Why does everything hurt?

I slowly awakened from my heavy slumber.

The hard texture of the ground pressed uncomfortably against my face. It felt rough and jagged as if I were sleeping on a bed of rocks.

A throbbing headache pulsed inside me as my eyes slowly began to drift open, sensation returning to my limbs. I rolled over, letting out a low groan.

Sunlight seared my eyes, completely blinding me.

"It burns!" I hissed, immediately trying to lift my arms up, desperate to shield myself from the light. Blood had ceased flowing into them, leaving them to uselessly flop around and remain limp at my sides, letting my eyes continue to burn until finally, a bit of blood worked its way into them. That terrible pins and needles sensation surged through my arms, as I flailed them about, covering my eyes. Only when my left hand was almost covering my eyes did I finally notice something was wrong.

A wickedly beautiful purple mark with what looked like six eyes was etched onto the back of my hand. I recognized the symbol, 'The Mark of Grima.' It was often used to show allegiance to the Fell Dragon Grima, the God of Annihilation.

I groaned, running a hand over my face into my dark brown hair. "Of course I would do something stupid and get a tattoo," I admonished myself, "but why did it have to be that? I would have preferred a command seal from the Fates series."

Frowning, I lowered my hand. No use crying about it now.

With my vision finally adjusted and feeling less like a dying vampire, I pushed myself up into a sitting position, groaning in pain as I held onto my ribs with one hand.

I looked down at my clothes.

My plain black t-shirt was completely covered in dirt. What had once been a nice shirt was little more than a tattered and wrinkled mess. I paused as I noticed a stain on the front of it was still wet.

With a sigh, I lifted it upward, letting out an involuntary gasp as I did. Nasty looking bruises surrounded my ribs, and blood oozed from cuts that littered my torso. Now, I understood where the stain had come from.

"What happened to me?" My voice barely coming out more than a whisper as I lowered my shirt down.

I looked around, trying to make sense of my new surroundings.

Where am I?

How long have I been here?

And how the hell did I get here?

All these thoughts swirled around in my head as I replayed last night's events. All I could remember was going for a walk and getting the text messages from Dad.

Dad.

"Oh, no…," I groaned weakly.

He was probably freaking out. Wondering why I never returned home last night.

I winced slightly as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Looking at the top right corner of the device, I didn't have any bars. My right eye twitched a bit as I shoved the phone back into my pocket.

An exasperated sigh escaped my lips, "Brilliant," I muttered, lying back down. "What else could go wrong?"

Well…Might as well take a look around.

Painfully I lifted my body off the ground, gritting my teeth as I clutched my side. I felt the blood drain from my face and upper body as I got up too fast for my blood flow to keep up. I woozily waited for the haze that obscured my vision to disappear. With the haze no longer there, I was able to notice for the first time that I was standing in a crater.

"Seriously, what the Hell happened to me?" I murmured, rubbing the back of my neck.

Little by little I struggled my way out of the crater, letting loose a string of curses as I reached the top. Free of my earthly prison, I was finally able to get a better look at my surroundings.

A dense forest full of trees both thick and old surrounded me. I lifted my head to the sky, a few clouds drifted peacefully through the air and the sun shined high in the sky signaling that it was around midday.

Gingerly putting weight on my right foot, I took a step forward, having to steady myself until I could take a few more steps without my legs buckling. Slowly, I hobbled through the forest, taking in the unfamiliar sights and sounds as I walked.

Nothing about this place was familiar, but it provided me with an odd sense of nostalgia from all the times I went camping with my friends.

As the ground began to incline, more of the trees started to thin out, becoming less packed together. My breath became more ragged when I felt the weight of my injuries starting to take affect. Yet, I pressed on.

Trekking to the top of the hill, a grassy plain stretched out before me.

If I wasn't certain before that I wasn't in my home state, I knew for a fact now that I wasn't. The grass here was too vibrant to be part of the same desert full of dry and dead grass that I had lived in for most of my life.

I stood there for a few moments just taking it all in. The grass was thick and lush, rustling gentle in the breeze. A monarch butterfly lazily flitted around the grass, landing atop a pale lilac flower.

I lifted my face to the sky and let the wind and sun caress my skin.

The weather was nice and cool, a pleasant change of pace from the scorching heat that I was accustomed too. Just going outside in jeans made me feel like I was melting, but here I didn't have that problem.

With a weary sigh, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and continued to walk away from the forest in hopes of finding some form of civilization.

I made it about twenty feet before I tripped over a pebble and careened face first into the ground. Once more I felt its rough texture splendidly grate against my face. Oh how I loved tripping!

Flipping over so I was on my back, my ribs flared up in pain. "Why me?" I whimpered, clutching my sides in pain.

I laid there sprawled out on the grass with my eyes closed for what felt like eternity, but was mostly likely only for a minute, contemplating whether or not to become one with the ground and give up on life.

"Hey there!" A voice called out, startling me, causing more pain to shoot through my body. "Are you okay?"

I swore. "Just peachy," I replied through gritted teeth, opening my eyes to look for the source of the voice.

Above me were two strangers peering down at me.

The first one was a young cobalt haired man with a gentle pair of cerulean eyes. He seemed to be rather well built, with broad shoulders and possessed youthful features, making me think he was somewhere around my own age.

The second and slightly younger one was a pretty looking blonde girl whose hair style was done into a pair of ponytails. She seemed to be in her mid to late teens but I honestly could never tell the age of women anymore, they were all over the board these days because of makeup. Her grayish-green eyes met with mine, they were filled with kindness and a hint of concern. She had a sense of cheekiness about her, but I felt that if she smiled she would look pretty cute.

The only thing I could think of was how amazing their costumes were. They looked exactly like Chrom and Lissa from Awakening. The guy dressed as Chrom even had a genuine looking 'Brand of the Exalt' on his right shoulder.

The Chrom cosplayer, gave me what I could only assume was a reassuring smile, "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know."

The man extended his hand out toward me. "Here," he offered, "give me your hand."

I started laughing, I couldn't help myself. They even sounded like their characters. These people were good.

Sorely, I took his hand and he pulled me up. Back on my feet, I winced slightly as I brushed myself off and let out a weak chuckle. "Thanks," I said.

The guy grinned. "No worries." A moment later, he furrowed his eyebrows and gave me a questioning look. "Are you all right?" he asked.

I waved him off. "Just slowly dying internally," I answered, "You know, normal stuff."

Lissa gasped as she got a better look at me, a hand flying to her mouth. "Chrom, look he's injured," she exclaimed, pointing to the blood that was dripping off of me, mixing onto the ground.

I lifted my shirt back up again to get a better look at my wounds, I blanched slightly at what I saw. Blood was streaming down from my cuts, they looked like they were becoming infected. The bruises also had a nasty black and purplish hue to them. I badly needed some medical attention before I got any worse.

Damn, this seriously hurts like a mother fu-

"Here let me heal you," Lissa said, coming up beside me, dispersing my thoughts into the wind.

"I must emphasize caution, milady." A deep, strong, and calm voice advised from behind her.

I looked over her shoulder to see their third companion. A man in his mid to late twenties with tousled brown hair and brown eyes. As I regarded him, his entire appearance just screamed warrior to me. Tall, powerfully built, and adorned in a heavy blue and white plate armor that he wore with an ease that indicated he was well accustomed to its weight.

Next to him, he even had a real-life horse with matching armor.

The costume must have cost the man a fortune, but I had to give him props, he did an excellent job of looking the part of Frederick.

"But he's injured," Lissa shot back. "We have to do something."

Before Frederick could retort she was already in front of me grabbing at my shirt.

"Just, hold still while I fix you," Lissa said, trying to lift up my shirt.

I felt my cheeks heat up. "Woah! Woah! Hey now, what do you think you're doing?!" I asked, pushing my shirt back down. "No touchy."

A look of confusion played on Lissa's face. "What?" she asked. "I need to take off that shirt if I'm gonna heal you."

Either she didn't realize what she was asking me was a tad embarrassing or she didn't care, either way I was hesitant to comply.

I looked to the others for help. Chrom only raised an eyebrow at me, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly upward at my embarrassment, while the knight shot me daggers with his eyes.

I was on my own.

"Look." I crossed my arms together to shield my stomach. "I appreciate the whole wanting to stay in character thing but I really don't feel like messing around anymore."

Lissa stared at me, blinking. "What?" she repeated, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I'm just trying to help you."

I had to resist every urge to strangle the poor girl. I took a deep breathe to help let out some of my growing irritation. With my mind a bit clearer, I began to consider her offer. She seemed sincere, and although it was weird, it was probably in my best interest to just play along with them so they could help me.

"All right, fine," I relented with a soft sigh, unfolding my arms.

