Here's the second chapter, enjoy it like you would enjoy a decapitated kitten.
The citizens of this Halidom carried an air of calm about them. It permeated everything in Ylisstol, the streets, the buildings, and even the heavily armed soldiers that were waiting for them at the front gates. Sully left them and made way for the Shepard's garrison, which was by someplace by the capital. Unsurprisingly, Virion followed after her. They were let in as soon as they saw Chrom, and after a bit walking around the city, they came across a woman being led by several soldiers through the streets.
She had long blonde hair, and wore a cloak with odd numerals emblazoned on the collar. On her forehead was the same tattoo that Chrom had on his shoulder, a teardrop shape with wing like protrusions sticking out on either end. She radiated a feeling of peace. She raised her hand to the citizens and smiled.
The people kept their distance from her, but they all still praised her name. Emmeryn, the Exalt. From the way they went on about her, Guts assumed that she was either the leader of Ylisse, or a highly religious figure. Or both. Guts got another headache, and an image popped up of a giant man with a square shaped face wearing white garments and a round white hat.
Who the hell was that?
"Guts? Are you okay?" Robin asked him.
He looked down at the smaller man.
"I'm fine." Guts responded.
Robin let out a sigh of relief.
"Okay good, I was getting worried there for a second." Robin said.
Guts frowned.
"You don't need to fret over me." Guts said.
Robin raised his hands.
"I just don't want our most powerful Shepard going into battle ill. Also, did you hear? Emmeryn is Chrom and Lissa's big sister!" Robin declared.
"Okay." Guts said.
Lissa walked up next to Robin and stared at Guts with a furrowed brow.
"Wait, so you're not going to freak out about me and Chrom being the prince and princess and all that crap?" Lissa said.
"I don't really care about that." Guts said.
Frederick then came up with Chrom following in tow.
"Guts, you shouldn't be so rude to the princess. You should show proper manners to her, much like Robin did Chrom when he found out that they were royalty. You know, groveling." Frederick said.
Guts turned a lone eye towards him.
"I do not grovel." Guts said.
"Calm down Frederick, we don't like being treated like that anyway." Chrom said.
"Yeah! Me neither!" Lissa yelled.
"Very well milord. It looks as if lady Emmeryn is headed back for the palace, shall we follow?" Frederick asked.
"Yes, let's go everyone." Chrom said.
The group then began to follow the Exalt to the palace. It wasn't that long of a walk, and they were there in a mere fifteen minutes. The entire time during the stroll, several soldiers and citizens all stared at him, or rather the sword at his back. They all looked at him with fear in their eyes, and that feeling of familiarity washed over him once more. A sentence was trying to sound itself off in his head, but it couldn't get any further than "The." It bothered him to no end that he couldn't remember everything.
Details were coming back bit by bit however. He remembered something about a little kid that followed him around that looked like a monkey. Something about an attempt to steal his sword. There was another thing he remembered, and that was a name that made his heart weary.
Gambino
That name echoed throughout his mind as he tried to put a face to the name, but he could not bring himself to do it. Guts got so caught up in trying to remember who Gambino was that he didn't even notice that they reached the palace. Emmeryn walked through the gates with her guards following closely behind her. Chrom and the rest of the group were waved in, and Guts received more stares.
The palace was definitely worthy of the name. Stone columns, large windows, and guards patrolling the grounds. They all went through the doors into a main hall, where Emmeryn awaited them. Paintings of Chrom, Lissa, Emmeryn, and several others decorated the walls, green banners hanging around next to them. The place smelled cleaner than the streets outside, that was a definite.
Everyone walked up to the Exalt, and she gave them a warm smile.
"Chrom, Lissa, it's good to see you again." Emmeryn said.
"It's good to see you too sis!" Lissa yelled, giving her older sister a hug.
Emmeryn wrapped her arms around Lissa and they embraced for a moment before they parted.
"Is nice to see you too Emm. Did you hear about the earthquake and the strange creatures that followed?" Chrom asked her.
