Fire Emblem Awakening: Casual Mode

Author's Note: Hey there folks! For those of you who don't know me (which would probably be most of you considering this is my first Fire Emblem story), I'm an author from the Super Smash Bros. archives, and I recently got around to playing FE Awakening and was inspired to write this. Just a quick heads up; I don't know much about the Fire Emblem lore (plus I suck at this game, as you might have guessed from the summary of this story), so forgive me if I mess up on some things. This story is supposed to be stupid and for fun anyways. The characters are a little OOC and Robin in this story is supposed to represent my thought process as I played "tactician" in the game. I pretty much sped through the entire story so needless to say that I had a lot of trouble during some battles. No offense to anyone who likes these characters; I was just trying to have fun. I hope you guys enjoy.

"Okay team, listen up!" said the white-haired tactician as he stood before his comrades. "The Risen will be approaching us from the east and north. Thus, our safest route would be to set up a defensive wall around the forts over there. That should give us enough of an advantage against the wyvern riders, as well as protect us from any horsemen. You all know your positions like we practiced, and make sure you watch your partners' back! And remember: Healers are to stay close to the rear! Any questions?"

Some members in the group of Shepherds nodded their heads, while others looked a little on the nervous side. They were stationed on the plain just outside of Naga's shrine, and were about to engage in battle with Grima's undead followers. But it's not like this was something they hadn't dealt with before anyways.

"Um… Robin?" asked Sumia sheepishly. "Is it really a good idea to put me at the front line?"

"Trust me, Sumia, you'll be fine," replied Robin reassuringly. "Sure you're a little under levelled… and everything on this plain is bound to one-shot you because you're a frail unit… but trust me, we need you at the front. All flying units must be at the front at all times. Don't worry about archers because I should be able to take them out in no time."

"You've been saying that for the past 12 engagements now."

"It'll work this time!"

"Robin," said Say'ri all of a sudden. "What about me?"

"You just run away from the group as FAR as you can, Say'ri. You can more or less 1v10 their team, so that's why you're the decoy."

"If you wish, then so it shall be."

"Jeez, I thought we went over this people," said Robin, shaking his head. "Do we need to do another recap on your positions?"

The Shepherds began murmuring amongst each other uneasily. They had no idea why Chrom put so much faith in this lousy tactician. Almost every battle they had, at least half a dozen people had "died," but it's not like it mattered anyway since it was Casual Mode. The units who did end up frequently losing in the battles like Sumia, Lissa, and Kellam only ended up becoming more and more useless with each passing day.

"Gregor need to know job!" replied Gregor with a nod.

"It's really quite simple!" said Robin as he pulled a random chalkboard into view and began tracing over it with his finger. "Chrom, Lucina, and I lead the charge because we are the most agile and are the most capable of surviving hits. Sumia, you're paired with Chrom since I want you two to have a good relationship (not that it matters anyway since he's already married to Sully). Lon'qu, you're paired with Miriel because you two have great chemistry together. Tharja, you lead Nowi and Virion into the forest and hold up a defense there. Basilio, you lead the group heading north with Vaike and Flavia to cut off their flanks. Say'ri, you're the decoy and your job is to buy us as much time as we need so that we can get to their commander. And finally, Lissa, Maribelle, and Olivia, you three pick a group and stick with them to provide backup. And that's it!"

"B-But every time I do that I die by the third turn…" muttered Olivia disappointedly.

"What about Gregor!?" shouted Gregor.

"Gregor, you've been in one battle so far," replied Robin. "Just wait at the base with everyone else until the fight is over."

"Are you ever going to bring me into a battle?" asked Henry eagerly.

"Sorry Henry, but we already have enough mages on this team. And to be frank, you suck. You didn't last one chapter before you died."

"Oh…"

"Robin, I think you're being a little harsh here," said Chrom. "Your strategies have been useful so far, but you really need to think of a way to reduce our casualties."

"I'm working on it!" replied Robin. "If the enemy didn't keep getting random critical hits on us then maybe we'd actually be able to make it through a battle where Chrom and I aren't the only survivors!"

"I make it through sometimes," said Lucina all of a sudden, raising her hand.

"Yeah, but only because Robin pairs you with him," muttered Vaike. "And he's only doing that so he can get in your pants."

"My what?"

"Vaike!"

"Well, it's true! Hey listen to your ol' Teach for once in your life!"

"How has this band of misfits survived this long?" asked Flavia to Basilio, but the large man did not give any sort of verbal response.

"I believe in you Robin!" chimed Lissa. "I know we can make it through this! Even if it does mean I'll die again."

"Well I don't want to die!" shouted Maribelle. "Seriously Robin, you of all people should know that the flying units both out-range and out-speed clerics!"

"And dancers…" muttered Olivia.

"Look, I'm not going to argue about this right now," spat Robin dismissively. "The enemy is just on the other side of this plain waiting for us and all you people want to do is question my next level strats!"

"You're a moron…" said Tharja unenthusiastically. "But you're still cute."

"Based on our previous results," stepped in Miriel as she adjusted her glasses. "There is approximately an 11% chance that all of us will survive this battle."

"Let's just get this over with," mumbled Lon'qu. "I want to cut something."

