ASLEEP
Rated T for violence, imagery and cursing
Chapter One – Sliding
"You know" I commented, staring at the hunk of cheerfully burned meat in front of me. "I'm not exactly fussy...but who the hell eats bear?"
Laughter. Smirks. Lissa getting too excited again. All the usual things.
God. Usual things. I've been with them for like, three hours. Amazing what you can learn on a three hour walk. Robin's the type to seem to go for all the good guy options, like not sacrificing Emm. Nice enough guy, but he comes off a little...know-it-all-ish.
Seeing as this is the guy I listen to in order to not die this seems like a good thing for once.
"...you're messing with the food chain..."
God bless the dialogue in this game-
NO
Bad Cameron. No thinking of it as a game. It isn't. It might be.
I don't frigging know anymore. The pain was real enough. What the hell is Hubba doing with me? Is he, like, Fire Emblem's version of Q? Why is he dragging Eugene into this whole mess?
Ugh
Focus. Just...don't ask questions. Just avoid dying. That's hard enough. Especially since this may very well be on Lunatic, although it seems that Chrom has been scaled in badass appropriately. I never got that, why were all these 'educated royals' worse fighters than wandering swordsmen you find later in the game? Reality ensues, I guess.
"Hey, Cameron." Robin asked, turning to me. "What were you doing in that village, anyway?"
Damn. Make something up make something up make something up -
"I got lost."
...well it's kind of the truth.
"A wandering adventurer without a map." Frederick muttered to himself, staring at me. Hey, back off man!
"It seemed like a good idea at the time!" I protested. Defend character traits. "Besides, the map probably got wet when I got thrown off the boat."
"...boat?" Chrom asked curiously. "What boat?"
"I was on a merchant ship, trying to get to Valm. Big storm happens, I'm on top of the boat, I get thrown off the boat - thankfully I had my kitbag on me when it happened - and ended up in the middle of the ocean. I must have hit my head on something, because I woke up on the beach without a bloody clue where I was."
Robin flinched. "Yeesh, that's rough. Why were you heading to Valm?"
"I was kind of island-skipping at the time, but it's hard to find work on such a small area." I shrugged. "So, naturally, I decided to head for the biggest possible landmass I knew about and figured my luck would be better in Chon'sin or something."
Thank you obscure knowledge about separate Valm countries that's finally becoming useful. That should wave off any suspicion about what I was doing.
"That's so cool." Lissa sighed. Damn, girl, you've actually got stars in your eyes. "You must have seen some pretty weird things..."
"...yeah, you could say that. For the most part, though, it was just wandering from place to place getting odd meals when I could and trying to figure out why it was always raining or snowing on me." As proud as I am of my heritage, it really needs to stop raining so much in Scotland. Canada's climate was just taking the mick at that point.
With that, the conversations died down and everybody decided to go to bed.
Oh WOW am I tired. Yawning. Right.
Sleep is important. But freaking fantasy ghost zombie things are going to attack us in a bit.
...sod it, sleep is still more important.
"Night, Robin" I muttered, lying back on my own bedroll.
I don't fall...asleep...ea...
Burning. Burning burning.
Fire.
Earth shaking. Get up. Wake up.
WAKE UP YOU FOOL DEMON ZOMBIES ARE COMING
Sword. Where's my sword. Got it. Shield.
Okay. Robin's here. Frederick must have gone off looking for Lissa and Chrom. The world is...good god. The game did not do this justice. The forest is burning, the ground is shattered and the...oh god. We have to move now.
Stay in character.
"Where's the Captain?" Shout, get Robin's attention.
"I don't know! Frederick's trying to find him now!"
"Oh, just great!"
This was when the gate opened. A giant blue eye of Sauron with evil zombies running at us. And in the distance...oh. Oh that explains a lot.
Thousands of them. Thousands of gates opening everywhere. Hundreds of risen released simultaneously. On unprepared villages and cities. The very thought of this is horrifying. They never touched on the consequences much in the game, but...no. This isn't helping.