"Yes I have, they've been sighted all across Ylisse, terrorizing villages and attacking our people." Emmeryn said, her eyes making contact with the ground.
"Do not fret milady, these beasts can be just as easily dispatched as any man." Frederick said.
Emmeryn's eyes lifted, and they found themselves gazing at Guts and Robin.
"That brings me relief Frederick, though I wish that this weren't taking place at all. So who are these two men Chrom?" Emmeryn asked him.
Chrom smiled.
"These are our two newest additions to the Shepard's. This is Robin." Chrom said, pointing to the tactician. "He's our new strategist."
Robin's eyes lit up, and he clutched his brown tome in his hands.
"It's an honor to meet you your grace." Robin said bowing.
"Likewise." Emmeryn said, smiling.
Chrom then pointed to Guts.
"And this is Guts. You won't believe this Emmeryn, but he cut down ten Plegian brigands all on his own with that blade of his in a matter of moments!" Chrom declared.
Guts simply blinked in response. Was it that big of a deal? Frederick took on several risen on his own and didn't get praise for it.
"Ten men all on your own? Impressive. Tell me Chrom, where did you find these two?" Emmeryn asked him.
Chrom scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"They were both laying unconscious in an open field." Chrom said.
Emmeryn narrowed her eyes at her little brother.
"Milady, they also claim to have no memory. But it is just that, a claim. They could be Plegian spies or assassins." Frederick said.
"Frederick!" Chrom and Lissa both yelled.
"Chrom, would you trust these two with your life?" Emmeryn asked him.
"With all my heart. They risked their lives for Ylisse, and that was all it took to earn my trust." Chrom said.
Did Guts save any lives when he got here? All he did was slaughter some bandits and monsters. Perhaps they would have caused some damage later, but he didn't risk his life for Ylisse. They were a threat that needed to be dealt with, so he dealt with them accordingly.
"Then that's all I need to hear. Chrom, we need to discuss what to do with this issue." Emmeryn said.
He then felt an arm loop into his. Guts looked down and saw Lissa with her arms intertwined with both Robins and his own.
"Come on you two! I've got a place I want to show you guys!" Lissa yelled, tugging them towards the exit.
He looked to Robin and saw that his face was flushed red with embarrassment. Guts himself couldn't care less. Lissa led them both through the streets and outside of the capital. After a bit more walking, they came across a lone stone building on the side of the road. It was a large square building, and Guts could see archers patrolling the roof. On the ground level, two guards wearing oddly shaped helmets stood in front of a large double wide wooden door.
When they saw Lissa, they leaned their spears against the wall, and opened the door, waving them inside. Lissa chuckled, and gestured for them to follow her. Guts and Robin looked to each other for a moment before they crossed the threshold into the building.
The trio walked through a narrow hallway that led to a large open room with weapons and pieces of armor lying about everywhere. It smelled like a dusty old book, and the air complimented that fact. Guts let out a sneeze.
"Bless you." Robin said.
Guts didn't respond. He had just noticed that there were other people in the room. One was a bare chested blonde man with a scar on his cheek. He carried an axe and held it over his shoulder. The other was a woman with black hair in full armor. She wore what seemed to be a wing shaped bowtie in her long hair. In the far back, Guts could see another woman with blonde hair holding a tiny umbrella wearing light colored clothing.
Guts felt a chill, as if someone was watching him, but he looked around the room once more and couldn't see anyone. He thought he caught a glimpse of an armored suit, but that just turned out to be the woodwork built into the wall.
"Welcome to the Shepard's garrison you two! Make yourselves at home!" Lissa yelled, throwing her arms in the air.
The blonde haired man looked to Lissa.
"Hey squirt, where's your brother? Its time Teach taught him who the best is." The man said.
"You two are always beating up on each other Vaike. And your name is 'Teach' now huh?" Lissa asked.
Vaike smiled.
"Yep the Vaike is now the Teach!" Vaike yelled.
"That's a dumb name." Guts said.
"I'll say." Lissa agreed.