I wasn't necessarily embarrassed with my body, but I wasn't used to taking my shirt off in front of a girl. The upper half of my shirt was dried right onto my skin. I pulled the ruined cloth off myself with a scowl, revealing my body in all of its nonexistent glory.

I wasn't unfit or fat in any way, but I wasn't as built as I would have liked.

She stared at what I hoped was the bruises and cuts, I couldn't be too sure as I desperately looked at everywhere else that wasn't her.

The girl brought the staff by my stomach, a soft blue light exuded from the crystal as she moved it alongside my ribs.

My eyes widened slightly, but besides that I made no other movements in fear of ending this strange phenomenon.

The magic forced some of the broken bones back into place inside my chest. I bit my lip so hard that it began to bleed, unleashing a hailstorm of curses in my head towards the pain.

Bruises began to slowly fade until my skin tone returned almost entirely back too normal, and all my cuts disappeared completely. As the effects of her magic subsided, I let slip a content groan, only a small twinge of the previous pain remained.

Satisfied that most of my injuries were healed, Lissa lowered her staff, the glow from the crystal began to diminish and return to its original color.

If I hadn't seen and experienced it all first-hand, I wouldn't have been able to believe any of it was real.

"Wow…" I stood there stunned, staring at my now completely healed body, poking the areas where the wounds had once been.

Lissa smiled a weary smile, her face taking on a paler color. "Feeling better?" she asked softly.

I nodded dumbly. "Yeah…," I said, putting my shirt back on. "…Thanks."

I stayed silent for a few moments, and contemplated everything I had just seen. What was that?

Lissa stumbled away from me to the horse grazing beside Frederick. Whatever she had done obviously took a toll on her body, tiring her out.

Finally, I asked, "What did you just do?"

Momentarily ignoring me, she started rummaging through the satchel hanging on the side of the horse. From it, she pulled out a transparent vial, green liquid sloshing around inside of it. Popping off the cork, she took a quick swig before letting out a content sigh, some of the color returning to her face.

Lissa turned to me with a smile. "I healed you of course," she chirped, twirling her staff around.

I gave her a blank stare.

Picking up on my confusion, she began to explain, "I'm able to help heal injuries using this staff," she said, waving the metal stick in front of my face.

I nodded, even though I didn't fully understand what had just occurred, I found it easier for my sanity to go along with it.

My eyes trained onto the mysterious vial in her hand. "And what's that you're holding," I asked, pointing to the strange object.

Lissa gave me an empathetic look. "Wow…you really don't knowing anything, do you?"

Oh great! I thought. Now she thinks I'm an idiot. This usually takes people a lot longer to figure out.'

"Sorry." I offered up a slight shrug. "This is all a bit new to me."

Lissa balanced the vial easily on her open palm for me to see. "This is a vulnerary. It's a potion used for healing minor wounds, ailments, or replenishing one's mana or endurance."

"And…you drank one because of mana exhaustion," I concluded.

Honestly, I had no idea, I was just guessing.

Lissa nodded, lowering the vial. "The greater the injury the more mana I use up," she explained.

HAHA! Guess confirmed, I mentally cheered, giving myself a nice congratulatory pat on the back.

"If it's just some scrapes or cuts, I'm fine," she continued, completely unaware of my own mental stupidity. "But, when it comes to injuries like yours…" She held up the vulnerary again. "I start to feel light headed and woozy, so I need to drink one of these."

Chrom grinned, deciding to interject at that moment. "While my sister may be delicate, she's quite an impressive cleric."

Lissa mercilessly bonked him on the head with her staff. "I am not delicate!" she protested, stomping her foot down.

I couldn't help but chuckle as Chrom rubbed the sore spot on his head. The girl's irritated expression wasn't helping the situation either, it only made her look cuter.

"Hmph!" she huffed, setting her lips into a stubborn pout, shooting us both a glare as she returned the vulnerary to the satchel.

My mind began to race as I considered my situation more thoroughly. Either I was dreaming, or I'd been sent to the world of Awakening. I really hoped I was dreaming, it would make my life a lot easier if I was.

Sadly, even after I slapped my cheeks and pounded my head against a tree, I couldn't wake up. All I got were some very sore cheeks and a massive headache.

"Hey!" Lissa cried, pointing her staff menacingly at me. "I'm not healing you again."

"Duly noted," I replied, pushing myself away from the tree, absently rubbing my pounding forehead.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Chrom asked. "We could-"

I raised up a hand, cutting him off. "Just give me one moment," I said.

Taking a deep breathe, I snapped my head up to the sky. My mouth opening wide as I did the only thing that could stop me from freaking out.

"Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!" I screamed. My voice echoed around the area, bouncing off the trees and ravines that were nearby.

After a couple moments, I steadied my breath, trying to calming myself down. I glanced over my shoulder to see that I was getting all sorts of curious looks from the three Ylisseans, but I didn't care.

"Sorry about that," I apologized, putting on a fake smile. "I'm good now."

No I'm not.

Chrom stared at me. "Are you sure you're fine?" he asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Of course I'm not fine!

It took a moment for me to reply, "Yes," I finally said, shaking my head as I desperately tried to calm my nerves. "I'm just trying to make sense of everything."

Even though I had grown up playing videos games, and been poisoned by numerous Isekai animes, I was still woefully unprepared for all this. I won't lie and say I hadn't ever thought about being summoned to another world, I mean who hasn't? However, that didn't mean I actually expected it to happen to me.

Chrom gave me a questioning look. "Tell me, what's your name?" he inquired. "What brings you here?"

I started to speak, "My name? It's…It's…" I hesitated for a brief second. They didn't need to know the whole truth, just enough to trust me. I pondered for a brief second before deciding on something. "Mark. You can call me Mark."

I didn't want to give them my real name. It wasn't because I didn't trust them but because in truth, I hated my name with a passion. Over the years I had come to despise it, whenever someone called me by my name it always sounded weird to me, as if it didn't belong to me. If I was in another world, it provided me with the perfect opportunity to change my name and start fresh. So, I chose to go by my father's name from now on.

"Mark?" Chrom repeated, blinking in surprise. "After the famous Elibe Tactician?"

That's right…, I thought. That was also the name of the avatar in FE7. Not gonna lie, I had completely forgot about that.'

I nodded slowly. "Yes, just like the tactician."

Chrom gave me a smile, offering out his hand for me to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mark."

Returning the smile, I shook his hand. "Likewise, Chrom."

Damn he has a strong grip.

Releasing my captive hand, Lissa skipped over and offered me hers. "My name's Lissa," she said, smiling brightly.

Again I smiled, shaking her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Lissa."

I stared at Frederick who was eying me warily. "I'm Mark," I said, offering him my hand.

Frederick didn't say anything, and ignored my outstretched hand, remaining as stiff as a statue.

This guy makes gargoyles look more alive.

With a slight frown, I lowered my hand to my side. "All right, good talk."

I turned to Chrom, wanting to ask a question that had been bothering me for a while. "Is there someone named; Robin, traveling with you?"

Chrom's brows furrowed, cupping a hand against his chin in thought. "Robin? Is that foreign?" he asked, before finally shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with anyone by that name. Are they a friend of yours?"

We're screwed.

An unpleasant feeling of dread coursed through me as the implications of the role I had to fill became clear. "No," I murmured, rubbing my temple.

I don't want to play the role of Tactician, I don't even like leading people.

"You never did mention why you're out here," Chrom commented.

I thought about it for a second, before giving him a shrug. "Wish I could tell you that but I don't know myself," I replied. "Everything's a bit of a blur."

Chrom made a small, questioning gesture with his hands, beckoning for me to elaborate. "What do you mean?"

I sighed. "The last thing I remember was going for a walk last night. After that, well…," I trailed off, "I don't quite remember how I got here or where my injuries came from. My mind's coming up blank at that part." I wasn't lying to them when I said I couldn't remember, but I was definitely leaving stuff out.

Frederick rolled his eyes. "You don't honestly believe him milord?" he asked incredulously. "He could very well be a Plegian spy, trying to fool us with his act and garner your trust."

My eye twitched. This guy was really starting to piss me off. "If I was a spy, why would I have no weapon?" I pointed out, the irritation evident in my voice. "Better yet, why would I be out here in the middle of nowhere, dressed like this?" I gestured up and down at my ripped jeans and ruined shirt. "Instead of hiding out at the capital to acquire any actual useful fucking information?!"

Frederick clenched his fists. "While you may not be a spy, you've definitely been withholding information from us."

My heart raced, but I keep my expression calm. "It's not my fault that you don't believe me because you're locked in your temple of soldierly self-righteousness." My jaw tightened. "Besides, you've all withheld the information of Chrom and Lissa being royalty," I countered, pointing to the brand on Chrom's shoulder.

