Oh My God.

This chapter took WAY too long to write. It's not even a particularly long or good chapter. I just couldn't write it. Super-duper sorry to anyone that was waiting for this chapter. However few or many you are in number (and you know who you are), know that I am forever thankful for all the support.

Anyway, I'll save the rest for the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

Update(9-2-2016):

Hey guys, so at the end of the chapter I promised you guys a new one yesterday. Well, I'm not even a third of the way through that chapter. It's freaking huge, and I'm barely getting through. I'm so sorry, and it was wrong of me to try to promise something that I probably couldn't do, but school's just been hammering me. Not really an excuse, since a promise is a promise. Please hate me... actually don't because I think I hate myself enough for this.

I'll get it out as soon as possible. Sorry again.

Update(5-5-2018):

Two years and you guys thought I was dead? Think again! So, a few things (cause I'm terrible for not keeping up with my last promise but at least I came back?): To those of you who haven't given up yet... Don't! I'm back and better so expect a new chapter before long. No new chapters yet. I'm working on the next one. I'm currently rereading/writing the previous chapters-just a few grammatical errors here and there-and handling my final exams. Sorry this isn't an actual chapter, my goal is to have that out before the month is out!

See y'all soon!

Chapter 4: The Learning Curve is Sharp

'Bright.'

Complete emptiness surrounded me. And through it all, white, hot light burned at my eyes. It was as though my weight had disappeared, lifted off my shoulders and vanished into an ocean of light. I floated, soared, in a pool of nothing, a small bubble. Around that bubble, objects and images swirled around in an endless expanse of effervescence.

From inside, I watched as countless things, experiences, floated past my vision. I watched a cow stare at me from its orb of grass, chewing at the soft green material, before it faded away. I watched as a television swam into view in front of me, a football, a family. I watched all these things appear and disappear.

I noticed that below me, a vast sea stretched out into the distance. From the warm, illuminated comfort of my little bubble, the sea looked cold and dark. I shuddered a little, staring at the freezing, black waves.

As I returned my gaze back to the floating objects above me, something approached far closer than any of the others. It was my family. Crammed together in a small bubble, my brother, sister, mother, father, and grandparents smiled at me, frozen as an image. Their bubble got closer and closer, and eventually, fell into the one I was in.

The little orb fell into my lap, and I stared, amazed, at the photo of my family, trapped in the little ball.

As if attracted to that first bubble, more and more orbs began to appear. They surrounded my own little space, flooding in.

I smiled, watching images of my friends, relatives, teachers and coaches fall gently through the invisible barrier of my floating light-orb. I grinned as physical objects began to come in too. My first camera, the old iPod my grandfather had given me, my first track spikes all joined me in the bubble.

Little did I know, that with every object that came, the bubble grew a little heavier. With every friend that joined me, every childhood toy or memory that came in, I fell closer to the dark waters below. A little weight seemed to fall upon me.

It wasn't until the first of the waves began to lap at my feet did I notice how far I'd come, that I'd been dragged down in the first place.

"You have to choose." The words came to me, loud and clear, as though somebody had said it from next to me. I turned around, however, nobody was there.

Frantically, my eyes darted downwards. The dark fluid sucked the warmth out of me. The water was up to my ankles, now.

Things still flooded into the bubble. The same as before, they were memories, people, images and objects of sentiment, all things important to me. Now, even choices came. It was like looking at a scene from Mass Effect, all my options pasted onto on image of me talking with someone. They all wandered in, oblivious to the fact that I was being brought to a watery demise.

'What do I do? Which do I leave?' I reached for a notebook, dumping it out. I grabbed the stacks of books I've read, tossing them out as well. I wouldn't need them to stay afloat.

But it was all in vain, I was inundated with more and more things. I couldn't keep up, and now the pressure on my shoulders was becoming unbearable. The water was up to my waist now. The light was dimming, no longer searing my retinas. My vision was beginning to fade.

"You have to choose." The voice rang in my ears again.

My body was completely submerged now. I clawed at the water around me in a vain attempt to climb up, but I seemed to grow heavier than ever before, and was forced down deeper. I was shoving everything out now, only to be buried under more.

"You have to choose."

I tried to yell, but nothing came out. I was suffocating now.

"You can't have everything…"


I gasped.

'Dream…' I frowned, 'It was a dream.' I was cold. My head hurt.

I sat up and turned my head around, soaking in my location. I was in the room I'd fallen asleep in the previous night. Several empty cots lie around the room, but aside from that, I was alone. The growing light of dawn shone through a small, glass paned window. Cold, grey stone walls, floor and ceiling surrounded me. 'That's right… The barracks.' I felt dazed as the memories of the last few days came rushing into my mind.

I sat for a moment in thoughtful reverie, before shaking my head and getting up from the creaking cot and onto the freezing floor. 'First order of things: get new clothes.' The ones I stole were all bloody and nasty again. 'Then… I have a mage to find.' I thought that Frederick had also said something about training in the afternoon.

According to Chrom, the only Shepherds in the palace were him, Robin, Lissa, Frederick, Stahl, Miriel, and now me. Apparently, Vaike, Maribelle and Sumia had gone to some other place to train. Sully was apparently on some sort of scouting trip with Virion—another new member—and ended up having to go even further after the attack of the risen. So, they had yet to join us in the castle.

'I guess he just forgot about Kellam.' I slipped on a cleanish looking white shirt I found in a dresser and changed the rest of my clothes as well. This was going to be a long day.


