still hadn't noticed us, since we were behind a tree outside Lyn's yurt… I mean, ger. I quietly pointed towards the bandit and said, "He hasn't seen us yet so we have surprise on our side. Move in and catch him by surprise." Lyn nodded and ran out from behind to tree toward the bandit.

Unfortunately, Lyn wasn't fast enough to get there before the bandit saw her. He ran towards Lyn, screaming a battle cry and swinging his axe. I shouted, "Lyn! Heads up!" but too late. The axe came down and caught Lyn in the shoulder as she tried to block the weapon with her sword. If it were me, I would have cried in pain and collapsed. Lyn did the opposite. She gritted her teeth and slashed with sword. The axe had barely left her shoulder and she was already counterattacking, clearly in pain. The bandit took the slash in the gut and blood sprayed everywhere. I cringed at the violence I had just witnessed but Lyn kept at it. I knew the bandit was dead from the first slash but Lyn ran him threw, just for good measure. And then her knees started shaking as she dropped to the ground.

I ran over to the swordfighter. She looked up and said, "I've been wounded. Here." She held out a small bag, in which I found two small gold bottles. "Vulneraries." Lyn gasped. "Give me one." I had no idea whatsoever as to how to apply a vulnerary. I don't think any Fire Emblem player did. Lyn was not a Fire Emblem player. She grabbed it from myhand and poured roughly a third of the thick golden fluid on her shoulder. Instantly the wound closed up. Lyn breathed a sigh of relief.

The only thing that kept me from feeling nauseous was the adrenaline from all the excitement pumping through by body. Thank God for adrenaline.

Lyn rose to her feet "Now only one left. The one at the ger." I figured that a ger was the round building that the other bandit was standing by. He had watched the whole ordeal from afar. Now, he stood ready in front of the ger. I noticed that his axe was very sharp.

I whispered to Lyn, "Okay, that guy is not going to be as easy. I'm no expert, but he seems like he's seen a lot of action. So, here's our plan. We will make a bold move towards him, getting as close as we can, but take it slow. Show him that we mean business. Pretty much scream, without screaming, 'Hey I just killed your friend. What now?' and then, if he attacks, kill him. If not, I guess you can still kill him."

Lyn looked at me. "Wouldn't we reach the same outcome if I just ran at him and killed him?"

I shrugged. "Well, yeah. But that's not nearly as dramatic."

Lyn glared at me. "This is a battle. You do not get dramatic in battle. You hit fast and hard and try to live." With that she ran at the bandit.

I muttered under my breath, "No drama? Tell that to the British." I quickly sprinted after the green-haired girl. Whenever I get back home, I am a.) never going to get annoyed with a director again and b.) run to the gym. I will sell my car and run everywhere. I was out of breath long before I reached the fight. I was just in time to hear the bandit cry that he was 'Batta the Beast' and that we couldn't stand up to him. Personally, I saw a guy who was covered in scars, wielding an axe, and probably had steroids for breakfast. Needless to say I wasn't impressed. I cried, "Lyn, attack quickly. Swords beat axes!" Lyn complied, putting a deep gash in the bandit's arm before he could make the first move. However, his axe came around and Lyn tried to jump up as it swung towards her, but failed. The axe caught in her thigh and blood spilled out.

I knew that with a wound like that that Lyn was at a disadvantage. The bandit roared in triumph, then in pain when Lyn stuck her sword through the guy's side. Now both parties were wounded and it didn't take Einstein to know that the bigger guy was probably going to win. It was time this tactician did something to even the odds.

Lyn was gasping. "Ander," she breathed. "I don't have time to apply a vulnerary. It all comes down to this next blow. If… If I fall, I want you to flee. You must escape." Yeah, right. I wasn't sure if I would get a game over if Lyn died and I didn't want to find out. I was staying right there.

Subtly I moved behind her and into the reach of the bandit on the other team. I reached my hand down. "You can do this. I know you can."

Lyn got to her feet shakily and stood in a fighter's stance, sword at the ready. Batta the Beast was also ready. "How…cute," he said. The axeman brought his axe up…

… and then got a roundhouse kick straight to the face.

Yes, I, Lyn's tactician, who has accumulated a whopping ten minutes of combat experience, and all of that from telling the warrior where to go, just kicked the enemy in the face. Yeah! Ad. Ren. A. LYN! Oh, wow, I never noticed that before.

Naturally the axe missed its target as it dropped from Batta's grip. He brought his hands to his nose, roaring in pain and rage. I stood there, in a perfect fighting stance, smugly. "And that is why you should never anger a tactician."

Lyn laughed and plunged her sword through the guy's gut. He yelled something incomprehensible, and then keeled over and died. Blood poured over the plains.

That's when the adrenaline stopped pumping and I threw up.

Lyn told me later she had to carry me back to her ger… again. That was my first day as the tactician to the girl from the plains. And I still have no idea why I am even here

Well, whatever the reason is, I know there is one. The tactician leads Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector in a battle to save Elibe. Well, since I'm the tactician and this obviously Elibe, guess what I'm going to do.

No, hiding under the bed is not the answer.

A/N Well, that's that. This chapter was mostly to introduce you to what's going on. I know that there wasn't much in the way of dialogue but it's hard to do that when your character is trying to understand why he is in a video game and has gotten thrust into a combat situation with a swordsperson who wouldn't have fought with him had he not told her he could give orders. Expect all other chapters to be better.