Frederick rested a hand on his lance, "Choose your next words wisely for they may be your last," he growled out.

I gulped. I was like a tiny kitten facing off against a full grown lion. This guy is going to murder me.

Chrom frowned, stepping between us. "That's enough you two."

"Milord I-" Frederick tried to speak but was cut off as Chrom gently placed a hand on the knight's shoulders.

"Frederick, please," Chrom said. "I trust him, even if his story seems a bit strange."

Frederick's hand remained on the hilt for a few more moments before he sighed, relenting with an unhappy nod. "As you wish."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Taking a moment to compose myself, I began, "Look, I'm sorry, it's just been a long day," I apologized, running a hand through my hair. "I would appreciate it at the very least if you could point me in the direction of the nearest town, then I'll be out of your hair."

"We're heading in the direction of the town ourselves," Chrom replied. "We would be happy to take you there with us."

Frederick shook his head. "Milord, will you not heed my advice and-"

Lissa let out a loud, irritated sigh before he could finish. "Stop being such a worry wart, Frederick," she berated, poking the knight in the chest. "Mark doesn't seem like such a bad guy."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I honestly hadn't expected Lissa to come to my defense, I more expected that from Chrom than her.

Chrom nodded alongside Lissa. "I agree, beside we can't just leave him here, alone and injured. What sort of Shepherds would we be then?"

Frederick merely glared at me. "Just the same, milord, I must emphasize caution," he intoned, before adding. "T'would be unwise to let a wolf into our flock."

"Bite me," I muttered just loud enough for him to hear me.

Frederick glowered at me, grabbing ahold the reins of his horse, tugging it along with him.

Chrom came beside me. "Right then," he said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "We'll take you back to town and sort this out there."

I nodded at the prince, lacking any better option.

We began heading in what I assumed was the direction of the town. While we walked, I turned my head to Chrom and Lissa, and gave them both a smile. "Thank you," I said. "I appreciate you helping me out."

The two exchanged a grin.

"Don't worry about it," Chrom said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "It's what we do."

For a majority of the walk, I stayed a few steps behind them, remaining mostly silent. I watched as they chatted together. I was amazed at how well the siblings got along with each other. Better than me and my older sister ever did anyways. It made me slightly jealous knowing that I could never have that kind of relationship if I was to be stuck here.

That's when it hit me, I was never gonna see anybody I cared about ever again. My friends and family were all gone, worlds apart from me. All I had now were my memories of them, but how long would those last before I started to forget?

The only reminders of my world now consisted of a wallet full of money that wouldn't work here, my house keys, and an almost useless cell-phone that had a limited lifespan.

Was I going to remain stuck here forever or was this all just temporary? I didn't know. I guess the most important question I had to ask myself was; do I even want to go back?

Even with all these questions and thoughts running through my mind, I felt like I was forgetting something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I mentally shrugged, if it was important it would come back to me.

Finally I spoke up, putting together what I wanted to say, "So…you're Shepherds?" I asked, trying to give off the impression that I didn't know anything. This façade was going to be both annoying and incredibly difficult to maintain. I was going to have to try my best to steer things in the right direction without giving away too much of my knowledge of this world.

Lissa gave me an enthusiastic nod. "That's right!"

"Never heard of anybody tending to sheep in full armor and weapons like that." I indicated to the sword hanging at Chrom's side. "Must be some dangerous wildlife around here."

Discounting Frederick, both Chrom and Lissa looked to be decently outfitted for combat. Chrom carried the legendary sword, Falchion; a gleaming, silver and gold sword that had a peculiar teardrop-shaped hole at the base of the blade. A white cape clung to the shoulder plate on his left shoulder, strapped onto his blue leather body armor.

Lissa on the other hand, while she may have been wearing an elegant yellow and white summer dress, hidden beneath it all she wore some light leather armor. Besides the staff she always carried around her, it didn't appear that she had any other weapons.

The prince chuckled in response, breaking me from my analysis. "You'd be surprised, it's quite a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here," he said, gesturing to the great knight walking beside him.

I looked at the knight now. His face was stern, as it always was.

"A title I shall wear with pride," he replied, slightly puffing out his chest. "Naga forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution."

I rolled my eyes. "Naga forbid one of us show some proper courtesy to others," I cut in, crossing my eyes.

Frederick took a deep breathe, and said in an apologetic tone, "Forgive me. I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates that I ensure that no threat befalls my lieges."

I sighed. "It's fine," I said dismissively. "I should be the one to apologize anyway, you're merely doing your job."

Chrom grinned ever so slightly. "Well, I'm glad you two are getting along."

"Oh yes." I nodded. "Freddy and I are just the best of friends," I proclaimed, throwing my arm around the knight's shoulder.

Frederick sighed irritably, "I'll thank you not to refer to me by that ridiculous name." He roughly brushed my arm off of him and moved further behind, bringing his horse along with him.

"But I thought what we had was special!" I cried out in mock indignation, placing a hand over my chest.

Lissa giggled at my antics while Frederick merely scoffed.

"I think not," he growled.

I was gonna get myself killed messing with this guy but it would be so worth it.

Chrom chuckled beside me. "You play a dangerous game, my friend."

I flashed him a cheeky grin. "How so?"

"Only a fool baits a lion so eagerly," Chrom replied.

"I'll be fine," I reassured. "I know when to-"

A startled gasp cut me off.

"Chrom, look!" Lissa cried, pointing in the direction of a large smoke column rising up into the sky. "The town!"

Oh no…I completely forgot about this part.

We rushed to the top of the hill, giving us a good vantage point of the town.

It looked like something straight out of Middle Ages Europe. There was a cluster of houses, a church in the town square, a few inns, a saw mill, some farms, a blacksmiths, and everything else necessary to meet the demands of day-to-day country life. The only problem was the bandits swarming around the town, setting various buildings ablaze, while looting whatever they could get their grubby little hands on.

Chrom cursed. "Damn it!" he muttered. "The town is ablaze! Those blasted brigands, no doubt..." His voice coming out a little more than a growl. "Frederick, Lissa! Quickly!"

Frederick frowned, gazing at me with a coldness in his eyes. "What about him?" he asked, jerking a thumb at me.

"Unless he's also on fire, he can wait!" Chrom retorted impatiently.

Frederick grimly nodded, "Aptly put, milord," he said, moving to mount his horse.

Let's go already!" Lissa yelled, taking off in the direction of the town.

Chrom drew Falchion, and sprinted after her.

Moments later, Frederick galloped past me, his horse kicking up dust.

I covered my eyes, and coughed. As the dust began to settle, I realized that I was now completely alone.

Now what? I thought.

I stared at the plumes of black grey smoke that promised me a life of pain and misery.

It's none of your concern, just walk away.

I turned my body to face the trees, but no matter how hard I tried, my feet wouldn't move.

But could I live with myself if I ran away?

My mind screamed at me, telling me to run. However, my heart told me something different. Its soft whispers telling me to fight.

They say you never truly know whether or not you're a hero or a coward until you're facing death. I've always been afraid of being a coward, telling myself that if given a choice I would be a hero. But now that I was at a crossroads that could determine whether or not I lived or died, I froze.

What kind of person am I?

I quietly sighed, and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "A fool. That's what I am."

Facing the direction of the town, I took off, sprinting into the unknown.

"This is a horrible idea!" I shouted.

As I ran through the chaos, my eyes darted everywhere, taking in the wood and brick buildings that stood eave to eave with one another. The town reminded me of the renaissances fair but nothing about it felt fake. That's probably because it was all real. There were no cars, billboards, cell phone towers, or snow cone shops. I was slightly sad about the last one.

So many of the buildings I passed were now lying in rubble. Others burned out of control. Bodies of numerous villagers laid dead on the ground or against trees, each had his or her throat slit, a pool of their own blood forming beneath them. Besides all that, it was actually a nice looking town.

My leg muscles felt like they were burning from exhaustion, and I could feel my heart throbbing inside my chest. I slowed down to a light jog, moving myself into a nearby side alley to catch my breath. The inside of my mouth felt incredibly dry, and my lungs felt like they were going to burst.

"I am definitely…out of shape…" I coughed, clasping my hands over my knees, trying to calm my beating heart. I'm never skipping leg day again.

"Please! Someone! Heeeeeelp!" A feminine voice cried out.

They sounded like they weren't too far away from me but I paused a moment to consider something. How am I going to help? I don't even have a weapon.

Even when all logic dictated for me to run away, I still decided to help.

I dashed toward the direction of the voice. Rounding a corner, I found two ruffians about to end the lives of two girls. A blonde teenage girl, cowering and holding close to her, what I could assume to be her younger sister that she was trying to shield from the men.