Focus on not dying, Cameron. Push that to the back of your mind along with you killing a bunch of men, you cannot afford to break down right now.
Speaking of not dying, axe risen. At least...five, maybe six of them. With no Frederick, Chrom, Lissa or Lucina to ride to our rescue. Well, this didn't happen in the game-NO. Do not rely on the game. It would never translate properly. There must be differences.
"Well..." Swallow. Move backwards. Bump into Robin. "I'm take the three dozen to the east, you take the two dozen to the west?"
Nervous laughter. Good. Hot Fuzz style humor is important. It'll get you through this. Focus. Here they come. Thankfully easier to predict than living enemies. Bat away the first axe, slash across the chest. Move behind the defeated one, convert momentum into a shield smash to knock the second down. Do a slightly more realistic version of the finishing blow from Wind Waker on the knocked down one, then roll away from the final risen.
Face them.
Oh.
Wait.
Them?
They just got back up.
This...this isn't good.
Well, I guess this cinches it. I'm in lunatic mode. I'm screwed.
"Bring it on."
That probably sounded a lot braver than I feel right now.
They lurch forward. Solution? Bull rush the middle one with the shield. Knock it over. Ignore it for now. Spin, face the other two. Block one's swing with the shield, stab the other in the gut while it prepares.
Sword is stuck. Damn.
Okay. Just...wrench it...out..
Oh god, did I just rip it in half? That...that is disgusting. Christ. Thank god it wasn't a human, I don't think I'd be able to take seeing someone's cut-in-half brain.
Doesn't matter. Face remaining one. The one I just took out faded into mist, so I'll take that as a 's what happened in the cutscenes anyway.
If they can turn into mist and reform then this would be our extinction event, so I'll pray that isn't what they do.
Naturally, Robin decided to show me up by blitzing my remaining standing Risen with a lightning bolt.
"Well, that's four for me."
Oh, you wanna hold a counting contest? Bring it on.
Oh, right, I'm still standing on one. Right. Stab it in the face, it's dead.
"Two for me, and I can't do ranged." Smirk. "First to ten buys a drink."
Robin grinned. "Seems fair. Let's go find Chrom and the others."
Thankfully, that was easy enough. Just follow the swarm of Risen.
"Seven!" Robin barked.
"...Ranged kills don't count?"
"Sorry, should have specified before we started."
Oh Robin, was that a hint of smugness? I really need to knock you down a peg.
If I had a ranged attack I would.
If you would stop annihilating everything I moved towards I would.
...
So, that's how the Veteran skill works IRL. If he's working with someone, everything dies and I feel incompetent. Seems accurate.
"And that's ten." Robin grinned. "Best two out of three?"
"Go to hell, Robin" Groan. I could have really used a drink at this point, and I'm not normally a fan of alcohol. Still, getting drunk might have been a bad idea, especially as the last time I got even slightly tipsy I actually started genuinely enjoying the second Bayformer movie. Oh, right, it looks like we reached Chrom. Aw, is the fight over already?
"Chrom! What's going on!" Robin yelled, clambering over a fallen tree. Looks like Sully and Virion are already there.
"I'm not sure." Chrom growled. "We have to deal with these things and report this to the Exalt."
Oh, god, Chrom growling sounds way too god-damn sexy for its own good. Shake head, breathe carefully.
"Chrom, there must be hundreds of these things spread all over Ylisse. This is a serious problem."
Chrom violently stabbed Falchion into a nearby tree.
"I am aware, Cameron, I am not blind."
...that...seemed rather OOC. Okay.
"Sorry, Chrom. It's just this...this is pretty messed up." Nervous laughter. "I don't know about you, but I'm not so confident about fighting things that don't even breathe."
"They can die."
Oh, hello Lucina, how are you? Oh, god, remember to call her Marth for now.
