Everyone just stared blankly at what Trucy had just said, unable to believe it. Fire Emblem was a video game. How in the world would they go from living in the real world to a fantasy land composed of computer graphics and pixels?
"Trucy, that's impossible." Apollo said. "This is real and actually happening. There's no way this can be a video game."
"Oh yeah? Well then I'd like to hear your explanation for it." Trucy stuck her tongue out at the junior attorney.
"Trucy," Phoenix cut it before an argument could ensue. "Can you play lawyer for a second and provide some evidence as to why you believe we are in your video game?"
"Hey, that's my line!" The judge exclaimed.
Trucy crossed her arms as she glanced upwards, wracking her brain for some clues that would back up her theory. "Well…we're all wearing similar outfits like the ones the characters wear in the game."
Everyone groaned. Apparently, a sudden change in fashion wasn't strong enough to convince them.
"Anything else?" Phoenix prompted her.
Trucy looked like she was struggling to come up with another compelling explanation. That was when something clicked inside of her mind and she snapped her fingers in realization. "Got it! Those zombies you attacked earlier…they're called Risen! They're exactly the same ones you fight against in Fire Emblem."
"She's got a point." Hugh said. "I myself have played Fire Emblem Awakening. We ran into a few strange creatures ourselves along the way, and they definitely looked like the Risen you would see in the game."
"And there's no way you'd come across a Risen in the real world, won't you?" Trucy smirked, proud of herself.
"That does make sense." Athena flicked her earring, which fortunately remained the same in this world. "And…Junie just healed me with pure magic. That's something you definitely don't see everyday. Not to mention, Trucy can conjure up a ball of fire out of thin air…"
"Even as a magician, I have never seen her do that one before." Phoenix added.
"The girl has made a valid statement." The judge agreed.
"Objection!" Apollo shouted with his Chords of Steel kicking in. Everyone shushed him as to remind him that he was currently not in court. He rolled his eyes and continued, "Well, let's say for a minute that we are actually in the Fire Emblem world."
"That's what we've been saying for the past couple of minutes, pal!" Gumshoe interjected, but Apollo ignored him.
"If that truly is the case…then how did we get here? Were we all just stuffed inside Trucy's 3DS, or did someone turn us into a bunch of computer codes and generated them into the game?"
Nobody was able to respond to this. Both of his suggestions were grossly far-fetched, but so was the idea that all of them were suddenly in a video game. Robin grasped the sides of her head.
"Man, all of this science mumbo jumbo is making my head hurt." She whined.
"We could be in a world similar to Fire Emblem." Juniper spoke up.
Apollo was quick to reject that idea. "But my question still stands. Even if we are in the game, or at least in a world similar to it, then how did we get here?"
"I think that's a question we have to find the answer for." Phoenix said. "But considering that we just encountered those mutant creatures- which we just stated were Risen- out of nowhere, Juniper can heal people with magic, Trucy can summon fire, and the strange clothing too I suppose…it's safe to say that this isn't Los Angeles…or the real world for that matter."
"A cross over to another dimension…" Gumshoe thought aloud. He grimaced. "Ugh, just the thought of it is making my head spin…or maybe that's because I haven't eaten my noodles yet."
Apollo sighed. He really hated being in the dark about all of this. He wasn't as concerned about being in a different world as much as he was trying to find an explanation for it. This was going to bother him for a lot of nights for sure.
"It's getting dark." Athena indicated towards the descending sun. "I don't suppose we should set up camp?"
The others nodded their heads in agreement. It wouldn't be safe wandering in a strange land at night, and they were already lost enough. Through a unanimous decision, everyone chose to just make the place they were currently standing at the campsite, and they took off all of their armor to mark where it was. A small forest was not too far from where they were, so a group consisting of Hugh, Robin, the judge, and Gumshoe went there to hunt. Athena went with Juniper into the fields to find wild berries and edible flowers. Apollo and Phoenix wandered a little ways away to go find water while Trucy stayed behind to collect twigs and dry leaves to build a fire. By the time the sun disappeared completely below the horizon, everyone returned back to camp. Trucy, using her newfound abilities, successfully started the bonfire with a spell her tome. Athena blinked in surprise when she saw what the hunting group was dragging back to their tiny camp.