"Please. S-stay away from us!" the oldest pleaded, backing slowly away from them.

A large burly man wearing mismatched attire consisting of stitched wool and animal fur stepped forward.

I recognized him as one of the barbarian sprites from the game, and trailing slightly behind him was a somewhat smaller myrmidon.

The myrmidons lips twisted into a bloodthirsty smile. "Come on little sheepy, we just want to play."

The two girls were visibly shaking, their backs pressed against the wall. They were trapped, forced to choose either running through the scorching flames of building beside them or towards the direction of me and the ruffians. Either way, they weren't getting out alive.

The myrmidon drew his bronze sword; the barbarian merely stood nearby, watching the scene intently.

The little girl that trembled behind the older girl's legs, buried her face into her sister's waist, and while the older girl hadn't faltered, I saw the fear in her eyes. These people didn't deserve to die. Even if I was cold enough to let them, some part inside me wouldn't allow it, I would try to save them.

With my resolve hardened; I did the only logical thing to do in this situation. I ran straight at them.

And then three things happened almost simultaneously. The myrmidon raised his sword and leveled it at the girl's neck, the youngest one screamed in terror, and I swung out at the man.

My right fist connected against the myrmidon's cheek, and I could see a few teeth were being dislodged by the sheer power of the punch. The sword clattered harmlessly to the ground, while the ruffian was flung backwards and hit the dirt with a loud thud.

I shook my bruised knuckles, now covered in cuts and blood from where I hit him.

Fuck that hurt!

I didn't waste any more time to marvel at the punch and instead spun around, and leapt at the barbarian, who was still caught off guard.

The barbarian's eyes widened as my shoes connected against his jewels. His body went rigid before he let out a high pitched squeak, and crumpled to the ground.

I won't lie, in a life or death situation, I will fight dirty. Proper fighting ethics be damned!

As I came closer, the barbarian held one hand protectively over his lower region and tried to grasp his axe with the other hand. But as he did, I kicked him fiercely, viciously, until I was certain he couldn't rise.

This was going even better than I'd originally expected. Stooping down to the ground, I picked up the myrmidon's fallen sword, and turned towards the village girls.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

The older one stared at me like a deer caught in headlights. Her eyes frantically searching for any signs of danger.

I softened my voice, holding my hands up in a nonthreatening gesturing, and gave her a smile. "It's okay," I said. "There's no reason to be afraid anymore."

The girl gave me a shaky smile, tears of relief streaming from her eyes. "Th-thank you," she managed to stutter out.

I merely nodded my head, pointing with the sword in the direction I had come from. "Get somewhere safe."

They took off running, and I continued to watch after them until they rounded the corner, disappearing from my sights.

A muffled sound behind me caught my attention. I clumsily gripped the sword, ready for another fight.

I twirled around to see the myrmidon getting back up. He was now holding onto his bleeding jaw as he struggled to get to his feet.

"You're gonna regret that," he spat, flashing me his bloodied teeth.

I sighed, adopting what I hoped was a proper sword fighting stance. Of course it wasn't gonna be that easy.

The myrmidon's eyes locked with my own, his hazel irises burned with a cold fire, as he plucked up the axe lying beside the unconscious barbarian.

I had never wielded a sword before, the closest thing being a toy lightsaber that I had used as a kid to do glorious combat against my friends. This situation was a lot different from back then.

Taking a deep breathe, I tried to calm my already frayed nerves. No matter how much I might train myself to fight an unarmed opponent, I wasn't ready to take on one with a weapon. If he got in a clean swipe, it was all over for me. The only way I was gonna have a chance of beating him was with this sword. Hopefully, it was enough.

The myrmidon charged at me, wasting no time to attack me.

Barely did I manage to sidestep his attack in time. He kept on swinging at me as I frantically tried to dodge or block all of his incoming strikes.

I knew from the weapon triangle that a sword would beat an axe because they were much lighter, longer, and easier to handle. This gave me a greater advantage both in speed and reach, but in the hands of an inexperienced fighter it meant little.

Thankfully, his attacks were as awkward as my skills with a blade. Apparently he wasn't use to the weapon he was wielding either.

I finally managed to parry one of his attacks, and swung at his undefended midsection, staying my hand at the last second.

This is another person! my mind screamed. I can't do this!

Seeing my hesitation, the myrmidon took the chance, knocking the sword out of my hand, and threw me to the ground. He pressed his boot on the back of my head, scraping my forehead against the ground and causing me to bleed.

"Not so tough now are you?" he snidely taunted me, raising his bronze axe, its curved blade reflecting menacingly in the sunlight. He brought it over his head, ready to strike down on me like an executioner.

I could only watch as he swung the axe.

I forced my eyes to stay open, if these were my last moments, I wanted to see it all. I wasn't going to just sit back and cower or beg for my life as death approached me. That was why, with my eyes open, I gritted my teeth.

So this was how it was all going to end? I grimly thought. I don't want to die! Not like this. I'm still a virgin for god's sake!

I'd been transported to another world and lost everything. Accomplishing nothing in my short life. I wanted to cry, yet not a single tear fell; I felt my heart stop.

I didn't see my life flash before my eyes, nor did I feel time slow down for me. All I felt was fear and regret coursed through my body, as my blood froze.

In the midst of my overwhelming hopelessness, feeling as if I had been abandoned by the world…A familiar voice rang out to me.

"Pick a god and pray!"

The voice overwhelmed the clamor of the surrounding chaos, the vulgar insults of the ruffian, my own heavy breathing as well as everything else, and shook my very world to its core.

The myrmidon didn't even have enough time to turn before a silver lance struck him from behind, the blade's tip protruding out of his chest. He looked at me in confusion, blood spraying out of his body onto my face. Blood trailed away from his lips as he let out a pained cough, droplets of blood hitting my mouth.

Desperately, I spat it all out, wiping the blood off my face with my hands.

Disgusting.

I looked over and saw his dead corpse lying beside me, blood pooling beneath him. His eyes staring straight at me, the light no longer in them.

A strangled yelped left me as I realized what I was looking at. At that instant my mind went blank. My entire thought process had completely left me, and my hands and feet were frozen in place.

He's dead…I just watched someone die.

I was visibly shaking, this was becoming too much for me to handle. At first I just thought of all this as a game but now I realized with a creeping feeling that none of this was a game; all of this was deathly real, and it was terrifying.

I lifted my head up, the person who had saved me was a magnificent knight atop a noble steed. A gentle gust of wind blew playfully against his rich chocolate hair, which was thick and lustrous. His face was strong and defined, his features molded as if from the most pristine marble. His back was to the sun, its radiant glow lighting up his pale skin, and reflecting of his armor, making him look devilishly handsome. It was Frederick. He had saved my life! In that brief moment I had gone gay for Frederick.

All I could do was stare at him in a daze, not truly comprehending what had just happened. I looked up at him in awe. "Thank you," I said quietly, a slight tint of red in my cheeks.

His voice was deep, with a serious tone. "Don't get careless!" he barked at me, riding away to help fight off more ruffians.

And just like that the image of a sexy great knight was shattered and I was straight again.

"Right," I grimaced, pushing myself up. I slapped my cheeks a few times to bring myself back to reality. "Man…I really need to get a girlfriend."

I looked down at the myrmidon's lifeless body. All I could do was stared for what felt like a lifetime at his empty eyes. I had to push back the bile collecting in my throat.

Sure this man might have just tried to kill me…but they were someone's son, someone's brother…he had a family and people that cared about him. He didn't want to be killed. Then again most people didn't. He was still a human though, what right did I have to try and take another's life?

Picking up the bronze sword again, I clutched the hilt tightly while regarding my reflection coming off the blade. "What kind of person am I?" I muttered darkly to myself.

Turning the sword over, I saw blood smeared across the blade, covering half of my face's reflection. I dropped the blade away in disgust.

Why am I even here? I don't owe these people anything, so why am I helping them?

I wondered if I was only doing this because this was how it played out in the game. Now that I thought about it, these people were barely more than strangers to me. I had no reason to help them. The rush of excitement from meeting the game characters was blinding me to the reality of the situation. None of this was worth my life. So, I asked myself; why am I trying so hard?

These myriad of thoughts clouded my mind as I tried to find answers to all these questions. The only thing I got was a growing headache.

Man, I could really use some alcohol right now.

Finally, I sighed, closing my eyes. They've saved my life twice now. It's about time I returned the favor.

Taking a deep breathe, I opened my eyes again and sprinted deeper into the burning town.

I raced through the dirt roads, cutting through any small alleyways that I could find, taking the time to look around to make sure I wasn't about to be jumped by any stray ruffians.