"Yeah, we noticed that on the way here, mister." Snark is called for, Cameron, lest you go insane. "Or did you not notice the repetitive puffs of smoke as Robin there kept stealing my kills? I just lost a bet."
Robin at least had the good graces to look embarrassed. Oh, hey, Lucina's paying attention to him.
...
Don't squee.
"I saw. Impressive."
DON'T SQUEE.
"...thank you, sir..?"
Good, I managed to avoid squee'ing. For now.
"You may call me Marth."
"After the Hero King, I assume?" Chrom asked casually, retrieving Falchion.
"Gentlemen and angels, as much as I would enjoy some sophisticated conversation right now should we not deal with the current threat? I, archest of archers, shall stride to protect you all!"
Oh hey Virion. Guess that means...yep, some more are coming out now. Wonderful. Robin started scanning the battlefield.
"Chrom, Cameron, I want you on the front lines, draw their attention. Frederick, Sully, ride in from the Western flank. Virion, you and I will take up a position behind those old walls and offer cover fire. Lissa, you're with us until someone needs healing. Marth, could you cover the Eastern-"
He paused right in the middle of full tactician mode, frowning.
"-he's gone? Right, okay. I can work with this. Frederick, Sully, take up positions on opposite flanks. When I cast a Thunder spell into the air, that's your signal to ride in and catch them in the pincers. Are we clear?"
A brief chorus of aye floated around, even before I realized that he'd put me in the middle. Dammit. Still, not much time to complain, just do as very smart tactician says. Moving faster, trying to catch up with Chrom who had left before knowing the whole plan. Here they come, about fifteen of them. Jesus christ, fifteen.
"Cameron, are you alright?"
"Well, I'm still a bit shell-shocked from the fact that we are fighting evil purple mist monsters that fell from the sky, but I think I'll hold up well for now yes." Half truths at least.
Fifty paces. Fourty paces.
Christ.
"Good. Don't worry, I'll watch your back."
"Fair enough. I've got yours."
Twenty-five. Jesus.
Twenty. Bloody
Fifteen. Wept.
Ten paces away. Brace yourself-huh?
Apparently Virion had started firing, because I'm sure there used to be more of them. Yeah, two came down really quickly. Okay, a burst of lightning cinches it, that would be cover fire. Oh, five paces. CONTACT.
Okay, first one gets shoved back by shield. Decapitate. Crouch and brace the shield, catching the impact from the next few blows. Stab one in the face a few times until it fades into mist. Fall into a rythm to deal with the other two. Block. Parry, move, block, shield bash, finishing attack of some kind.
Crap. Missed one. Off-balance. Going to-no, nevermind, Falchion blocked it. Now it's dead.
"Thanks." Gasp. Already feeling short of breath. I'm not a super-soldier, just average, but that's a step above from before. From this point I may become badass. Just...oh, crap, I'm like Amelia or Ross from Sacred Stones aren't I? Except maybe not with such a good end result. I hope not.
"Don't mention it." Chrom muttered, falling back into position. Damn, did more just show up? I hope not-There. That's the signal. Thunder in the sky. Thank god. Frederick and Sully showed up just in time. Hot damn, that cavalry charge is mowing them down. Stil, what now-
"Charge!"
Damn it, Robin, stop making me move forwards.
Run after them. Pace yourself. Prepare for combat. Wait, I'm running. There's one there. Sod it. Sprint full speed, raise shield, SLAM into it, move shield – holy crap, I just sent it flying. My god. Okay, don't get too excited, you're at a full stop now. Just...just stay calm. Oh, crap, I think the impact with that tree I sent it into might have killed it. Yep, it's dead.
I'm awesome. Huh, that's interesting, I don't remember my chest being wet before. Um.
...There's a sword sticking through my chest.
Augh. Crap. It just got pulled out. Shit. Shitshit.
Can I go one fight without mortal injury?