"Yes!" I exclaimed, "I can see!" I gently adjusted the new glasses on my face.

Finding the mage had been pretty simple. It was only a matter of searching for the quietest room in the palace, where she would no doubt be doing her reading. As it turned out, the she was actually an official for the government, a record keeper or something. And so she, apparently, had her own room and office in the palace. Even though she seemed to have a solid job position, she was still pretty young, only about twenty or so.

'I guess Medieval people started work early?' It also wouldn't have been a stretch that she might have been some kind of prodigy or something, considering her in-game character.

While her complexion and fluid motion meant that she was still young, her thin brow seemed to be constantly weighed down. So she always appeared to be in deep thought. In spite of that, her appearance was still very much like that in the game. Her straight, red-brown hair framed her thin face, which bore a narrow nose, a thin mouth, and sharp, observant eyes. The woman wore straight, black robes, high leather boots and a large, pointy hat. Unlike Lissa, Miriel didn't have the cute sort of attractiveness. Instead, the woman had a kind of classy beauty, always gracefully poised.

I had to remind myself that she was also a deadly killer.

After some brief introductions, I discovered that the mage was quite relaxed, in spite of her strict demeanor, and was more than willing to make me my very own magical pair of corrective lenses, which were more or less two pieces of glass with a sight clearing spell on them.

Miriel sat back down behind her desk as the room around me resolved into crisp detail. It was a small office, with several bookshelves lining the walls. Tomes lined the shelves neatly, and some were stacked nicely next to and on the table in the center of the room. On the desk, were several nicely piled sheets of paper and a quill in an inkpot.

Miriel and I were seated on opposite sides of the desk, my side being the one closest to the only door in the room. She picked up one of the books on the desk, the one she had been reading when I entered before, and proceeded to ignore me.

"Thank you, so much." I tried.

"Of course. It is only a simple spell." She shrugged. Her eyes never left the book.

I grinned, "Still, sight is a wonderful thing. I can only imagine how useful it would be to know magic."

"It certainly is advantageous to know magic. It is, however, an uncommon gift, one that I am quite thankful for." She nodded, still reading. I could tell why she seemed a little more withdrawn than the other Shepherds. When her nose wasn't buried in a book, she rattled off all she had read from them. She was either talking a lot, or not at all. For now, it seemed to be not at all.

'Man, I thought my ears would fall off when she was making the glasses.' I readjusted the wiry frame on my face. As she carefully crafted the pair, she had been sure to tell me of every single mechanic at work. At least, every single mechanic that she knew of.

It wasn't the uncontrollable kind of talking that was hard to follow, one thing that had become absolutely clear to me was that she was deliberate, and chose her words carefully. Her logic was actually pretty easy to follow and she didn't use extremely long, difficult to understand words, something I had noted to her.

When I had said that, she looked at me as though I had just suggested that pizza grew on trees and said, "Why would I ever do something to render my communication ineffective?"

I had only shrugged at that.

"Is it possible to give that gift to somebody?" I asked hopefully, returning my thoughts to magic.

"I've never heard of it." She was seriously riveted to that book.

"So there's no other way? I can't learn magic?" It wasn't that big a deal, so long as I could get home soon. 'I guess it'd just be kinda cool and useful.' I tried to shrug it off.

"I'm afraid not." Miriel shook her head sadly. Adjusting her glasses, but never taking her eyes off the book.

"Okay then, another question." I exhaled. 'There went that idea.' I braced myself for a reaction, "What do you think of other worlds?"

Miriel stopped reading, and placed the book down calmly, readjusting her glasses again. I knew she was going to say something, then. "What do you mean? Are you talking about foreign lands, like Valm?"

I shook my head, this was exactly what I was afraid of. I remembered learning that conquistadors first referred to the Americas as the "New World" and had anticipated that the people here might imagine foreign lands similarly. "No. I'm talking about a separate reality. Like, an existence that is entirely apart from this one."

Miriel frowned. I didn't expect her to get it right away. The concept was still pretty new to me and I was living proof of it. 'Either that, or I've gone absolutely fucking insane.' But assuming that I wasn't crazy, even the leading scientists of a world as advanced as Earth could only speculate on such matters.

"I think I know what you speak of, I read of it in a book once." She rubbed her temples, as if doing so would help her remember, "But alternate existences are extremely improbable, and there's no way to prove them, because it is in their nature to be completely isolated from other instances of reality. Even if something came from far away, how would we know if it was from another reality, or from a distant region of our own? This posits some interesting questions…" she started to drone, as she seemed to when a book wasn't in her hands. I had somehow managed to understand most of what she had said to that point, and was giving myself an imaginary pat on the back when she drew me back to, funnily enough, reality. "But what is it you wish to ask me?"

"Well," I began, "let's say something traveled from a far enough region that it could be considered… out of this world. Is there a way to send it back? Do you know any magic that could do that?" This was my only hope of getting home before hell broke loose, which was going to happen. I needed to know.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there is no magic that can do that, at least not any recorded magic." She sighed, "And there is no way to test for something like that." She paused, eyes narrowing a little, "Why? Is there a subject of research that you've somehow acquired?"

It was my turn to shake my head, "No." I lied. "Just wondering." I tried not to let my disappointment show.

After the frog shenanigans the previous night, I had lie in bed, speculating the possibility of an Outrealm gate or something. It was probably just a way for the creators to put a cool way to incorporate downloadable content, but I had seen some fics that played off the idea. 'Still,' I reminded myself, 'the possibility's not completely out. It just means that nobody knows about the Outrealm yet… If it exists'

We sat awkwardly after that. Instead of dismissing me, she picked up her book again and started reading. Eventually, I got up to leave, but just as I had laid my hand upon the doorknob, Miriel said, "Wait. Actually, there may be a way."