"Okay, so we're all good then?" asked Robin.

"No!" whined Nowi. "Why do you keep bringing me into battle when you know I can't do anything against armored units?!"

Robin gave an annoyed look, as if the Manakete was already supposed to know the answer.

"Hold your tongue Nowi," he replied through gritted teeth. "You have no room to complain since you're supposed to be stronger than humans, but you can't even handle a spear to the chest!"

"He's got a point girl!" chimed Sully. "You gotta man up if you want to taste the blood!"

"I don't want to taste anything! I just wanna go home…"

"You're staying right here!" shouted Robin. "If I have to drag you to the front line with my bare hands then so help me I will!"

"He won't be able to because his hands will be too busy fondling Lucina…" whispered Vaike to Lon'qu, who could only roll his eyes in response.

"Enough of this," interjected Chrom, putting his hands in the air. "We just have to have faith in Robin that he'll see us through this."

"I believe the problem is not a matter of whether we'll win or not," replied Virion, "but if whether or not we can go through a battle without losing a unit."

"I've told you all a hundred times before I can't control what the enemy does!" said Robin annoyed. "If they decide to send four flyers after our support characters, then what the heck am I supposed to do about that? That's why Say'ri is the decoy because at least SHE is useful enough to distract a dozen enemies as well as take them out at the same time!"

"She's level 20 though," muttered Lucina.

"Aye, indeed," chimed Say'ri. "It's a good thing you equipped me with five different swords because I go through them faster than you can say 'Time to tip the scales.'"

"And that's another thing!" shouted Vaike all of a sudden. "How come you get to keep all of the good spells while the other magic users get a load of nothing!?"

"You're one to talk considering every axe in our convoy goes right to you!" retorted the tactician.

"I've actually got one of the short axes," said Flavia, waving it around for all to see.

"Okay, whatever," replied Robin. "I don't know about you guys, but I for one am getting sick and tired of this nonsense. Let's just start the battle so we can move on with the chapter."

"You're not even listening to what we have to say!" cried Maribelle.

"I've heard enough!"

So the battle started and the troops who weren't brought into the fight had no choice but to wait back at the base. At first, things were looking good. Robin and his troupe were maneuvering over the grass and through the trees with ease, and they managed to secure a lone fort on the western side of the plain. Say'ri had headed north to fight a bunch of wyvern riders and was able to take a bunch of them down thanks to her high crit chances and agility. Eventually, some of the horse archers were able to take out Olivia and Lissa (and poor Olivia only got to get one dance off before going down). Virion and Basilio became the most important fighters on the team because they could one-shot flyers, but the enemy was able to catch on quick and take them out as well. Nowi was paired with Tharja and the two were roaming with Miriel and Lon'qu, taking out whatever infantry they could. Meanwhile, Maribelle had gotten caught out and killed on the spot without any effort from a Risen swordsman. Sumia proved to be useless again as the only thing she could do was occasionally block attacks for Chrom, but she didn't level up anyways. Vaike was quick to go down like always because he couldn't take many hits despite the fact that he had a crap ton of health. Sully was pretty much the only fighter who could stand on her own without the need of a support character, and did her best to act as a wall for Robin and Lucina.

Eventually, the Shepherds' team had been withered down and reduced to nothing but Robin, Lucina, Chrom, Sumia, Tharja, and Nowi. Say'ri was still fighting hordes of Risen by herself but she was way too far away to save anyways. The enemy team still had a few Risen soldiers left, and already the commander was advancing on the heroes. More enemies began spawning within the forts in the west, cutting the Shepherds off from all resources.

"Great plan you idiot," said Nowi with a frown. "We've already lost half of the group. Again."

"Dang," replied Robin. "I was certain that it was going to work this time."

"Look sharp, tactician," said Chrom, pointing a finger at the advancing reinforcements. "We've got company."

The flying units quickly swooped down and bombarded Tharja and Nowi who were a little too far away to help. Needless to say that they were killed. Robin and Chrom were able to clean off the stragglers, and Say'ri was still fighting for her life against the enemy forces.

"I could use a Concoction!" she shouted from across the plain. "I've already gone through three swords!"

"We should help her," said Chrom, but was stopped when Robin put a hand on his shoulder.

"We can't," he replied. "She has chosen her fate."

"You're the one who sent her over there!" cried Sumia.

"Sacrifices must be made. What's important is that Chrom and I are still alive. So long as that's true, it's impossible for us to get a game over."

"Robin, behind you!" shouted Chrom.

Robin and Lucina both turned around to see the Risen commander standing before them with a menacing grin on its face. The creature roared mightily and charged at the pair, swinging its axe aggressively.

"Lucina!" shouted Robin. "You gotta take the hit for me! I can't survive another attack!"

Lucina didn't give a reaction and just stood there dumbfounded.

"Lucina!"

The axe came down and smashed Robin's skull wide open, killing him instantly. The tactician flew twenty feet before landing dead in the grass. Lucina blinked, coming to the realization of what just happened a few seconds too late.

"Oh…" she muttered. "Whoops."

Chrom facepalmed.

"Oh gods," he said. "He wasn't joking when he said he sucked at this game…"

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GAME OVER