"Is that a bear?" She asked. Juniper covered her mouth in surprise.
"It just came out of nowhere and started to attack me!" Gumshoe angrily yelled.
"Put up quite a fight too." The judge exhaled as he wiped perspiration from his brow. "And well…I'm quite horrible with a lance."
"Why did you bring it back? Please tell me that's not what we're eating tonight…" Phoenix winced.
"This was all we could find. Robin refused to kill anything that looked 'cute.'" Hugh tsked. Robin punched his shoulder.
"Those rabbits and squirrels never did anything to you!" She retorted. "Besides, the bear will be enough."
"I didn't even know you could eat bear." Trucy said. Though the people in Fire Emblem did…then again, they were in Fire Emblem.
"W-Well, we found some blackberries and wild mushrooms." Juniper motioned to her pile of harvests.
"And I caught a few fish." Apollo muttered as he pulled up his shield that he used as a basin. He didn't bother to tell anyone that as he was trying to collect water with Phoenix, some trout suddenly decided to swim into his shirt.
The rest of the evening was spent cooking the animal meat and having casual conversations to divert their attention away from their circumstances. Everyone tried to make the situation seem like this was just an ordinary hiking trip in strange, medieval attire though Phoenix was sure the judge was the last person he would probably ask to go camping with. The bear meat was dry and thick, with almost no flavor whatsoever, and the strong taste of the trout was a little hard to overcome. At least the blackberries were not too sour, and the mushrooms were safe to eat. The water Phoenix gathered in the shields was boiling to kill the bacteria, so everyone had to wait before they could have a refreshing sip to rehydrate. After dinner, everyone went off to do their own thing. Trucy wanted to try out her new magic abilities, but was instructed by her father not to waste it all. Athena and Apollo decided to spar a little ways away with Juniper and Gumshoe watching and cheering them on. The judge was busy giving Robin and Hugh advice for their futures in law. Probably the first time that day, everyone was truly enjoying themselves despite the troubling thoughts in the back of their minds. Soon, it was getting later in the night, and the events that transpired from that day began to take a toll on each of them until they were barely staying awake.
"We better get some sleep." Phoenix advised everyone. "Something tells me we have a long day tomorrow."
"What are we gonna do, pal?" Gumshoe asked sleepily as he laid on his side.
Phoenix shook his head. "That's what I'm still trying to figure out, Gumshoe…"
"I don't know if I'll be getting any sleep tonight." Apollo complained as he rubbed his back. He was rather sore from that sparring session, and Athena knocked him onto his behind more times than he'd prefer to remember.
"Oh quit your whining, Apollo." Athena said. "No pain no gain."
Robin stretched out her limbs as she let out a long yawn. "Goodnight, everyone!"
There were a few murmurs of "goodnight" traded back and forth before the whole camp fell silent as everyone tried to go to sleep. However, Phoenix still remained wide awake as ever as he stared into the darkness of the world ahead of him.
"Maya…Pearls…" He prayed that wherever they were, that they were safe and that they wouldn't run into any of those strange creatures along the way. Yet deep down, he still couldn't help but worry for them. In a world so vast, where could they possibly be?
After a few minutes of trying but failing to get some sleep- it didn't help that Gumshoe was snoring away right next to him- Phoenix got up to take a drink of the water that had cooled down. It tasted weird in the shield, but at least it was water. Something caught his eye, and he turned to see the judge sitting upright, looking rather deep in thought. Without hesitation, Phoenix went right over and sat next to the older man.
"Too many thoughts, Your Honor?" He inquired.
The judge sighed. "Yes…too many indeed. But there's one that is more troubling than the others…"
"And that is?"