My heart leapt, "Really? What is it?" I turned around.

"It's about using magic, not traversing across levels of reality." She closed her eyes and shook her head again, as though quelling the hopes of an over-excited child.

I groaned, just when she had my hopes up. "Alright… What is it, then?"

"I must say, though, I hear it's quite dangerous. Also, the substance is rare." She gently folded the cover of the book, again, and pulled out a small sack, "this is called spirit dust. Apparently, if you take it, magic power can be boosted for an extended period of time. I don't know if it actually works, let alone that it will instill enough magic in someone without the gift, but..." she continued to go on about the nuances of the stuff.

'Of course! Spirit dust was used to boost magic power permanently in the game.' I guess permanence was just a gameplay mechanic, just as so many things turned out to be in this world.

"Okay, so how do I use it?" I interrupted her rambling. 'Sticking around in this world won't be too bad.' At least I could blow things up and shit. I was getting excited again.

"It is inhaled through the nostrils." She deadpanned and pulled the bag away protectively as I reached out to take it.

'Really?' I tried not to laugh. The idea was just too absurd. 'I need to snort mysterious powder? Then again, it's not like there was any other way to take the stuff.' Didn't change the fact that I was dealing with something reminiscent of a certain drug back home.

I hesitated for a moment. Back home, I never broke rules too much. Not that I didn't want to have fun, but that kind of fun didn't seem worth the trouble I'd get later. I gazed at the pouch again. I didn't drink or do drugs on Earth. 'But this isn't home. Rules here are different. Besides, I've already drank.'

My mind flashed back to the night at the inn. I wasn't certain that the drink had alcohol, but it definitely tasted different and I felt a little warm afterwards. I came out of that alive. "What are the problems of this stuff?" Chances were, Miriel was going to say something important.

"This was very difficult to acquire, and I have not quite finished testing it yet. So, there's no telling what dangers could come with it. Moreover, I've heard that it can cause permanent damage to sight and may also cause paralysis in overdoses." She continued, "However, if you wish to use it, I will let you on one condition: report any observations you make when using this substance." She pulled out another, smaller, empty pouch and poured a little bit in, handing it to me. "Do you promise?"

"I do," I gingerly grabbed at the stuff. "If I need more, where can I get it?"

"I hear it is this substance that makes the Plegian mages as formidable as they are. Of course, its location is a secret held only by the Grimleal, so I only know that it is somewhere in Plegia."

I nodded. "Thank you very much. I will pay you back." I grinned, looking her in the eye, "Thanks to you, I can see and maybe even learn to use magic."

She chuckled a little, returning to her desk and picking up her book. "Think nothing of it. You are a Shepherd, and we help each other out."

'Wow, these guys are nice.' I stepped out of the room into the hall outside. I eyed the pouch as I walked down the stairs, this wasn't going to be enough for the entirety of my stay. 'Good thing we'll be visiting Plegia soon.'


"The idea behind any weapon use." Fred handed me the lance, "is to only put enough force to inflict the intended wound. Any more than that is a waste of energy." He pointed to me. "You are using too much force. Try it again."

I got up, picking my glasses up from where they had fallen, several meters away. 'Even with the gift of sight, the guy doesn't look any friendlier.'

We'd spent the entire afternoon training, if it could be called that. It was more like a game of "beat up George until he decides to scram". I had been beaten and bashed on every inch of my body, and even with wooden training weapons and leather training gear, I could tell I was going to be bruised all over the next day.

I did learn a thing or two, though. It turned out that even though Frederick still didn't trust me, he was willing to go beyond that and still teach me to fight. 'How generous.' My thoughts dripped with sarcasm. The guy loved to talk. But it wasn't conversation that he liked. Frederick just loved to hammer me with what I was doing wrong and why. It was like sitting in a lecture or something.

'The kind of lecture where the professor just points to you, tells you, that you suck, and annihilates you with an exam.' I nodded a little, sounded like school.

I got into the ready stance he'd taught me.

It was pretty simple. I held the shaft of the practice spear at the middle, hands about shoulder width apart. My feet too, were shoulder width apart. I stood straight, the shaft of the lance in front of me.

I had quickly learned how large the gap between my imagination and reality had been. What I had expected was something on the order of what the game cut scenes had depicted. Broad swings, flourishes and inhuman jumps had all become a part of what I thought I would be doing. Of course, as soon as I tried any of those, I quickly found myself on the ground, hurting.

"Hah!" I jabbed forward at the knight, yelling out.

We were standing in a small ring, on the training grounds. Dozens of other rings dotted the area, along with several targets and training dummies in the corner. Sparring seemed to be the primary method of training here. The dummies appeared old and unused, while the training equipment was in great surplus and all in good condition.

The unarmed knight stepped to the right of my attack gracefully, and grabbed at the tip of the stick. He yanked on it, pulling me closer. That's when I met his fist…

…For the seventy-eighth time that day.


"Ow…" I moaned as I collapsed into a seat in the common room. It was a large room with several chairs scattered across its floor. Maps decorated a couple walls, and a large table sat across from me. This was the room we had eaten in the previous night, and it was also the room in which we would hold meetings, apparently.

At the moment, I was alone. Chrom called for a meeting today, which meant that we would probably be leaving for Regena Ferox soon.