Oh crap. Crap, it got a lung. Crap. I...schiese, is this what drowning feels like? It's...oh god oh god oh god. It's warm. I can't breathe. I...gotta move. Can't breathe. Gotta move. Block. Breathe don't breathe fool. Crap. Okay, okay, okay. Risen...Falchion? What?
Chrom? No, wait, not Chrom. Shit, can't stand up anymore. Can't breathe. Blacking out. Lucina? A little help here?
No? Just gonna let me die? Wait, what do you think you're doing with Falchion? No! Don't frigging mercy-kill me, we have a healer! Don't-
Oh. Why does my chest hurt less?
...Right, Parallel Falchion can heal user. Guess she can use that power on others somehow. Crap. I've still got blood in my lungs so...uh...I might have ended up vomiting blood all over Lucina's shoes. Great. Wonderful first impression to make on the world-saving badass princess, Cameron. Smartass who gets stabbed. Perfect.
"thanks" God, my voice sounds shit. Wait, she's gone. Dammit. Get up. Right. Okay. Huh, Chrom's gone into a bit of a berserk rage. One's about to get him.
Well, I can't move right now, so...throw sword?
I guess?
Stupid plan, but whatever.
Wait, that wasn't my sword. That was my shield. Shit.
Oh, wait, it bowled him over. Nevermind. I'm a genius.
Can I walk yet? Not really. Chrom looks surprised. Guess he'll deal. Lissa's finally here. Looks like they're all gone now.
"I'm fine, Marth healed me." I grunted. Voice is back, stil slippery. That'd be the blood in there, then. "I really need to wear some armor."
"That might be an idea." Chrom smiled, lifting his shirt to reveal not bare abs as the fangirls expected but rather a slim sheet of chainmail. "Useful for glancing blows."
"Yeah, I'll get me some of that later." God. "Healing staffs don't replace lost blood, do they?"
"No." Frederick said calmly.
"Well...that's not good. If you don't mind, I think I'll hobble the rest of the way."
Chrom shook his head. "It's too dangerous to keep you with us for much longer. It's only a day's ride to the Shepard's barracks, Sully can take you there."
Huh. Well then. Fair enough.
"Not gonna turn down that offer." I mutter, standing up slowly. "I'll try and mount myself, if you don't mind-"
Oh, hey, that floor is getting rather close now isn't it-
A/N: Well that response was reassuring. Cheers guys, I'll do my best to keep up and hopefully not stall out. Next time, introductions to the Shepards and blatant want to skip the scenes that are in the game already. Thanks for reading, guys!
- G2G
FOLLOWING IS ALL REVIEW RESPONSES. Skip if you want.
Kingawesome: I may or may not pair myself, I'm not sure. It really depends on how I progress. Besides, there's a plot element regarding my prescense that may make things really...wierd if I pair.
Nanashi Wanderer: If you avoid self-inserts most of the time, you might want to check out How Not to Write Evangelion SelfInsertions by sentinel28/Gendo Ikari. Even if you're not a fan of EVA, it's still a laugh or people that don't like the genre or view it as a guilty pleasure.
Thedarknesswithin96: I am aiming for making sure that people understand injuries hurt, yes :D
Archsage12: Thanks a lot! Better drop one of the subtitles for 'Humor' at this rate...
Pikapikaluv: FE13 is pretty much made for SI's at first glance, what with Robin and all, but he's kind of his own character so it is pretty hard. Surprised no-one did it Day One though.
Gunlord500: I'm about 10 chapters into Wayward Son, I'm holding off writing a comprehensive review until I've seen all of it, but merely attracting your attention is awesome sir.
Fan person: Aw, damn it, part of the Scriptwriting is showing through? Gonna have to fix that.
WEAKNESSES I AM AWARE OF: Over-Reliance on dialogue, similarites to a production script over an actual story.
EDIT 14/05/2013: Added some extra dialogue at the start, fixed some mistakes.