"My family...especially my grandchildren. They're only in their elementary school years."
"Are they here too?"
"I do not know. That is what's troubling me."
Phoenix didn't bother to respond. He never thought he'd say it, but he could really sympathize with the judge on this one. All of this was so strange, not to mention very scary, especially when all you could do in that moment was wonder where your loved ones were, and if they were safe or not. There was a soft rustling of leaves as a small wind blew through the lands. Phoenix looked up and saw clouds rolling in across the skies. Maybe it was going to rain?
"Ah, if only I could remember those days where I was a lowly boy scout." The judge chuckled. "We could have blankets and a roof to sleep under by now."
Phoenix smiled. "What rank were you?"
"Made it all the way to an eagle scout. Whenever we were on a camping trip, I was the one who made all the decisions."
"Seems like that gave you an edge for your career."
"Heh, it did. Everyone on my team called me 'The Judge of Nature.' In fact, there was this one time–"
The man abruptly stopped talking when he heard a rustling coming from a nearby bush. "Did you hear that, Mr. Wright?"
Phoenix said nothing as he waited for that sound to come back again. He did hear a rustle, and it couldn't have been from the wind blowing across the trees either. Cautiously, he got up and went over to pick up his sword while the judge scanned the area for any sign of movement. Suddenly, a loud moan rang out from the bushes in the distance. Phoenix jumped in surprise as he tried to stifle a scream.
"Mr. Wright!" The Judge shouted.
"Yeah, I heard it." Phoenix narrowed his eyes in the direction of the bush. "I think it came over there."
Without hesitation, Phoenix stalked over to it, gripping his trusty weapon ever so tightly. Whatever it was, he certainly hoped it wasn't a wild animal or another one of those Risen things again. Right when Phoenix leaned over the bush, something lunged up right at him, catching him by surprise.
"AAAAHHHH!" This time, Phoenix did scream, startling the whole camp into waking up.
"Daddy?!" Trucy called out, looking around frantically for her father.
The judge sprinted from his position and grabbed a lance. "Don't worry, Mr. Wright! I'll get it!"
"Wait, wait!" Phoenix called out. After a few seconds of terror rushing through his system, he realized he wasn't being attacked. He was being hugged. But by who…?
"Dude! I am so glad to see you right now!"
Phoenix blinked and a groan threatened to come out of his mouth. "…Larry?"
Sure enough, it was his trouble-making friend. The way Larry grinned as he still held onto Phoenix in a death grab, the attorney didn't know whether he should be relieved or down right angry at him. There came a yelling in the distance, and the judge came running over and smacked Larry upside the head with the dull end of his lance.
"Die, filthy creature!" The judge yelled, looking like he was ready to actually kill Larry.
Phoenix immediately stood up. "W-Wait, Your Honor! We know this man!"
"We do?" The judge squinted over at Larry, who was on the ground rubbing his head. "Ah…I remember him now. Wait…wasn't he accused of murder some time ago?!"
"Yes, but then YOU found him not guilty."
"…Oh."
The judge lowered his weapon, much to Larry's relief. He sighed and got up onto his feet, then raised an eyebrow at everyone else in the camp. "Bro, what up with the weird costumes and all that?"
"You're one to talk, Larry." Phoenix muttered, indicating to his friend. He was wearing a sleeveless orange tunic, and brown shorts with leather padding on his chest and a quiver strapped onto him. "Anyways, you got here too?"
"Yeah, man! It's so weird too. I mean…I walk into the kitchen, and a second later I fall into a grassy field. You wouldn't know how long I've been wandering around lost! I thought I was dead or something, but then I saw a small fire, and then I found you!"
"You…wouldn't have happened to see Maya or Pearls, have you?"
Larry shook his head. "Nope, didn't see em. Why, are they here too?"
"We got separated when we came here." Trucy answered sadly.
"…Er, sorry. I didn't think they'd be here…I didn't think you'd be here either."