Finally, I arrived at the town square where I heard the sounds of metal clanging against each other. Making sure I was hidden from view, I leaned against the side of a wall and popped my head out, getting a better view of the area.

A man in blue armor, who I recognized as Chrom, was squaring off against two ruffians. He was panting heavily, cuts littered his body as he starred down the men that slowly circled him.

"Come on!" he challenged, brandishing Falchion at them.

As they edged closer, I managed to spot a pair of blonde pigtails hiding behind an apple stall. I ducked down, moving swiftly as I could manage while squatting out of sight. Getting closer, I saw Lissa peering over the stall, clutching her staff in a death grip, completely oblivious to her surroundings.

When I was practically beside her, I tapped her on the shoulder and spoke up in a hushed tone, "Hey, Lissa."

"Gya!" She let out a girlish shriek, practically jumping out of her skin. Before I knew what was happening, she swung her staff around, smacking me across the head with it.

I crumpled to the ground, laying sprawled out on my back as gray flecks swarmed my vision. "Son of a…" I pitifully groaned out.

Why do I keep ending up on the ground?

"M-Mark?!" Lissa's eyes widened in both surprise and recognition as she crouched down beside me. "I'm so sorry," she hurriedly apologized. "You really scared me. I thought my heart was going to jump out of my throat!"

"Yeah…" I mumbled, holding onto my throbbing head. "Sorry about that…I won't do it again."

Lissa helped me to my feet, steadying me so I wouldn't fall back down. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Thought I would try helping out," I replied, shaking my head a few times. "But after getting decked by your staff, I don't think you need it."

Lissa gave me a sheepish grin, her face growing flush in embarrassment. "I said, 'I was sorry'," she muttered.

"Its fine," I chuckled. Taking a moment to look around the plaza, I asked, "Where's Frederick?"

Lissa looked around uncertainly. "Chrom sent him off to help evacuate any citizens he came across, but that was a while ago…" she trailed off.

I gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry," I said, "he's probably fine."

"He's not the one I'm worried about," Lissa murmured, looking away from me.

I turned to follow her gaze.

Chrom was still pitted against the two ruffians and looked even worse than before. It was clear that he had more skill than them, but quantity had a quality of its own as they managed to keep him on the defensive.

One swung an axe at him, and Chrom barely managed to parry the strike away.

Using the slight delay between each attack to his advantage, Chrom stabbed the barbarian in the heart, killing the man instantly. However, Chrom was now wide open for the other barbarian to strike him down before he could wretch Falchion out of the dead man's body.

"Chrom!" Lissa cried out in fear.

Without thinking, I picked up an apple from the stall and chucked it at the barbarian. The red blur soared through the air, smacking the man in the shoulder, throwing off his axe swipe, making it sail inches passed Chrom's head.

"Nice throw!" Lissa cheered beside me.

A grin spread across my face, as I subconsciously relaxed my shoulders in a sense of relief. "Thanks," I said. "I honestly didn't expect that to work."

Chrom turned around as another swipe was aimed at him. He managed to duck down, avoiding the attack, and thrust his blade deep into the man's gut.

The barbarian gasped as blood spurted forth from his wound.

With a kick to the chest, Chrom sent him crashing to the ground.

The barbarian was no more.

With the fighting over, Lissa and I sprinted across the square to Chrom.

As we approached, Chrom dropped Falchion to the ground and fell to one knee.

"Weak!" I hollered as we drew closer.

Chrom glanced over his shoulder, regarding me, with surprise. "Mark?"

I nodded, giving him a cheeky grin. "Yes, I am Mark."

"Why did you…followed us…?" Chrom managed to choke out.

I shrugged. "I ask myself the same-Whoa!" I caught Chrom as he just about fell over. "Are you all right?" I asked. "You look like your about to pass out."

"I'm fine," Chrom replied with a weary smile, gratefully accepting my support. "Sorry if I worried you."

Lissa rolled her eyes. "And you called me delicate," she quietly remarked, pressing her staff closely against his wounds. The familiar glow of healing magic permeated the square, as she worked.

Looking up momentarily at Chrom, Lissa asked, "How do you feel?"

Chrom took a deep breath in and grinned as the cuts disappeared from his body. "Better," he admitted.

I crouched down to the ground and picked up the divine sword. It was a lot lighter than I expected it to be, and I felt like a badass holding it. My thumb rubbed over the pummel as a part of me wanted to make a whole bunch of heroic poses with it, while another part of me wanted to take the blade and run. I was well aware of the fact that I couldn't wield it, but I could still dream.

Damn my lack of divine blood!

I hesitated for a moment before reluctantly holding out the sword for Chrom. "Think you can handle the rest?" I asked.

A look of dread crossed over Chrom's face. "Rest?" he repeated, straining to swivel his head around.

Across the stone bridge that connected the town square and church, stood five more ruffians.

From my position it looked like they had a pair of mages, along with two more myrmidons that stood guard in front of the bandit leader.

Chrom sighed, finger combing his hair off his face, then took Falchion from my hand. "Well…I never could turn down a challenge," he said, rested his sword on his shoulder. "Let's see what I'm capable of."

The healing light soon faded away.

"There!" Lissa smiled triumphantly. "I may not be able to fight like you, but when you get injured. I'll be the one to heal you back into top form!" she promised.

"Thank you," Chrom said, smiling gratefully at Lissa as she helped steady him back up.

When Chrom was fully back on his feet, he turned to me and said, "And thank you. I owe you one."

I arched an eyebrow at him. "For what?" I asked.

"For lending us your aid." Chrom lifted the bruised apple off the ground, and tossed it to me. "And in my eyes, that makes you a friend."

My hand shot up and caught the fruit. "Thank me if we manage to get out of this alive," I countered.

The approaching sound of horse hooves signified our missing member.

I spun around to see Frederick trotting towards us atop his horse. He didn't look any worse for wear, in fact his armor looked like it was in pristine condition. Not a single scratch or drop of blood marred his armor. The same couldn't be said for his lance though. Just looking at the red stains on it made me sick.

Frederick's horse slowed down to a walking pace as he brought it to a standstill beside Chrom. "Milord, Milady, are you alright?" he asked, giving the two a slightly concerned look as he dismounted. "Is anyone injured?"

Chrom waved him off. "We're fine, Frederick," he replied, and gestured towards me. "Thanks to Mark here."

Frederick shot me a quick glance. There was a lingering hint of suspicion in his eyes, but there was also something different from before. Was it respect? Gratitude? I'd so rarely been looked at in those ways, I wasn't sure. He gave me a slight head-nod.

I returned the gesture. I still owed him for saving my life. When this was all said and done, he and I were going to have a heart to heart, even if I had to tie him down to do it.

"All the ruffians on the outskirts of the town have been dealt with," Frederick said, handing Lissa a vulnerary.

"And the villagers?" Chrom inquired. "Are they safe?"

"All the ones I came across have been safely evacuated," he replied.

Chrom nodded, and let out a relieved sigh. "Good."

Frederick's face slightly darkened. "However, some of the villagers informed me that a few people are still hiding out inside the church," he said.

"Which is currently where the rest of the bandits are," I noted, looking over at the group of men trying to break down the church door.

I clapped my hands together. "Well that's just wonderful."

Lissa's eyes were wide as she dropped the vial, clattering to the ground. She looked over at Chrom worriedly. "We have to save them!" she exclaimed.

Chrom nodded, his grip tightening on Falchion. "I agree with you," he said, then gave me a curious glance. "Mark, are you armed?"

"Besides this apple?" I asked, jokingly, lightly tossed it upwards and caught it as it fell back down.

After a second, I sighed. "No," I admitted, my face going grim. "I don't have any weapons."

Chrom also sighed. "All right, then you and Lissa stay behind us," he ordered, gesturing for us to hide behind the apple stall again. "I don't want you two rushing into danger."

I crossed my arms together, and raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you have a plan?" I asked.

Chrom slightly nodded. "Frederick and I will charge in, hit them hard, take out their leader, and save all the remaining villagers."

"That's it?" I asked incredulously. "That's the best you could come up with?"

Chrom scratched the back of his head. "Ahh…yeah," he replied confused. "It's only five guys."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, and shook my head at him.

Naga. Please protect this poor, stupid, innocent child.

After several seconds Chrom finally gave in. "Well what do you suggest then?" he asked, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Hmm…" My brows furrowed in concentration as I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. I studied the path to the bridge, trying to find any way to sneak up on the ruffians. "Is there another way around the church?"

Frederick pondered for a moment. "Yes…," he said slowly. "I remember seeing another path on my way here."

"Interesting…" I mumbled as an idea started to manifest in my head, "well I believe I have a plan," I said casually. "That is, if you're interested, of course."

Chrom perked up slightly at that. "I'm all ears," he replied, giving me his full attention.