Vaike huffed, and pointed his axe at Guts and Lissa.
"You two are just jealous that you couldn't come up with a better name for yourselves! The Vaike is an expert when it comes down to naming stuff." Vaike said.
"Whatever Vaike, Lissa is just fine with me." Lissa said, placing her hands on her hips.
Vaike opened his mouth to retort, when the blonde woman came at them running.
"Lissa my treasure! Are you okay!?" The woman asked.
"Oh, hey Maribelle." Lissa responded.
Maribelle clenched her jaw and tightened her grip on the small umbrella.
"Oh hey yourself! I sprouted fourteen gray hairs worrying about you!" Maribelle yelled.
"Okay sheesh! I missed you too Maribelle." Lissa said.
Maribelle sighed.
"I missed you too."
"So Lissa, who're these guys?" Vaike asked, raising an eyebrow at the two.
Lissa pointed to Robin.
"This is Robin, he's our new tactician. He's like superdupersmart." Lissa said. She then pointed to Guts. "And this is Guts, he's like superduperstrong."
Robin scratched the back of his head.
"I'm just good at strategy that's all." Robin said.
Guts didn't say anything, he was busy trying to dig out some more of his memories.
"Lissa, my dear, they look like commoners. Especially the big one! I don't even need to hear him speak to know that he is all brawn and no brain!" Maribelle said.
Guts turned his lone eye towards her.
"What are you looking at brute? I don't want that creepy eye staring at me-"Maribelle started.
Guts flicked her forehead with his finger. He didn't really know why he did it, it just felt instinctual. Maribelle rubbed her forehead with both hands.
"How dare you! I should have you-"Maribelle started.
Guts flicked her forehead again.
"Ow! Will you stop that!?" Maribelle yelled.
"Sorry. I just don't like being talked down to by someone shorter than I am." Guts said.
Vaike let out a bellowing laugh.
"The Vaike likes him already! I bet we're gonna be the best of buds!" Vaike said, patting Guts on the back.
"Maribelle, try to be nicer please? For me?" Lissa pleaded.
Maribelle looked baffled.
"Lissa, he just assaulted me! You would take his side over mine!?" Maribelle yelled.
"Well… you were being kind of rude to us. Seriously, we just met you." Robin said.
Guts nodded in agreement to Robin's statement, then Maribelle pointed to Guts.
"I am the daughter of a Duke!" Maribelle yelled.
"What does that have to do with this?" Guts asked her.
"Maribelle, Guts doesn't really care about all that crap. Just let it go. Please?" Lissa asked.
Maribelle sighed, then unclenched her fists.
"Only for you my treasure." Maribelle said.
My treasure.
Something else popped up in Gut's mind. A round egg shaped necklace. It was red, and had two closed eyes, a mouth, and a nose. The facial features were all spread apart on the egg shaped necklace. One of its eyes opened and he saw that it was a deep shade of blue. Guts didn't know why, but he really wanted to break it. Guts zoned out the rest of everyone's conversation; he could feel something about to reveal itself. When it did show itself, all he saw was a short blonde haired boy. A name sounded itself off in his mind.
"Rickert." Guts said out loud.
"What was that Guts?" Chrom asked him.
When did he show up? It must have been while Guts was zoned out. Then again… how long was he zoned out? Guts looked to the window for a moment, the sun hadn't set, so that was good, it meant that he didn't stand in one place staring at nothing for too long. He didn't want these people to think he was some kind of lunatic. Guts hated the word lunatic. He turned back to Chrom.
"Don't worry about it." Guts said.
"Captain! I-"The black haired woman's sentence was cut off when she tripped over nothing, smashing her face on the stone floor.
Guts didn't expect her to get back up, but she did. Her face didn't even look like it was scratched. She dusted herself off, and squinted in embarrassment.
"Sumia? Are you okay? Was it those boots again?" Chrom asked her.
"No- I mean yes- I mean…." Sumia stuttered.
"It looks like you need to get some new boots." Robin pointed out.
"Maybe you're right… they're just so comfy though." Sumia sighed.
