Chief Raigh and His Merry Band!

I: Assembling a Team

Raigh sat outside the castle, somewhere beyond the horse stable, but not as far as the fields. He kept close to the castle, knowing that if he strayed too far, he'd run the risk of being jumped by Veronica's slaves. He stood there in front of a tree, using his tomb, honing his skills. He had no reason to on the account that Kiran refused to let him battle for the time being, but he made his own reason. Kiran underestimated him greatly. In her eyes, he was just a child, a weak one at that. If she really was as fair as Alphonse said she was, she'd let him fight with the order… not that he wanted to be on a team! He just wanted to see how strong he had gotten!

"Tch!" Raigh blasted the side of a fruit-bearing tree with his dark magic, the bark stripping away as the magic laid waste to the wood. He continued to strike the tree out of anger. "Ugh! That blasted summoner!"

For goodness sakes, even Lissa, that irritating little cleric girl was a chief! She got Kiran's permission to order her squadron around should she and Anna should not be there to do it! Lissa, of all people, was promoted to chief! The thought alone made Raigh enraged. With one final thrust of his hand, his magic snapped the tree in half, the once ripe and perfectly edible apples now rotted and putrid. Raigh stood before the fallen tree, his breath ragged and expression bitter.

"Damn that summoner!" He cursed kicking the pruned remains of an apple. "Damn her!"

From behind, Raigh could hear some footsteps coming his way. He immediately turned around. He didn't care who it was. He would let them see how angered he was. He would let them know what he was capable of. His sights were set on Reinhardt and Robin, Kiran's favorite tome users. Both Reinhardt and Robin said nothing for a moment, mainly because they knew they had stepped into Raigh having a… moment. Awkward didn't begin to cover what the two of them felt. But, they were sent by Kiran to relay a message to the boy, so it had to be done. Robin finally stepped forwards just a bit, hoping to ease any tension Raigh was feeling.

"...Raigh?" He began, taking careful steps towards the boy. Robin knew the Order of Heroes didn't allow for heroes to turn on each other, but he'd rather be safe than sorry. "Are you… oka-"

"No! I'm not!" Raigh snapped, taking one aggressive step in Robin's direction. Robin sighed before looking back at Reinhardt, who motioned him to continue, despite both of them knowing that they weren't going to get anywhere at this rate. Raigh grunted before turning back towards the tree. They were the two Kiran gave special treatment, the ones who she would listen to, the ones that would always have her favor. He had nothing to say to either of them, those boot-licking dogs! "It's nothing that concerns either of you! Now, say your peace and leave!"

Raigh waited in silence for… anything that would indicate that the two of them were leaving. A sigh from Reinhardt, a shrug from Robin, and the footsteps of one slowly becoming fainter was what he was able to discern. There was only one of them now, he could feel their eyes searing into the back of his head. From the serious presence, he guessed that it was Robin that left, leaving him alone with the Thracian general.

"Kiran would like a word with you, Raigh," Reinhardt said. "She simply sent us to come and get you."

Raigh groaned. Of course, she wanted to chat with him! That insufferable summoner! "What is it that she needs?"

Raigh could hear Reinhardt take a few steps away from him before stopping. "...She didn't say. All we were told was to come and get you. It's an important matter that she wanted to tell you in person."

And that was it. Reinhardt had started back on his way into the castle, leaving an angered Raigh to ponder what it could be Kiran wanted with him.

"Fire Emblem, companions walk the endless path together..."

Kiran counted her orbs in her mind while Anna helped put more on the table. Sharena swayed her head as Kiran continued to sing that one song she always sang. Alphonse sat at the end of the table subtly swaying along with the song as he went over Anna's next plan of attack.

"In the wavering shadow of spite, our home is faced by the oncoming spear…"

From the doorway, Serra is shoved into the room by Tharja. Anna and Sharena look their way while Alphonse continues to read over the plan of attack, mesmerized by Kiran's singing. Kiran faces them but doesn't stop singing. She nods at Tharja, who smirks, bows, then leaves. Serra looks up at the four of them, fear on her face.

"What's this about?" She questioned, rising to her feet. "I've done nothing wrong! A-anyone who's said that I have is surely lying! I assure you I-"

Sharena rose a hand to Serra's lips. "Serra, it's fine! You're not in trouble."