'Speaking of meeting, I didn't even meet anybody yet. How odd…' It was true. Throughout the course of the previous night and all of today, I hadn't seen any of the other Shepherds, save for the ones I had come in with, and Stahl, who'd shown me where the food was.

"Here we are! The Shepherds garrison." A chirpy voice and an equally energetic yellow dress entered the room.

"I know what this place is, Lissa… I was here yesterday." Robin, donned in the purple cloak, strode in after her. He was already starting to look the part of a Shepherd. Confidence seemed to shine from his every step. "This is where-"

"Lissa, my treasure!" Whatever it was the tactician had to say, it was lost as a shrill sound followed a pink flash across the room. "Are you alright? I've been on pins and needles!" Maribelle, or whoever was in that poofy, pink dress, had the poor princess in a vice-like hug.

"Oh, hey Maribelle!" Lissa gasped for breath, still smiling from ear to ear. "So, you're all back from your trip?"

The noble was more or less just as I had imagined: a strict upper class woman. Her frown, straight posture, and fancy dress all spoke for the kind of person she was. 'At least, I think it does.' Who knew? 'Maybe she's chill, like Miriel.'

"'Oh, hey' yourself!" Maribelle took a step back, releasing Lissa. "I've sprouted 14 gray hairs fretting over you!" She gave out a small, barely audible "hmph" as she placed a parasol in her hand. "And yes, we are all back safe and sound." The noble tilted her chin up and looked away.

'Nevermind. Maybe it's on the inside?'

"Aw, you worry too much." The princess giggled jovially. "I can handle a battle or two!" She paused thoughtfully, "…Although I could do without the bugs, and the bear barbeque…" The girl scowled a little.

Robin chuckled at the expense of the blonde, which was met with a girlish pout.

"Hey squirt," a husky voice shouted. "where's Chrom? I bet he had a rough time out there without ol' Teach and his trusty axe!" Vaike strode in, completely shirtless. He wore a confident smile, much like the one Chrom had, only much broader.

Thanks to my trusty new glasses, I was able to get a good look at the guy. His blonde hair was held back by a hairband looking thing. His green eyes were constantly moving, like he was looking for something. He was surprisingly good-looking. I never found the video-game Vaike to be much, thinking of Chrom and even Frederick as far better in terms of appearance. In spite of myself, I couldn't help but recognize his attractive features, something kind of strange for a guy like me.

'The guys are just as hot as the girls here.' I mentally shrugged. It made sense, genetically. Hot people produce hot children, regardless of sex.

All that aside, the youth looked just about as cocky as it got. He walked with so much swagger, I thought he might fall over. 'Anybody who looks and walks like that is obviously compensating for something.' I shook my head sadly. 'He isn't even subtle.' Unlike Maribelle, I couldn't really give the guy a chance, even with his looks. He was just too goofy.

"Oh, so you're 'Teach' now, Vaike, is that it?" Lissa quipped, "And here I thought people were born lacking wits. It can be taught?" She mocked incredulity, smiling broadly at what she had just come up with.

"Ha! Never doubt the Vaike!" He closed his eyes and his chest swelled with pride, before he realized what she'd said. "…Wait, was that an insult?" He frowned for a moment, before shrugging it off when yet another voice came from the door.

"Beg pardon, but when might we see the captain?" Sumia stepped in timidly.

The girl was also more or less my age, as all the characters seemed to be. Sumia must have been eighteen, leaning on nineteen, though, as she seemed to be a little older than Vaike, who looked about my age: eighteen. Her hair was an earthy brown, as were her eyes. Her frame was a little heavier than that of Miriel, but it was still clear that would be light enough to be carried by a Pegasus; she simply had more muscle.

Her features were gentle, almost motherly. It was instantly clear why many people saw her as Chrom's wife.

The way in which she had walked in was completely different from how Vaike had make his entrance. While the guy had strode in, almost without a care in the world, the girl had taken each step deliberately, yet shyly. It was as though she was second guessing every move she made.

'Guess I can kinda relate.' I thought, remembering the fact that I had chosen to enter the war that was coming.

"Poor Sumia, she's been simply beside herself with concern." Maribelle looked sympathetically at her. "She wouldn't stop worrying about it on our journey here."

"Aw, Sumia, that's so sweet of you to be worrying about Chrom." Lissa gave a knowing look, not so subtly.

"Worry?" Sumia looked almost surprised. "Well… He's our captain and our prince—of course I'd worry!"

Vaike, who'd been blithely looking around, clearly disinterested, interrupted, "So… Who's the stranger?"

"No one's stranger than you, Vaike…" Lissa allowed herself a small grin again, "Allow me to introduce Robin! He's just joined the Shepherds. Chrom's made him our new tactician. You should see all the tricks he's got up his sleeves!"

"Oh yeah?" Vaike grinned, attention returning to the conversation, "Can he do this?" The half-naked man took a step back and burped for a good seven seconds.

"I'm sure I have much to learn in the belching arts, 'Teach'." Robin chuckled, having been silent this whole time. "In any case, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintances." He nodded towards everybody else.

"Ugh, Vaike!" Maribelle made a face. "That was abhorrent! Must you baseborn oafs pollute even the air with your buffoonery?" She waved her hand in front of her face. "And you, Robin, don't encourage him! I'd have hoped you were cut from finer cloth." With a sniff, the noble took a step away from the pair, as though it would help her maintain her sophistication.