"Comfort isn't needed. If you're in a battle with murderers and monsters, tripping will get you killed." Guts said.
Sumia poked both of her index fingers together.
"The thing is though… I've always been a klutz, even without the boots." Sumia said.
"Well, I don't think she'll be tripping over her own Pegasus… at least I hope not." Chrom said, giving a nervous chuckle.
"I- I won't captain!" Sumia declared, her hands straight at her sides.
"So Chrom, what's the news?" Lissa asked her brother.
Chrom looked down at his younger sister, then to the rest of the Shepard's.
"We're to march to Regna Ferox to request aide. Ylisse doesn't have enough soldiers to take this threat on alone. Also, the council has decided to give them a name. Risen. We head out tomorrow, so get a good night's sleep everyone." Chrom said. "Robin, come here, I have this book I want to show you."
Robin nodded.
"Alright then, where is it?" Robin asked.
"It should be somewhere around here… It's a magic book that we call the Roster, as the tactician, I think it might be beneficial for you to read it. It holds information on everyone in the Shepard's." Chrom said.
"How does it work?" Robin asked him.
Chrom scratched the back of his head.
"No one knows, the Shepard's have always had the roster. As soon as we get a new recruit, their backgrounds are added to its pages." Chrom said.
Guts looked into Chrom's blue eyes.
"I want to see it. Just about me. It might hold something about my past." Guts said.
Maribelle grabbed Lissa by the arm.
"You boys have fun with your reading, come Lissa." Maribelle said, tugging her along towards the exit.
Lissa waved at everyone before she disappeared out the door.
"The Vaike is gonna hit the hay, when I wake up, you and Vaike Chrom." Vaike said, putting a fist into his open palm.
"If you're that ready to lose again Vaike." Chrom smiled.
"Can we cut to the chase? I really want to see the book." Guts said.
"Yeah, I'm a bit curious myself." Robin said.
Chrom sighed.
"It should be around here somewhere…" Chrom said.
…
…
…
After five minutes of searching, the trio found the book laying on a large wooden box containing other books. Robin grabbed the brown tome and flipped it open.
"It says here that I'm the biggest mystery of the group… Well, that was kind of disappointing." Robin said.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure your memory will return eventually." Chrom said.
Robin flipped another page and after a moment of reading, began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Chrom asked him.
"It says here that you're the most likely to break things, and your sister is the most likely to snort!" Robin laughed out.
"It does?" Chrom sighed.
"People break things all the time. It isn't a big deal." Guts said.
Robin flipped to the next page, and read it for a moment before looking up from the book and narrowing his eyes at Guts.
"What?" Guts asked him.
"Do you really hate my hair?" Robin asked him.
"Yes." Guts responded.
Robin looked baffled.
"Why? Like the length or what?" Robin asked him.
Guts shook his head.
"I hate the color." Guts said.
"I personally think it looks good on him." Chrom said.
"Thanks Chrom. Oh and Guts, it doesn't reveal that much about you, other than how attached you are to that sword of yours. However, there are these little tid bits at the end that label a random fact about the Shepard's." Robin said.
Guts furrowed his brow at him.
"What does mine say?" Guts asked him.
Robin hesitated.
"It says that you're the one with the most tragic past." Robin said.
Guts got a headache, and a name popped up in his head that made his heart want to collapse. 'Band of the Hawk.' Just sounding those words off in his mind brought so many emotions forward. Sadness, happiness, love, and the most pronounced: Vengeance.
"I don't understand… how could it know something about your past but not mine?" Robin asked Guts.
"The most tragic past? Guts, do you remember anything about that?" Chrom asked him.
Guts clenched his teeth then pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I need to go for a walk, good night." Guts said, walking towards the exit.
"Guts wait!" Chrom yelled.
The prince's words fell on deaf ears as Guts left the building. The sun looked about ready to set, and the head splitting migraine showed no signs of reprieve.
This was going to be a long night.
Leave a review or I just might show up under your bed tonight.
._.