Anna let out a mischievous chuckle. "Yeah… Wait for the others to arrive, then you can panic."

Serra was even more terrified now that Anna had told her she wasn't in the clear. Damn that Sharena for trying to make her calm before the storm! She was in deep shit! She just knew it! No one is called directly to Kiran unless they've messed up!

"Oh no, no, no, no, no! There's been some sort of mistake!" Serra grabbed hold of Kiran's white robes, gaining the young girl's attention. "I've done nothing wrong, summoner! Ask… Matthew! Yes! Matthew will vouch for me!"

Kiran, as always, said nothing but smiled at Serra nonetheless. The door once again flew open, this time with Narcian being pushed onto the floor face first by Gunter, who was accompanied by Corrin.

"Here he is, Kiran. Just like you asked." Corrin said with a nod. Kiran nodded back at the prince, then at Gunter, who returned the gesture.

Narcian rose off the ground and shot a venomous glare Corrin's way, his nose still bleeding from being smashed against the floor. "You brat! Wretched worm!"

Corrin shrugged before turning to leave the room. "Kiran said to get you here. She never said how to do it."

"Yes," Gunter added. "You should be grateful that we weren't any more aggressive in getting you here, Narcian."

"Worms!" Narcian shrieked as the door closed behind them. Without another thought, the wyvern general rose to his feet and strode furiously towards Kiran, shoving Serra out of the way. He grabbed the girl's collar and lifted her into the air, stirring Alphonse out of his chair with a worried "Kiran!". "You'd better have a good reason for sending those fools to drag me, Narcian, through the courtyard over their shoulders like a child, summoner!"

Again, Kiran simply smiled at Narcian, who at this point, wanted to slap Kiran straight across the face. How dare she smile at him after doing him such an injustice!? Such acts wouldn't be forgiven! She'd rue this day! She would! Before Narcian could tell her that she would, however, the door once again flew open. Henry and Peri appeared, who were lugging a tied-up Berkut into the room. Kiran clapped happily as Berkut was dropped onto the ground, the prideful prince in question thrashing about furiously so as to break free of the rope and promptly strangle Kiran. He should've known Henry and Peri were sent by her, that conniving summoner! If he could scream at her, he damn well would have. Damn Oboro for this cloth covering his mouth!

"Looky what we got, Kiran~!" Peri exclaimed, placing her foot on Berkut's head in a triumphant manner. "You were right! It was tons a fun kidnapping Berkut!"

"Yep!" Henry agreed, stepping onto Berkut's back. "I even got to smack him upside the head with a frying pan!"

Peri's smile turned even brighter. "Oh~! I remember that! It was so funny when stopped moving after that!"

Henry nodded in agreement at Peri's words. "Can we do another one!? Oh! Oh! Can we kidnap Michaels next!? That'd be tons of fun!"

Alphonse sighed. "Don't you think you two went a bit overboard? I mean, Kiran simply asked you to fetch him, and you full on assaulted him! They did more than you asked, right Ki-"

To Alphonse's surprise, Kiran seems to be pondering Henry's suggestion before finally shrugging. She may very well need them to do such a thing in the future, so she would keep her options open.

"What!?" Alphonse asked, shocked and in disbelief.

"Yes!" Henry cheered.

"Oh~! I can hardly wait!" Peri exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "Come on, Henry! We have to prep for it!"

With that, Peri started towards the door. Henry nodded and followed after her. "Right! Bye Kiran!"

Kiran waved them goodbye, ignoring the look of concern Alphonse was giving her. What concerned the Askr prince, even more, was that Anna and Sharena didn't even seem to give a damn that another hero would be assaulted! They were just sitting there!

"...Am I the only one who thinks this is wrong?" He asked, fearing the answer more than he wanted it.

Anna smiled. "I like how Kiran does things. It's funny."

"It gets the job done, brother," Sharena added.

Alphonse deflated at their words. How could they be so heartless? Berkut continued to struggle and grunt in his restraints. Kiran kneed Narcian in his crotch, so as to be back on the ground with the general before her holding his family jewels.

"H-horrid… w-worm!" The wyvern general squeaked with pain. "Aaugh…!"

Kiran walked towards Berkut, cupping his cheek in her small hands, before gruffly ripping the fabric off his mouth, earning a short pained yelp from the prideful prince.