That was all I needed to hear before I got bored. I closed my eyes and took the moment to relax. My body needed it after the beating I'd taken earlier that afternoon.

'Imagine being on the beach…' I thought, 'Yeah, the beach… and those people aren't talking. A gentle breeze is blowing.'

"Ah…" an audible sigh of relief escaped my lips as I sank deeper into the chair. The sounds of the Shepherds talking became distant.

'Why didn't I do this earlier? Oh, that's right… wanted to get to know the characters— er, people.' I wiggled deeper into the chair. Maybe I could just nap through whatever meeting Chrom had. I knew what it was about anyway.

Unfortunately, that would not be the case.

I started as I heard a loud thud, joined with a small yelp of surprise. Naturally, it was Sumia falling over Chrom. Weather it happened figuratively or not, I would have yet to see. Anyway, Chrom briefed everyone on what the drill was for the march to Regena Ferox.

"Now remember, this mission is strictly voluntary, so…"

The whole room chorused their affirmation. From next to me, I could hear a muffled shout, which I turned to see was Stahl, chewing… well, food. 'I can't say I understand what the food here is.' I thought as I looked warily at the stuff in the guy's hands.

"I-I… um." Sumia stuttered.

"Yes, Sumia?"

"It's just that… I'm not sure I'm ready for a proper mission just yet. I'll probably just get in the way."

"Hey, me too!" I sat up and joined them. 'I forgot that I needed to volunteer… good thing I woke up.' Everybody stared at me, as if I had appeared out of thin air. 'I guess they just never noticed me?' Regardless, I walked next to Sumia, readjusting my glasses. The things really had a problem staying on my face. "Name's George, by the way." I waved to everybody gathered.

"Ah, yes. George…" He frowned, as though something unpleasant had just crossed his mind. It was quite different to see on his face, as it almost resembled the worried look on Frederick's face. "I wanted to speak to you about something, but we can do that later…" He shook his head and left whatever it was that was on his mind. "Well, both of you could stay behind the main group, and if a battle is met, just watch and learn? Your choice, of course, but some lessons can only be learned on the battlefield."

"Count me in." I guess a little part of me wanted to experience something here.

"W-well. If you think it wise, captain."

Chrom smiled charmingly at the two of us. He looked even better in the full HD of my glasses. "Just stay by me and you'll be fine."


"H-hi there!" Sumia caught up to me pretty easily, her petite form shouldered god-knows what weight in the pack she carried. "George, right? Funny name, never heard it before." She stopped, "N-not that I think it's bad or anything…" The way she spoke was very careful. Every time she stuttered, I could see her second guessing her choice of words, but sometimes, it seemed like her mouth still ran ahead of her thoughts. I decided not to say anything about it.

"H-hey…" I wheezed. "That's me." I gasped out. I tried very hard not to look weak in front of the attractive girl. Unfortunately for me, I was failing miserably. We both wore armor, curtesy of the Ylissean armory, but I carried less equipment than her. I didn't really own much to carry in the first place, and my loss of weight and lack of training left me struggling to stand, much less march.

'This was not how I imagined being in this place.' I frowned. I would have imagined that it would be something of a fun anime adventure. I'd save the day with my foreknowledge, win the waifu of my choice, and enjoy what Ylisse had to offer.

I smiled internally, 'Instead, I was the one saved, was questioned for my foreknowledge, am currently suffering under the heat and weight on my back, and I'm pretty near certain I'm not getting the waifu.' I didn't mind anyway. I just wanted to get home.

I was still sore from the previous day's training, on top of my first training session the day before that. I still had multiple bruises from when Frederick had repeatedly pummeled me. Now, we were marching to Regena Ferox. My body probably hated me.

I was just starting to get used to the food here, which involved a lot of eating with the hands. Most of it was hard bread and stew, but we sometimes got meat as well. As it turned out, chicken, which was a basic kind of poultry at home, was pretty expensive here. Overall, meat was expensive, so I ended up having to settle with stuffing my face with, lo and behold, bread and stew.

I was also just beginning to understand the situation with the bathrooms. To my great relief, the palace did have toilets. They didn't flush, were small, smelly, and were basically like a series of over-sized pits, but they were better than chamber pots. To my not-so-great relief, actually to my great misfortune, the leaves I had originally thought were some kind of food for salad, was actually meant for wiping. If Chrom hadn't been passing by with his sister, the princess would have definitely watched in glee.

Hygiene, something very important to me, did not go forgotten either. Simple things like washing my hands, brushing my teeth and taking showers or bathing became much more difficult and inconvenient. Much to the point where I had to rinse my hands in a pond in a courtyard, use strong wine as mouthwash (which was apparently what everyone did) and just forgo bathing altogether. The last one really sucked because it was often hot and I'd get all sweaty and nasty and filthy.

It was a struggle, but at that point, I was learning.

And so, that morning, I had gotten up and went out to the Shepherds common again. We packed up and called roll. Sully and Virion returned, with no reports of risen, and we headed off. It was a far smaller group than I had anticipated. There were no extra people or advisors. It was simply Chrom, the diplomat, and his entourage of the Shepherds. The mission was small, though, and a smaller group could probably travel faster, so it made sense.

I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. And now I was exhausted, having a conversation with a beautiful, somewhat nervous girl who could probably kill me. 'Fantastic.'

"Looks like we're in the same boat. I-I mean, both being trainees." Sumia smiled nervously, ignoring my struggle to keep up, "So why did you join the Shepherds?"