I beckoned for them to move closer to me, huddling us together.

"The good news is they haven't noticed us yet, so we have the element of surprise on our side. However, since Chrom and Frederick will be the only one's fighting, you'll both be incredibly outnumbered." I picked up a stick and began squiggling shapes into the dirt, making a quick outline of everything.

"What I suggest is that both of you go across the bridge and quickly dispatch both of the mages," I continued. With the stick, I made a line from the two triangles I'd drawn, which represented Chrom and Frederick, and moved them over to the tomes, crossing out both of the books.

"They'll be the biggest threat," I said. "After that, focus your attention on getting rid of the two myrmidon's."

"What about their leader?" Frederick cut in, indicating to the circle with a frowny face on it, positioned in front of my crude looking church.

I pointed my drawing stick threateningly at the knight. "Patience miniature gargoyle," I said,
"I'm getting to that."

Frederick scowled at me, grabbing ahold of my stick and snapping it in half.

I stared in feigned horror as my drawing utensil fell brokenly to the ground. I silently mourned for my deceased wooden friend.

When the stick murderer made no further comments or actions against me, I went on. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted!" I practically shouted at the knight, spittle flying onto his face. Frederick brushed it off himself in disgust.

"I'll sneak around them and take the leader's attention off of you two, so you can deal with the others," I said, finally wrapping up my no doubt, ingenious plan.

Chrom frowned. "How are you going to fight?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "I thought you said you didn't have any weapons?"

I chuckled, waving a dismissive hand at him. "Don't worry," I said, "I got something up my sleeve."

To be honest, I had nothing up my sleeve, but they didn't need to know that.

"I hope it's more than a stick," Frederick muttered.

Chrom and Lissa tried their best to stifle their laughter, but were failing miserably.

My boyish pride felt wounded.

I whirled around, sticking an accusatory finger at him. "What was that pony boy?" I asked.

Frederick gave me a questioning look. "Pony boy?" he repeated.

I ignored him and turned my attention to Lissa who was still stifling a giggle here and there.

"While we are all doing that, I want you to stay on the outskirts of the bridge, out of harm's way," I said, becoming serious once more, "but I still want you within distance to heal one of these two in case they get injured."

Lissa nodded, grinning at me. "You got it," she chirped with a quick salute.

I looked back at the prince and knight. "If either of you get hurt, make your way back to Lissa," I said, "I'd prefer if nobody get themselves killed trying to be a hero."

Chrom nodded his head. "Sounds like a better plan then what I had," he grudgingly admitted.

I smiled smugly. "Does everyone know what they're doing?" I asked, scanning all of their faces. My gaze stopped on Chrom as he gave me a concerned look.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "You don't have to…," he trailed off as I shook my head at him.

"I won't sit around while you guys risk your lives," I retorted, a hint of defiance in my voice. "I want to help."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Then I shall put faith in your plan," he said with a nod. "You've lent us your strength once more, and for that I am thankful."

"Th-Thanks," I happily stuttered before looking over at the other two.

Lissa gave me an encouraging smile, while Frederick, was…well Frederick.

I clapped my hands together. "All right then, let's get started."

I walked passed Frederick as he pulled himself up on his horse, and grabbed the reins. "Remember, Mark, we will be against practiced thieves and murderers," he said, warningly. "They will grant us no quarter. It's kill or be killed."

My face darkened, as I subconsciously clutched the apple harder. "I know," I muttered crossly, walking away from him.

As Lissa and Frederick left to take up their positions, I called out to Chrom as he was about to leave. "Hey!"

Chrom looked over his shoulder at me.

"Be careful," I said.

"That goes double for you." Chrom shot back with a smile. "Stay safe. I don't want you getting hurt for our sake."

I gave him a two-fingered salute, and with that I was running away without another wasted moment. I needed this plan to work or we might not even make it past the game's prologue.

My feet pounded against the street that would take me to the alternate route across the river. I tossed the apple over my shoulder as I ran. It wasn't going to be any use for what I had in mind.

After a few minutes I arrived at the backside of the church, behind the bandits who were focusing their attention on Chrom and Frederick.

I pushed myself against the building's wall, trying to figure out my next course of action.

All right, you're here. Now what genius?

The more time I spent thinking; the growing sound of magic, clanging metal, and horse hooves began to fill the air.

Over the ensuing chaos, I could barely make out the leader's voice, "Sheep ripe for the slaughter!" he proclaimed as he cracked his knuckles.

If memory served my correctly, his name was Garrick. After playing through the beginning area so many times, he was one of the few enemy's names that I could remember.

Frantically, I searched for anything that I could use as a weapon. My eyes settled on a shovel protruding from an unfinished grave. While it wasn't a sword, I'd seen the damage a shovel could do to a man.

I shrugged. Good enough.

Making my way past all the graves, I drew the shovel from the ground, it was solid and long enough to give me some reach in a fight. Clutching the shovel, I ran around the side of the church.

I managed to catch sight of Chrom, who was locked in a battle against both a myrmidon, and mage, dancing around all the incoming blades of wind directed at him, while fending off the myrmidon's sword simultaneously.

Frederick seemed to be faring far worse, stuck between fighting the other myrmidon, and a mage, while also avoiding Garrick's throwing axes.

I ran behind the mage, a green glow filling his hand as he charged up a wind spell.

Bringing up my shovel, I swung it, letting the shovel's weight carry me through the swing. A solid, and fleshy smacking noise came from the mage as the shovel hit him in the back of the head.

The mage crumpled to the ground, out like a light.

Garrick ignored me and continued to focus his attention on Frederick, while the myrmidon whirled around to face me with a bewildered expression.

"Who are you?" he asked, regaining some of his composure, tightening his grip on the sword.

I chuckled, shaking my head in amusement at the foolish man. "You mean you haven't heard of me?" I asked, momentarily planting the shovel in the ground. "Where I'm from, they call me…" I paused for dramatic effected. "The Shovel Knight!" I shouted, yanking the shovel from the ground and holding it high above my head in a dramatic pose.

I waited for some doves to fly into the air, or a glowing light to shine down upon me as heroic music played in the background. It never came.

Is this copy right? I wondered. I feel like this is-OH GOD! I backpedaled as the myrmidon immediately swung at me.

I narrowed my eyes. "Rude!" I yelled as I held the wooden shaft, pointing the tip of the shovel at him.

I felt something warm on my cheek. Reaching up with my left hand, I touched a bit of blood running down my face.

I am so screwed!

The myrmidon grinned, his eyes glittering in cruel amusement as he lunged forward with a quick stab.

I barely deflected it with the metal blade, and backed away from him as he continued his assault.

In the limited space we had in between the building and the water, the myrmidon edged me towards the church.

I didn't like the idea of being pinned against a wall but it was better than falling in the water…wait a minute, no it wasn't!

My shoe hit a rock, throwing me off balance, and the shovel fell from my hand. I pressed my back uncomfortably against the church wall, my forehead prickled with sweat and fear as the Myrmidon came closer.

The man laughed as he swung, sensing his impending victory.

I ducked just as the sword cut into the wooden wall above me, inches away from being a fatal blow.

Welp, I don't need to go to the bathroom anymore.

Not allowing him time to recover, I punched him in the chest, and slammed my forehead into his face, almost breaking his nose.

The myrmidon grunted in pain and fell backwards, clutching his head.

My vision became slightly disoriented as I also held my head, "Fuck. Why did I do that?" I groaned out.

With the bandit still on the ground, I used the opportunity to quickly kick him in the back.

The myrmidon let out a pitiful whimper and curled up into a ball to protect himself.

I prepared myself for a beating I was gonna very much enjoy. I landed a second kick, and reared back for a third one, pausing momentarily.

The myrmidon removed his hands that were covering his face to look at me. The instant he did, I gave him a final kick in the face. When his eyes didn't open, I crouched down to his side, pressing my ear against his bruised body, listening for a sign of life. Faintly, I heard the weak beating of his heart.

I let out a relieved sigh. I dropped to my knees in exhaustion, taking deep breaths of air in an attempt to calm my beating heart.

A muffled cry of pain filled the air.

I looked over in time to see Frederick tumble off his horse, an axe embedded in his left shoulder. His head collided against the stone ground, knocking him out cold.

My eyes widened in disbelief and fear as Garrick stepped on Frederick's chest, and wretched the axe free of his shoulder. Blood dripping off the edge of the blade and onto his armor.

It only took me a split second to react. I darted over to them as fast as my legs could carry me. My lungs were beginning to burn and my muscles ached, but none of that mattered. The only thing that I cared about in that moment was Frederick.

Before Garrick could strike again, I was on him.

I landed on his back, the weight and the force of my leap drove us both to the ground. We rolled there, grappling with each other, each trying to gain some kind of advantage over the other.