"Ah!" Berkut gasped. Kiran could now see his rage, full on and heated. Berkut struggled now more than ever to break free of his restraints. "You had better do what you will now because when I get out of this, I'm going to kill you!"

Kiran, as always, smiled at Berkut before walking towards the doorway, poking her head out to see where Robin and Reinhardt were. Surely they weren't having trouble bringing Raigh here, were they? Upon looking out, however, she was surprised to see the two blue mages walking side by side with Raigh following them from behind. Kiran's smile grew. Everyone was about to be here. The summoner came back into the room and sat in her chair, awaiting Raigh's arrival.

Everything was going according to plan…

When Raigh entered the room, the first thing he noticed was how Narcian and Berkut were on the floor. The next thing he noticed was Kiran, who was sitting a little too comfortable in her chair, her hands forming a triangle while Anna came to stand beside her. Serra was there too, sitting on the ground and watching Kiran in a concerned manner.

"Uh…?" Raigh was more unsure of whether or not to enter the room than anything. This looked more like a trap than Kiran wanting to talk to him about something. With careful steps, the young tomb user started backing out of the room, hoping to get out fast enough so that Kiran wouldn't notice him. It seemed to work, but only when Raigh didn't accidentally bump into Robin and Reinhardt, who were just entering the room. "...Blast."

Kiran clapped her hands when Raigh entered the room, prompting Anna to go over and close the door. None of them were leaving. Kiran wouldn't be sending anyone to go chase down any of these cowards… WIth a flicker of her hood, Kiran motioned Reinhardt and Robin forwards, the taller of the two gently shoving Raigh forwards towards the summoner and the latter simply walking over Berkut to stand at the opposite of Anna. Sharena and Alphonse sat in silence, Alphonse more because he had no idea what was going on right now and Sharena because she knew exactly what was about to happen. The candles within the room began to slowly dim, leaving only the reflection of their light from the orbs on the table to illuminate the room. Raigh looked up to Reinhardt, who never once returned his look to the young boy, then to Serra, who at this point, was sweating bullets.

We're so dead. We're so dead. WE'RE SO DEAD. The thought continually ran across her mind as she continued to back away from Kiran, whose smile only grew the more she sat in her chair. Oh! I never even got to become rich and famous like I wanted to! Why did it have to end like this?!

Raigh, seeing everyone's panic, soon focused back on Kiran, who has always, had that delightfully happy smile on her face. "...What's this about, summoner? Why have you called me here?"

"Y-yes!" Narcian added, struggling to get off the ground. His sacred area hadn't yet recovered from Kiran's (surprisingly strong) kick, but he'd be damned if such a miserable group of maggots saw him, Narcian, crumble by being kicked in the crotch by a mere child. With the best cocky grin he could manage and with his hands holding onto a chair for support, Narcian pointed at Kiran with dramatic flair. "Y-you obviously had ulterior motives for forcing us all here, worm! T-time to… augh… explain yourself!"

Kiran cocked her head to the side, that ironically adorable smile on her face still there and growing. She would remain silent, they all knew that, yet still, an answer had to be given from someone. That's when Anna nodded and cleared her throat.

"Okay!" She said cheerfully. "So, I'm aware that all of you are concerned about why Kiran summoned you here-"

"Summoned?!" Berkut snapped, finally managing to at least sit on the floor rather than lie on it. "She outright sent those two… monsters to kidnap me! You call that summoning?!"

Anna ignored Berkut. It was better that she did. Going into why Kiran did things the way she did won't get them anywhere. "She has an important task for all of you, a task only the four of you can pull off."

Raigh glanced at Kiran, who was happily kicking her feet while sitting as if she weren't involved at all with this conversation. The young mage knew better, however. Though Kiran seemed uninterested in what they were saying, she was probably listening more intently than anyone else in the room. She may seem innocent but underneath that exterior…

There was no limit to the evil she could do… (or at least, that's what he's heard from others about the summoner).

"A special task, you say?" Raigh spat, trying not to sound so concerned. This wasn't a matter he could simply brush off. This was Kiran they were talking about, a loose cannon in her own right. If she had a task for them, it most certainly wasn't going to be easy. "Humph. What sort of task is that?"