I frowned, not sure how to answer. I couldn't say that it was all part of a game and that I just had to survive the end of the world as they knew it. "I guess it just sort of happened," I lied, "I don't have a home, or a family, so I wasn't leaving anything behind…"

She nodded understandingly, if not a little shocked, "O-Oh, so you were one of those orphaned children?"

"Awhatnow?" I stopped, before quickly catching the mistake and jogging to catch up, panting heavily.

"You know," She explained, "one of the children orphaned in the war…" She trailed off.

"War?" I almost stopped again.

"Yeah, a war. Haven't you heard about it?"

"Uh… no?" I provided unhelpfully. I remembered the story I told Frederick, and decided that consistency was important. "I've traveled a very far distance."

"Really?" She looked at me wide-eyed, just as the knight had when I told him the same thing. Travel must have been a serious thing, even with things like dragons. I couldn't help but feel bad as I looked into her eyes, which seemed to fill with wonder for a moment. "You must have a lot of stories to tell then."

I chuckled a little, which came out as a wheezing gasp, "I don't really have much to tell." At least that was the truth. "Anyway, I'd like to hear about this war."

"Okay…" she looked a little disappointed, "The war was a war between Ylisse and Plegia. It began just over a decade ago, and ended only a few years ago. It was no small thing, either. Men and women as far as Valm have heard of it. I'm pretty shocked to hear that there's a person here who hasn't, but you must have come from very far away, so I suppose it would make sense that you haven't heard of it." She seemed to gain a little confidence as she told the story, not stuttering even once.

"Hm… guess that explains why you people hate the Plegian's guts." My fellow trainee gave me a sharp look, clearly offended. "What? You don't?" Even without my knowledge from the game, it was easy to tell how much hostility there was between the two places. Last night, both Chrom and Frederick spoke of the land with venom and even Emmeryn had strained to speak calmly.

"I-I do not hate the Plegians, but I also do not love their king. If Ylisse demands I fight, then I will." The last sentence came out somewhat strained. It was definitely rehearsed in her mind.

'I guess she's feeling pretty conflicted about going around slaughtering people too.'

We walked in silence after that. It was pretty awkward, but I was okay with that. I could focus more on walking and not falling down.

'By the way, isn't Sumia supposed to trip a lot?' I hadn't seen her trip once since the first time. I shrugged. I wasn't going to bring that up either.

The prince appeared at my side, as though from nowhere. I almost jumped. Almost.

"George, I would like to have a word. I believe that I said something about this yesterday." He nodded meaningfully to me.

'Ah, right. He wanted to talk to me… about what?'

"Um, sure." I nodded.

"Would you excuse us, Sumia? I would rather this conversation be private." Chrom turned to her now.

"A-alright." She saluted quickly and hurried ahead.

"So… What's up?" The prince seemed to have something important to talk about.

"Listen, George, there seems to be several problems with your story. It's not that I don't trust you, but that isn't to say I'll believe what you said before. Frederick told me some pretty… perplexing things…" He frowned a little, "Apparently, you come from across the eastern sea?"

"Erm, yes. I am from across the sea, and I think that it was the eastern one, but I'm not sure. Is there anything wrong with that?" I wondered if the lies would ever catch up to me.

"Well," The guy seemed lost in his own thoughts, "there isn't anything absolutely wrong, but I do think that it's an awful stretch that you've come across the sea nobody has survived via a… magical boat?"

"Um… I suppose you could say it like that…" I paused. We walked silently for a while, and Chrom gave me a meaningful look. 'I'm going to have to work with these people for the next few years to beat the game.' I couldn't lie, but I also couldn't tell the truth. "To be frank," I sighed, "I actually don't know how I got here. I was lying about the eastern sea. The magic boat was a joke, but Frederick kind of takes everything seriously…" I shrugged, "all I know is that I'm not from here."

"Okay…" I could tell I wasn't in the clear. Chrom frowned again, "Frederick also said that you seemed to have some knowledge of what would happen, even before it happened. In particular, about knowing what how and where the monsters we fought would come from." He gave me the same look. It screamed for me to explain.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure you'll understand. It just… sort of came to me." I shrugged again unhelpfully.

I wasn't lying, at least not anymore. I wasn't exactly telling the whole truth either, though.

"Really." Chrom nodded, but he looked pretty unconvinced. "I'm not going to force you to do anything, not even to leave. After the last war, Ylisse has been in desperate need of people. For such a large land, we're sorely underpopulated. It's all the better for me if you're willing to fight, because judging from how relations with Plegia are going, there's going to be conflict. The people of my nation are very sore about war, and would probably be willing to fight another one." He frowned and quickened his pace, much to my dismay, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that even if I don't necessarily believe you, I'm not going to turn you away."

"What do you mean?" my brow furrowed, confused, "Didn't you tell your sister, um… I mean, the Exalt that you trust Robin and I?"

His blue hair wiggled as he shook his head, "I meant that I trust both of your senses in a fight, when I said that." He chuckled a little at that, "Even for a nice guy like me, trust has to be earned; it's not given."

I nodded, remaining serious. "It sounds like there have been quite a few wars."

The prince frowned a little, "I wouldn't imagine so. When I was young, my father said these words to me: 'There is always a war being fought somewhere'. I hated it when he said that. Senseless killing is such a terrible thing."

"So why do you do it then? Isn't there a way to live in peace, create prisons and other kinds of places? Negotiate with other nations and come to an agreement?"