"Well, we are." Phoenix sighed exasperatedly. "Though we really don't know how or why. That's what we were going to figure out tomorrow."
"Ah, well…if anyone can figure this out, it would be you of course, Nick. Uh…say, you wouldn't happen to be…needing an archer, do you? Because I found out I can fire arrows pretty accurately, and…"
"That's what Hugh is!" Robin motioned towards her friend, whom arrogantly showed off his bow and arrows.
Larry just felt like he had been kicked in the gut. "O-Oh…o-okay, then…" The man sulked as he turned away to leave. "Since you don't need me, I guess I'll just be going then…alone…"
Trucy and Phoenix smirked at each other before Phoenix called out, "Larry, you can stay with us if you want to."
This got Larry into running right back to them, his face bright with happiness. "Really? Thanks, Nick! And since I'm here, there's something I had to tell you…but I can't quite remember what it was…"
As Larry began to think about what he wanted to say, there came another rustling from the bushes. This was different from the one Larry made; it was louder, and sounded like it was coming from all sorts of directions.
"Larry, did you bring friends?" Phoenix asked, a little concerned.
His friend narrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "No. I'm certain it was just me here…oh wait…" Larry's face dropped into a horrified and guilty expression. "I remembered what I wanted to tell you now…"
In that very moment, a huge group of people jumped out from behind the bushes, hollering and drawing their weapons as they sprinted towards them. They were definitely humans, but with the way they ran at them so menacingly, they were probably a gang of rogues and bandits. The group scrambled to their feet as they hastily picked up their weapons and tried vainly to get into a formidable position.
"I meant to tell you I'm being chased!"
"What?!" Phoenix hollered, jumping out of the way of an arrow.
"Yeah…when I woke up there were these strange men towering over me. They were yelling 'give us your money!' and so I told them 'I have no money!' and then I ran off when they pointed axes in my face."
"And you thought it was a good idea to lead them all the way back to our camp?!" Apollo shouted as he and Athena jumped onto their horses.
Larry looked guilty. "I…I didn't know…"
"Forget about it." Phoenix glared at one of the rogues. "What do you want from us?"
"Same thing we wanted from this man." He spat. "Give us everything you've got, and we'll consider letting you go."
"We don't have anything to give you!" Athena hollered.
"Then we'll just take your life!" The bandit, presumably the leader of the group, whistled loudly to his cronies. "Listen up, men! Kill 'em all, but keep the women. They could fetch us a great reward…Hehehe…"
Trucy screamed as she ran behind her father for protection. Phoenix's blood was boiling when he heard what these horrible group of men wanted to do to his daughter. His hands trembled with a silent rage and he suddenly had an urge to hurt all of them dearly for threatening them. One bandit was even daring enough to approach them menacingly, his axe ready to strike.
"Stay away from my daughter." Phoenix warned him with a slight growl in his voice.
The bandit merely ignored him and let out a battle yell as he brought his axe down. Phoenix was quick to react and blocked the attack. Fatherly instinct fueled his strength and he found himself pushing back against the force of the other man's axe. Trucy could only watch, her mind too full of anxiety to do anything. Suddenly, she noticed an archer was aiming his arrow right at Phoenix, about ready to shoot.
"No!" Trucy stuck her hand out in the air, which sent a huge ball of flame hurtling towards the archer. The man was immediately engulfed in the fire, and he screamed as the searing hot flames burned off his clothes and scorched his body. Soon, his writhing ceased and he fell to the ground, dead. The man fighting Phoenix was easily distracted by the scene, and when he let his guard down for a few seconds, Phoenix retracted his blade and stabbed the man in the heart. The bandit gurgled on his own blood as he too fell down lifeless onto the ground. At that moment, Phoenix's mind registered what had just happened, and he turned to Trucy with a horrified expression on his face. He had just killed a man.
PX: Sorry for the wait...and the boring chapter. But glad to see that everyone's excited for this story :D I promise, there will be more action in the next chapter. Thanks everyone for the support. I really appreciate it.