Serra felt the urge to speak up, specifically about the part where she would have to work with these fools… and work in general. Work was for the help! She wasn't the help! But, to go speak against the summoner…

Well, it was a gambit that would most likely end in defeat, so she'd rather keep her peace. Judging by the look Sharena sent her soon after, it was a good thing she decided to keep her mouth shut.

Kiran rose a hand to Reinhardt, who nodded, bolted the door shut (to prevent anyone from running away), and continued towards her. "You all will become a new team, starting today by both Anna and Kiran's recommendation."

Raigh couldn't believe his ears. Him? On a team? Ha! What a laugh! He'd much rather go into battle alone. Still, it was exciting to hear that he would at least finally get to be in battle rather than to be held up in the castle all day.

"I appreciate that you finally understood my use on the battlefield, summoner." Raigh laughed, crossing his hands in a smug manner. "However, I don't say I agree with this team nonsense…"

"Oh!? But Raigh," Anna began, clapping her hands together. "You're the chief of this team! Kiran said so herself."

Kiran smiled as the faces in the room balked at Anna's words. The summoner has spoken.

"W-what?!" Robin asked.

"Eh?!" Reinhardt added.

"Cool." Sharena approved.

Alphonse glared over at Kiran. "You can't be serious…"

"Yes," Berkut added. "You must be joking, summoner…"

Serra's eyes popped right open. "You expect me to listen to some little kid?!"

"Narcian should be chief!" Narcian whined, still struggling to stand up and ignore the pain. "W-why should I listen to a little worm like that?!"

Anna chuckled at Kiran, who was already giggling in her seat. "Kiran said Raigh could be the leader because he's been here the longest. He should know how the Order of Heroes works by now, right?"

All eyes fell on Raigh, who looked shocked. He… was chief? He was the commander of this group? Well, obviously he would be. He did have the most experience… being here with these imbeciles. Still, the fact that he was the leader of this group stroked his ego greatly. A grin even started to curl onto his face.

"Hehe…" He chuckled to himself, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So, my power is finally acknowledged…"

Raigh continued to inflate his ego for a moment before noticing how smug Kiran looked, almost as if she knew how much he wanted to be in battle and how upset he was that certain people were in battle where he wasn't. She planned this, every bit of it. Damn her! Raigh wanted to refuse, he wanted that blasted summoner not to get what she wanted!

...But then, his chance at being in battle would be gone. Who knows when another one would come… if any were to come at all?

"Blast…" Raigh's grin fell back into an angered scowl pointed directly at Kiran, who waited patiently for his response. If there was one thing Raigh could give her, it was her damn conniving ways. She was surely a force to be reckoned with, what with her underground lapdogs willing to take any such bullet for her and her aiding said dogs with whatever toys she had laying around at her disposal. She was almost… too good, so much so that she was terrifying. But he wouldn't let her get the best of him. No. That much, he couldn't do. The young mage took in a sharp breath and turned his head away from Kiran dismissively. He'd fool her yet. "I… I suppose I'll accept your deal, not that I want to."

Kiran clapped her hands together. Anna smiled. "Excellent~!"

"Do we not get a say in this?" Berkut asked, rising to his feet now, his hands still tied firmly to his sides. Kiran's regular smile was his silent answer to that question, but his pride still won out. He'd be damned if this… child made a fool of him anymore tonight. "Are we not heroes too?"

Narcian had finally risen to his feet (earning a "Good job, Narcian!" from Sharena), eyes filled with tears from the pain he still felt. To think that such a small, delicate looking girl like Kiran could do this much damage to him with just one kick… but, he'd be damned if he let her know how badly it hurt. He wouldn't dare to give her the satisfaction. "I f-for one, refuse on the grounds that he is a m-mere child! I will be the one giving orders, not him!"

Serra was about to agree with the two. However, unlike the two newer heroes who've only heard of the horrible travesties that befall people who make the mistake of making Kiran into an enemy, Serra has had the misfortune of witnessing first hand such a thing. Poor Clarine never saw it coming… What if that ended up being her?!

"...I-I think it's a wonderful idea~!" She lied, rubbing Kiran's shoulders in a faux excited manner. "I think this will be a good thing for all of us!"