Chrom laughed at my words. "If only things were so simple…" When he realized that I was serious, his face darkened, as though heavy thoughts he'd been running from had finally caught him. "Look, I don't know what land you come from, but here we don't have the luxury of peace." He smiled sheepishly, "all those things I said of striving for peace? That's just to inspire confidence. There is no such thing as real peace, even if I'd be nice."

His figure sagged, as though under the weight of all the lives he'd ended. "Those bandits the other day… well, I suppose you were there." He inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, "I didn't want to kill them, but they didn't want to go to jail, and… when people fight, there are no guarantees."

He turned his gaze from the ground, to me. "Sometimes, you just have to choose. It's your life, or theirs." A bitter laugh escaped his lips.

I stared in shock. This was not the man I'd gotten to know through the game. In Awakening, Chrom was mostly the dopey guy who went about bashing the heads of his enemies, and defending his friends valiantly. The video game Chrom didn't get depressed, he wasn't weighed down by regret and uncertainty, and he most certainly didn't want to leave bandits alive. He was confident, heroic, happy.

"Um… yeah." I couldn't say that I understood. The world I had come from was so different. Naturally, there were soldiers, wars and death on Earth as well. Men fought and died and killed every day for all sorts of reasons.

'I guess it was all so far away, I'd never thought about it…' I still didn't know what to think.

Chrom laughed, as though he was trying to force himself away from dark thoughts, "Don't worry about it, though. So long as you don't mess with me, you'll live."

"Hah." I couldn't tell if I was feeling reassured.


"Um… Chrom. Er, Prince Chrom? Your Majesty?" I frowned. "I thought staying by you meant that we'd be fine."

I was met by a harsh glare from the blue haired man. "How was I supposed to know it'd end up like this?"

I nodded, conceding his point. From behind me, Sumia slapped the back of my head gently, "Don't question the captain!"

The three of us were stuck on a bridge, in the middle of a large plain. Below us, white water raged, smashing against rocks and cutting straight through what would have been a wonderfully peaceful meadow. The situation much like the third chapter of the game.

There was, however, a small difference. The bridge in the game was a small, yet short and sturdily built wooden structure. The one my feet were trembling on was anything but sturdy. Several holes and cracked planks covered the surface of the long, shaky bridge.

'Oh yeah, don't forget that the river isn't just below us. It's far below us.' I wondered how I'd even gotten into this mess.

More importantly, risen swarmed our only exits. Somewhere, behind us, Robin had fucked up. The shit-smelling things had managed to ambush us as we tried to cross the bridge, which drew most people back off the bridge. The problem was that everybody was quickly outnumbered, and the three of us were cut off from the rest of the group.

"So, what's the plan, captain?" I stressed the last word, no doubt earning a foul look from the soon-to-be Pegasus knight behind me.

"The plan," the prince growled, "is to not die… and keep pushing to the front of the bridge."

'Wow. Great plan.' I could have come up with that. I tried not to roll my eyes. To be honest, I thought that retreating was safer, but what did I know?

The prince dropped the lance he'd been holding and drew his sword. From under my feet, I could hear the weapon crash and splinter against the rocks.

'Please don't fall. Please, oh please, don't fall.' Between trying not to die, holding back sarcastic remarks and not pissing myself, I was having a difficult time. The place just loved throwing me out of my comfort zone.

I stepped as quickly and carefully as I could, the risen horde hot on the heels of Sumia, behind me. The three of us charged off the bridge and onto solid ground. If it had been like in the TV shows or the movies, we'd get a chance to catch our breath before the real terror began. Unfortunately for us, we weren't afforded that luxury.

I screamed a most uncool shriek as a blade came slashing towards my face. I stepped to the left anyway, making sure to avoid the chasm behind me.

So far, Frederick had only taught me the basics of the lance, and still, it was a stretch to say that I was even proficient. My attacks were apparently very easy to read, I was too slow, had poor footwork and was generally clumsy. Even then, I was learning.

I took another step to left, pivoting to face the offending risen, creating more distance. The undead beast growled and approached. I continued to circle around evasively until we had switched places, I was facing the gorge and the fighter—actually, it must have been a myrmidon class— was facing the plains behind me. I then began to strike as hard as I could, making strong jabs at the head, neck and chest of the risen.

Since the last battle, my resolve had solidified. 'These things are dead anyway. It has to be alright to kill them.' All throughout the previous night, I had reconciled with the fact that I would need to fight the risen. I stared up at the black, stone ceiling and considered what my options were. In the end, I already knew that I'd need to fight. I still wasn't sure about regular humans, but risen definitely needed to die. 'If they don't, it'll be me.'

And so I stabbed firmly at the blue-skinned warrior in front of me. In response, it ducked and dodged backwards. With my superior reach, I was in no harm and so I thrust the spear as quickly as I could. I gave the monster no choice but to dodge. In spite of their brutish and lagging behavior, the risen were incredibly adept at maneuvering.

Eventually, I had finally pushed it against the edge of the cliff. With an anticlimactic jab, I made the risen step back again, forcing it to a crushing demise. "Whew." I wiped some sweat off my brow. That was the fourth risen to die by my hand and the third one of that battle. I was already doing better than in my first duel.

Once again, just as it had been the other three times, I felt a rush of euphoric excitement. I had just ended something. Something that had tried to hurt me, something that I was afraid of, and because of what I had done, it was no more.

I shuddered. I don't know if it was with the rush, or if it was in disgust.