One of Garrick's wildly flailing arm's hit me with a ringing blow across my left ear. Then I managed to get my right arm free and punched him hard in the nose.

Blood gushed down his face as he drove a fist into my stomach with the force of a freight-train, I gasped as the air was driven out of me.

Garrick scrambled to his feet, and retrieved his hand axe. Gripping the weapon, he stalked over to me.

My heart pounded in terror as I watched him tower over me. Well this seems familiar.

I was a dead man now. However, that didn't mean I wouldn't try. "Please…Spare me," I said. I needed to buy some time to think. Hopefully, I could distract him long enough to come up with something.

Garrick's shoulders now trembled. He threw back his head and laughed as if at some private joke before returning his murderous gaze on me. "Mercy?" he spat, bringing the edge of the blade under my chin, pressing lightly into the soft flesh of my throat. "I don't believe in mercy."

The axe pricked a little harder against my throat and I felt a warm trickle of blood sliding down beneath my shirt.

"Worth a shot," I mumbled, giving him a slight shrug.

He brought the axe back up, ready to strike me down. Then there was a thud of hooves on stone and a large, shape was driving towards us.

Frederick's horse charged at the bandit leader, spinning in its tracks and lashed out with its rear hooves as he came within range. The horse's rear hooves caught the man in the ribs and, with all the force of the horse's upper legs behind it, sent the man crashing to the ground.

Thank god for that fucking horse! I mentally cheered. When this is over, I'm giving that thing an apple.

Garrick landed on his back with a hoarse groan. The kick had done some serious damage to him.

I dived on top of him, not making the same mistake he had made, and pinned his arms beneath my knees. I wretched the axe from his hand, the weapon trembling in my grasp as I clutched it.

He began to say something, "P-please…sp-spare me…" he sputtered out, broken and bleeding.

I gave him a small, contemptuous laugh. "I don't believe in mercy."

Mustering up all my remaining strength, I slammed the axe down onto him, the blade piercing right through his skull with a sickening thwack.

His eyes bulged out of their sockets. A stream of crimson spewed out of his mangled face, revealing parts of his brain and skull through the torn flesh.

I let go off the axe and fell away from him. Even after the weapon left my hands, it remained embedded in his face.

Vomit surged through my throat as I hunched over and spewed onto the ground. My eyes drifted back onto his lifeless corpse and I heaved again onto the blood covered dirt. I kept retching until only clear liquid came out of me. Finally the torrential vomit subsided and I gasped for breathe as I tried to regulate my breathing again.

I wiped the vomit away from the edges of my mouth, the taste still prominent in my throat as its awful smell penetrated my nostrils.

A tear drifted down my cheek, dripping onto the ground. "I'm…so sorry," I apologized weakly. The voice that escaped my mouth was empty, like a wind blowing from a hollow cave through a crevice.

I felt like there was nothing left inside of me, as if I had cast away a vital piece of myself that made me human.

I wasn't a hero. I wasn't a savior. In my eyes I was nothing more than a mere murderer.

My hands shook uncontrollably. I looked down at them to see they were covered in blood. Part of my mark was stained red. A soft purple glow seemed to exude from it. In the center of the eyes, glints of purple pulsed off of them like a thousand tiny hearts. It was as if each one was staring back at me.

I broke out into a sob as I lowered my hand and used my right one to cover it. Desperately trying to hide the truth from the world and myself.

"…I'm a monster…"

Sitting on the ground against the church, I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them as I buried my face. My shirt was torn and stained, my pants were soiled, and my hair was matted with mud and streaked crimson with dried blood. I was a mess, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was the axe slamming down on him, over and over again, and then, I could see the way the life drained from his eyes.

I'd never killed before, not by accident or in self-defense. My only intention at the time had been to stop him from hurting Frederick. That, at least, had been accomplished, but it had come at a heavy price.

And as hard as I tried to avoid the comparison, in that moment, I had seen myself as one of them, killing without mercy. Everything inside me felt broken, and I was scared to fall asleep now. I feared that if I dreamed, all I would see was his mashed skull.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, breaking me from my thoughts.

I tilted my head up slightly to see Chrom's face, there was a range of emotions; pity, understanding, and one that I was not expecting to see…

Concern.

"…Mark?" Chrom's voice was light and warm, "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

I pressed my lips together and nodded. "I'm fine," I lied, my voice was hoarse. I didn't trust myself to say anything more.

Chrom frowned. "I know that I can't rid you of your pain…" he began as he quietly slid down the wall beside me. "But maybe…If I stay here with you…I can help some of that pain go away," he finished as he scooted a bit closer to me. It wasn't close enough to be pressed to my side, but enough to provide a sense of comfort.

Even if it may not have been much, I appreciated it immensely.

We sat in silence for a few moments, as I looked out at the town as it started bustling with activity once more.

Now that the ruffians were no longer around, people were beginning to come out of their hiding places, and help with the rebuilding process.

Anybody who was injured was being taken cared off either by Lissa or from people who knew how to provide some form of medical treatment.

Besides my heart, I didn't have any wounds aside from a few cuts or scrapes. Nothing meriting a healing staff or bandages. Maybe they had a few 'Hello-Kitty' Band-Aids lying around for me to use.

Chrom had already been treated by his sister; and thankfully it was only minor stuff. I didn't know if I could handle the knowledge of knowing I had gotten him killed because of my stupid plan.

As I continued to watch the town, the silence was finally broken with a soft sigh coming from Chrom.

"I still remember," he said softly, "the first time I killed someone."

I looked curiously at the young prince but didn't say a word.

Chrom met my gaze with a smile and continued to speak softly, perhaps not to be overheard by the town's people, or perhaps because saying it louder made it all the more real.

"I would have been fifteen. I was visiting a small lumber village in the north, when a group of bandits attacked. I ended up killing three of them." Chrom went silent for a while.

I had to refrain from asking the whirlwind of questions that assaulted my mind. I didn't ask him any. I knew from experience that it was better for some questions to remain unasked.

"I didn't think much of it at the time, they would have killed me if I hadn't fought back," Chrom said. "I can still remember the blood. There was so much. I can still see him, the way he looked at me before he died, before I killed him…" he trailed off, his eyes becoming dull and hollow with long-buried memories swirling in their depths.

I was quiet for a long moment. "Why?" I asked. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know what you're going through," Chrom said lightly. "The fear, the pain, and the agonizing regret of it all. I've been there, and if you let it, those thoughts will consume you. Don't let it. Don't give into the despair your feeling."

"How?" I mumbled, hugging my knees more tightly.

"What was that?" Chrom asked, leaning in closer to hear me.

"How?!" I repeated much louder this time, before lowering my voice back down. "How do you deal with it all? Knowing-knowing what you did?"

Chrom rested a hand on my shoulder. "Because I have people worth protecting," he said. "They're the reason I can still go on." He offered me a soft smile that seemed to mask so much sorrow.

I let out a mirthless chuckle. "That's the thing, I don't have anyone worth protecting." I tilted my head to look up towards the sky. "Not anymore…"

Chrom stared at me, waiting for further explanation. When I didn't give any, he finally asked, "What do you mean?"

I let out a tired sigh, resting my chin on my knees as I closed my eyes. "It doesn't matter, nothing I can do will change that."

"Well, even if you don't, I'll still fight to protect you," Chrom said, squeezing my shoulder in a reassuring manner.

Opening my eyes, I glanced towards him, surprised. "Why?"

Chrom removed his hand from my shoulder, and gave me a smile that practically radiated warmth. "Because friends protect each other."

I turned my head so that my cheek was on my knees, looking at Chrom somewhat curiously. "We're friends?" I asked.

"I think so," Chrom answered sincerely, scratching the back of his head with a grin.

A surge of joy swept through me upon hearing those words, but it was quickly quelled by the burning hatred I felt for myself in this moment.

I pretended to gaze out towards the horizon, hiding my sorrow with a bitter smile. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know you're a good person, who fought to save Ylissean lives," Chrom remarked. "That's good enough reason for me to trust you."

I wasn't a good person, and I didn't deserved his trust. I was nothing more than a fraud. Could he see into me and know how his words bit into my heart? Or did I have no heart, no soul?

"You're unwavering trust in others will be the death of you." I sounded more sardonic than I felt.

I watched the kindness, the warmth, evaporate in a flash. A depressed look taking its place. "Maybe, it will," Chrom reluctantly admitted, then his expression grew solemn, "but until then, I'll continue to rely on those around me."

There was nothing I could say to that. Chrom was the kind of man who took strength from others, and was committed to his beliefs, no matter how naïve or foolish they may have been.

We were silent for several seconds. Finally, I quietly asked, "What do I do now?"