In truth, Serra wasn't completely lying. The higher ups here in the castle were treated to gourmet food, wonderful lodging, and other luxuries fit for… well, kings and queens of the highest caliber. If she could just milk this for what it was worth then… she could be riding a free pass to upper class in no time! The thought alone made a greedy smile curve onto the cleric's face as she eagerly began to rub Kiran's shoulders.

"I'd be honored to help, summoner." She added, letting go of Kiran's shoulders only to head towards Raigh. "We'll all do our very best."

Kiran simply nodded in her seat at Serra. Though none of them could tell, she had big plans in the future for this team. The thought alone made her chuckle while rising out of her seat. Anna also clapped her hands together.

"Alright~! Meeting adjourned!" With that, she and Kiran went back towards the orbs, taking a total of five off the table and heading towards the door. Sharena nodded as she rose out of her chair and followed them, dragging Alphonse along too when he was still sitting there in disbelief. Reinhardt and Robin simply moved out of the way for the four of them to pass, Reinhardt unbolting the door so they could leave.

"Hold it!" Berkut snapped. Kiran did stop, which prompted everyone behind her to do the same. The summoner slowly turned to face the prideful prince, her fierce blue eyes faintly visible underneath her hood. Her smile had also shrunk down to a blank face, a terrifying sight for Serra, who hid behind Raigh. "I refuse to join this group!"

Anna looked to Kiran then back at Berkut, her face losing a bit of its excited nature. "Oh… Well, Kiran? What if they refuse?"

Kiran rose her hands and clapped twice. In an instant, Robin revealed his tome and Reinhardt re-bolted the door. She gave a grave expression to Anna, who quickly nodded.

"Do it or die…" Anna told the prince calmly. "This isn't up for negotiation, Berkut."

Berkut smirked. "Hah! You believe you can beat me with tomes alone?"

Kiran's smile returned with a much more sinister undertone to it. She loved a good challenge. Raigh and Serra noted how Reinhardt began to skim through his tome along with Robin. When both of them found a certain page, they stopped, their hands slowly outstretching towards the prince. Narcian began to laugh, believing that this had to be a joke. This was what Kiran intended to defend herself with? A few tombs? How funny… However, he saw how Raigh and Serra began to back away out of fear as if they were staring death in the face.

Then, Narcian noticed that he didn't have his ax… and Berkut didn't have his lance… Oh.

Oh…

"...That isn't fair! We have no means to fight back!" Narcian whined, pointing in an accusing manner at Kiran. "You cheat, summoner! You're a conniving cheater!"

Berkut could feel the sweat drip down the side of his head as he shot an irritated glance Narcian's way. Of course, he knew he didn't have his lance! He was adamant of scaring Kiran into reconsidering with words rather than action. I mean, for goodness sake, she's just a child! She couldn't actually kill them all here… could she? The look on her face was telling Berkut the latter. Narcian retelling him that he was without a weapon didn't make things any easier. Kiran caught the flash of uncertainty that crossed Berkut's eyes as he scowled at her and simply smiled again, this time snapping.

She knew she had won.

Reinhardt unbolted and opened the door and Robin lowered his hand (he still kept tome out, just in case though). When the summoner walked outside of the room, she motioned the four others to follow with a motion of her hand.

"Ah! Kiran wishes to show you all something." Anna said following after the summoner. "Come on! This way!"

With that, Kiran and party began to walk down the hallway, Robin giving one last glance at the four still within the room.

"I suggest you follow." He said, turning away. "Kiran's won't tolerate you making her wait too long."

Notes from the Authors!

- This is being written by two writers: LuckyLand and Bon de Soren. We just happened to make this account for any of our joint works.

- By now, you've noticed that this is an FE: Heroes story. So yes, expect to see various heroes pop up here and there.

- Idea credit goes to LuckyLand!

- And yes, we chose Raigh and the others aforementioned because, well, we wanted to see a different cast of characters and this is Luckyland's ideal team in Heroes.

- There will be some differences here and there. Just a little heads up!

- And yes, we're aware that we put Raigh down as "Rei," but to be fair, that's his Japanese name. We couldn't find the English version on FanFiction and that's just... well, whatever.

- We hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story and we hope you'll read into the antics of Chief Raigh and His Merry Band!

-Oh, and constructive criticism is always welcomed! We're trying our very best to bring you a good story for your reading delight, so please don't be afraid to drop a review!

Chao!

~LuckyLand and Bon De Soren