Regardless of what I was feeling, a battle still raged from where I was. Robin had managed to take control of the bridge. Chrom had just finished killing a second or third undead warrior, and Sumia had handled one as well. For the most part, the rest of the monsters were a distance off, no doubt on their way.

Chrom motioned for Sumia and me to come to the bridge, and so we did.

"What's up captain?" I asked as I jogged back to the opening of the bridge.

"What's up is that we need to regroup. We'll wait for Robin to catch up and then we'll discuss tactics with the time we've bought." He paused a moment, in thought, "I'd wager that we should take care of the risen in that building first. We've decided to call them that, by the way. Risen is a fitting name, even though they'd fallen out of the sky." The prince laughed to himself at that. He pointed to a small stone building a quarter of a mile off. Around it, several risen milled about, no doubt gurgling away.

It didn't take long for the rest of the Shepherds to catch up. When they did, Robin looked at the three of us scornfully, "What you just did was probably the most stupid maneuver possible. You're lucky to be alive."

"Please," Frederick sighed, "let's take care of the problem at hand first." He motioned towards the encroaching risen.

"Ah, yes." Everyone looked to Robin, "I guess it would be best to take that building over there," he pointed to the same one Chrom had, "and hold out."

Everybody nodded and the Tactician began yelling out commands.

I was placed right of center, at the front. We marched towards the building, taking care of risen along the way.

'Five… Six…'

I continued to stab and swing and thrust the spear in my hand. I watched as the risen would stiffen up before disappearing in a cloud of purple dust. Time seemed to speed up and blur. Although we were all in close proximity, the other Shepherds' fights sounded and felt distant. We were fast approaching the building.

One, wielding a sword, managed to get past my attacks and close the distance.

It slashed across my belly. A blast of fire from… somewhere burnt my attacker to the ground.

"Ow." I groaned. We were so close to the building, but this time, I wasn't separated.

I fell to my back, looking up at the sky. I could have sworn I saw a flash of light across the blue sky.

I looked down, which was a mistake. I could see through the cut abdominal muscle, at the twisty turns of pink, fleshy intestines. I dropped my weapon, clutching my stomach in a painfully gross attempt to keeping my insides, well, inside.

"Ew." I might have coughed, but I could only feel my core muscles flap in a vain attempt to flex.

'That's it?' A week ago, I'd been freaking about a far less disgusting wound. 'Now… now what?' I was still freaking out, but not in the panicked, uncontrollable way I had been before. Fear still clutched my heart, but I my thoughts no longer raced.

'Guess it's just something I'll get used to… how depressing…'

I simply stared up, praying that I wouldn't die. For the first time, I noticed how peaceful the sky looked. A couple big, fluffy clouds soared gently overhead, totally oblivious to the carnage going on directly beneath them.

'Fuck.'

And once again, everything went black.


I was awoken by the pleasant feeling of magic healing my wounds again. That, or possibly the bliss of being dead. This time, I made the wise decision of not moving. Instead, I contented myself to letting my eyes open.

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I found that I was not, in fact dead. 'Maybe I'd rather be, though.' I thought remorsefully as I got a feel for my surroundings again. I was getting better at surviving, but if I wasn't going to live to see my family again…

'No. That's not how I'm going to be.' I blinked.

"I'm happy to be alive." I said the words as if to confirm it. 'So long as I won't end up suffering painfully like that again…' I shivered involuntarily as I remembered the warm, squishy feeling of holding my own intestines.

"Well, you sure should be," Lissa turned from her healing for a moment to look me in the eyes, her jovial nature extinguished. "You sure have a knack for nearly dying."

'Huh, she's right' I chuckled, for some reason, I found that morbidly amusing. In any case, I earned a slap to the head.

"Hey! No laughing. I still haven't closed the wound." The girl was still very serious, "You can still die if I don't untangle… well, I'll spare you the details."

I nodded dumbly, trying not to look down. With magic and healing and all, I simply assumed that I'd make it out fine at this point. 'Didn't consider that my life was on the line in spite of that. I sure as hell hope she knows what she's doing…' I took another look at the girl who huddled over my wound. She'd saved my life twice, now.

And I closed my eyes again.

AN:

Eyyyyyy. There's another chapter. I know what you're all thinking. Again? Really? Geroge sucks at fighting… Well, you're all right! But the important thing is that that's how I always imagined the other characters suffered in in-game fights when they got hurt. The only difference is that most of the Shepherds in my fic have already been fighters, and don't sustain much injury. Most.

I also really banked on using the healers a lot too. So I guess this just reflects my playstyle…

Sorry again about how late the chapter was. I've been trying to do one every week, but always ended up a little late. This one was way late. It must have been over two weeks ago when I posted the last chapter. I don't want to say this, but it'll probably be something like every two weeks or every month or something.

Why? School's starting again! And that means that even more shenanigans are going to screw with my writing schedule. I'll try to get chapters out as fast as possible, but if it doesn't happen, please forgive me.

That said, I think I'll try to get a chapter out by Thursday, September First. I'll make it a promise, just to make up for my screwup. After that… well, we'll see.

On another note… This chapter's still pretty rough around the edges, but I think it's post worthy now. Also I'm kind of anxious to get it out there because I think holding it up will get me carried away to the point that I'll never end up posting it, AND I finally figured out how this AU is going to work, which I'm really excited about! So, sorry about that as well.

As always, thank you for reading this far! Hope you enjoyed it, but regardless of whether you did or not, there's no reason not to leave a review! Because if you liked it, you can tell me so that I can keep writing like this. And if you hated it, you can tell me so that I can change it up a bit!