Chrom shook his head. "I can't answer that, Mark," he said, then pointed a finger at me. "That's for you to decide."

I laughed breathily and without humor. "Well you're a big help."

Chrom let out a quiet sigh, running a hand through his hair. He looked like he was lost in thought, as if he were carefully selecting his next words for the best effect. "How about you start by asking yourself this; who are you? And what do you want?"

"I don't know…," I admitted with a slight hint of heartfelt pain. "For a while I did, now…I'm not so sure."

Chrom paused momentary as he contemplated something, then nodding to himself. "Mark…," he tentatively began with a smile full of gentle kindness. "Would you like to join us and become a Shepherd? We could use someone like you."

I looked away, staying silent for a few moments, contemplating everything I had just heard.

Could I honestly be a Shepherd?

My heart raced at the prospect of all that lay ahead of me. I would be sent off to fight in multiple wars, slaughtering people who were just defending their country. No matter what Chrom told me, one thing was certain. I was not, nor would I ever be, ready to go to war.

"You don't have to decide right now." Chrom's voice interrupting my internal debate, and I looked back at him. "We can also take you to Ylisstol with us if you wish."

"I'll go with you to the capital," I said, "but after that…" I gave him a shrug, "we'll see."

Chrom's shoulders seemed to slump but he gave me a slight nod, apparently satisfied with my answer for the time being. There was a long moment of silence between us until he cleared his throat. "It looks like Frederick's all healed up now," Chrom said, getting up from the ground. "I'm going to check on how he's doing."

Chrom twisted around to stretch his body, then walked towards the bridge, leaving me to my thoughts.

I went back to starring at the sky, watching as the clouds drifted by.

Chrom's words stirred something inside me. He's right, I can't let these thoughts destroy me. I need to bury this pain. I looked around. Where's that damn shovel?

Giving up on physically burying my pain, I called out, "Chrom! Wait."

Chrom paused, and glanced over his shoulder, giving me a curious look. "Hmm?" he mumbled, quirking an eyebrow at me.

After making my decision, I took a deep breathe, and got up off the ground.

I walked over to stand right beside him, and gave him a small grin. "Thanks," I said.

Chrom smiled, slinging an arm around me. "You're welcome."

We both walked over to where Frederick and Lissa were.

Lissa was conversing with a villager, who handed her a bundle of clothes, while Frederick held out an apple for his horse.

The horse tossed its head approvingly, and trotted forward and took the apple delicately from his hand, and crunched on the apple.

I have never seen a horse look so blissful in my entire life.

As we approached, Lissa looked over at me in surprise. "Mark?!" she exclaimed.

I gave her a small wave. "Hey," I said meekly as Chrom removed his arm from me.

"Are you all right?" Lissa asked, looking me over in concern.

"Thanks to your brother," I said, nodding in his direction. "I am now."

Lissa beamed at Chrom, who grinned sheepishly.

I pointed to the garments. "What are those for?" I inquired.

Lissa's eyes widened. "Oh!" She held out the clothes for me to take. "These are for you," she said.

I took the clothes from her; a white tunic, black trousers, and a pair of leather shoes.

"Where did you get these?" I asked, thankful for the change of clothing.

"I asked the villagers for a change of clothes for you since you needed some new ones," Lissa explained as I removed my ruined shirt, replacing it.

I smiled at her. "Thank you," I said. "I appreciate it."

I looked around hoping to find a secluded area to strip down so I didn't have to traumatize my friends. "Is there anywhere for me to change?" I asked.

Chrom grinned and nodded, pointing to a nearby building that seemed like it wasn't being used.

With a grateful nod, I went to the building, and tore of my clothes. As I got to my undergarments I realized something. I didn't have a new pair. Do men even have underwear in this world? I wondered.

My knowledge of medieval garments was lacking, and this world was a bit of a mystery as well in that regard. I cringed at the thought of going commando, but I wasn't left with much choice. Finished changing, I left the building feeling much better now that I had new clothes, even if the tunic was a bit big for me.

I went back outside to meet my companions who were discussing something with one of the villagers.

Just as I got to Chrom's side, Lissa shrieked, "Wait, what?! We're not staying?!" Her expression taking on one of disbelief. "But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!" she protested.

Looks like I didn't miss much, I mused.

Chrom chuckled at his sister's crestfallen expression, lifting his shoulders at her in a boyish, what-can-you-do? Shrug.

Frederick gave her the closest thing he could probably muster to a grin. "When night falls, we'll camp," he said. "Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like...I believe you mentioned you would be 'getting used to this'?"

Lissa pouted, glaring at him. "Frederick?" she said. "Sometimes I really hate you."

I laughed, barely feeling someone tap me on the shoulder.

I turned around to see two village girls. I blinked, realizing that I was staring at the same girls I had saved earlier.

The oldest girl cleared her throat, and awkwardly bowed her head to me. "Milord, thank you for saving us." She nudged her little sister in the side, who quickly scurried over to me and held out a brown wool cloak for me to take.

I shook my head and held up a hand. "Keep it," I said with a sad smile. "You don't owe me anything."

"Please, milord," the older girl insisted, still bowing. "We know it will never be able to fully repay you for the kindness you have shown us, but we would like you to have it."

I let out a small sigh. "Very well." I hesitantly took the cloak from the little girl, and gave them both a smile. "Thank you."

The little girl quickly hugged me, mumbling out a thank you.

I awkwardly, returned it with one hand, still holding onto the cloak with the other.

The little girl broke free, and returned to her sister's side. The older sister gave me a genuine smile of gratitude, then bowed again to me before hurrying off into town with her little sister in tow.

I turned to find Chrom, grinning at me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "What's the plan?" I asked, draping the cloak over myself and tying it on. "Are we staying here for the night or camping?" I didn't hear how the conversation played out, but I got the feeling that it didn't end in Lissa's favor.

"Camping," Chrom said with a hint of reluctance in his voice. "Frederick wants to make up for lost time."

Frederick nodded gravely. "Indeed I do. We've made quite a few detours recently," he said, clasping his hands tightly behind his back, his shoulders straight and stiff. "Speaking of detours…" He turned that level, unsmiling gaze at me. "I assume your presence indicates that you will be joining us on our trip to Ylisstol," he went on. A statement, not a question.

"So it would seem," I replied cautiously. "Do you have a problem with that?"

If he did, his face revealed nothing about it.

"If that is what milord, and milady wishes, then I shall not stop you from accompanying us," Frederick said, then he turned, and walked away from me.

I was honestly surprised. I had expected him to try to dissuade Chrom from allowing me to join them like he did in the game but so much stuff was already drastically different here than they were in the game, so I couldn't be sure anymore.

When a pouting Lissa came up beside me, I sent her a smile. "Quite the harsh taskmaster you got there," I joked.

"Yeah, well, 'harsh' is one name for it," Lissa grumbled. "I can think of a few others!" she shouted at Frederick as he clambered back onto his horse.

I snickered, and leaned in close, whispering into her ear. "Want to put a frog on him while he's sleeping?"

Lissa's crestfallen expression turned to one of mischief as she gave me a wink. "I like the way you think," she said.

Usually, I wouldn't be down to mess with anyone like this but I felt like cheering the girl up after all she had done for me. Plus, it's Frederick, I took immense joy in screwing with him.

"This is what he gets for making us suffer!" I proclaimed in mock anger, shaking a fist in his direction. He ignored me.

"It's one of his few pleasures," Chrom chuckled. "Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring the axe down."

I involuntarily flinched, slightly, TRIGGERED!

Lissa elbowed him in the stomach, giving him a frown and nodding her head in my direction.

Chrom's eyes widened as the realization of what he just said dawned on him. "I'm so sorry, Mark. I didn't…What I meant was-"

"It's okay," I interrupted, forcing on a smile for his sake, which was transparent at best. "I know what you meant."

Frederick coughed. "Well then, shall we be going?" he suggested suddenly, changing the topic. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back."

Chrom cleared his throat awkwardly and gave him an appreciative look. "Yes, let's go," he said. "The capital isn't far from here."

As Frederick led the way atop his horse, the town's people gathered to see us off. They hollered words of appreciation and praise as we left the town, waving goodbye to us. Most of it seemed to be directed at Chrom and Lissa, which I didn't mind. I didn't really do much to help.

A little boy came through the crowd, running up to Lissa to give her a white flower, and ran back into the crowd with a hint of crimson in his cheeks.

"Thanks!" Lissa called after him waving, a huge smile plastered on her face.

I watched her waving, the sun slowly dipping behind her, making her hair glow golden as it bounced around from her exaggerated gesture; her eyes alight with exuberance in her carefree smile.

I couldn't help but smile as well.

Maybe life here wouldn't be so bad after all.