Phoenix Emblem

A Ranma ½ Fire Emblem Crossover

Chapter Three: Band of Mercenaries

A/N: Thanks to all for reading and reviewing my story. I noticed that many of you have questions about when the other characters are going to appear. I won't give out any specifics about that, but I will say that they are making their way to the story.

"English"
"Japanese"
'Thought'

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Giles looked around as the group walked. According to his orb, they are in Bern near the mountain range that separates the plains of Sacae from the country of Bern. Kent insisted that this was the best way to get to Lycia, but Giles knew that mountains in general were the home to many bands of bandits (he learned that in the academy). Hopefully they didn't run into any trouble with bandits, but that hope was shot when they came upon a small village.

Giles looked around silently taking in the site. 'This is terrible, and judging by the evidence, this happened recently. Very recently.'

Kasumi looked upon the ruined village almost in tears. "Oh… my…"

Lyn was right beside her aunt. "This place… It's…"

Ukyo quietly fumed while holding her axe tightly. Her knuckles were turning white.

Sain and Kent looked at the ruins with a hint of anger. "The whole area is in ruins," Sain stated. "Why doesn't the marquess do anything to help?"

"Taliver Mountain is home to a gang of vicious, ruthless bandits," Lyn informed Sain with a small tear in her eye. "No marquess holds power here." She looked towards the mountain. "My village was near here, on the other side of the mountain." Kasumi placed a comforting hand on Lyn's shoulder. "My people were… the Taliver bandits came at night. It took only one night. The survivors numbered less than ten, including Aunt Kasumi and me." Her face took one of disgust. "They're soulless beasts. I will never forgive them. Never."

Giles listened to Lyn with a saddened face. 'Taliver Bandits. They sound deadly efficient. Bastards. The lot of them.'

Sain was a bit shaken by Lyn's words. "Lyndis…" Kent could not come up with anything to say. Kasumi gave Lyn a comforting hug. Ukyo looked upon the scene with a hint of awe and sadness.

Lyn continued to look towards the mountain. "I am not running away. I will be back… someday. I'll be stronger…" Lyn's face took one of a cold anger. "I will break their swords beneath me like twigs beneath a stallion's hooves. I will avenge my people. I'll do everything in my power."

Kasumi smiled. "You mean we will avenge our people." Lyn's face softened as she nodded with a small smile.

Sain came up to Lyn. "When the time comes, bring me with you."

Kent came up from behind Sain. "Don't forget me, either."

Lyn looked happy. "Sain, Kent…" she said softly.

Ukyo hefted her axe over her shoulder. "I would appreciate it if you brought me too, sugar. I'd like to teach those arrogant bastards a thing or two."

Lyn was slightly blushing. "Thank you Ukyo."

Giles looked at the group with a skeptical eye. "You know, this group might be able to defeat the Talvier Bandits, but you going to need a strategist like myself to help you out. Definitely count me in." 'I better start training this group extra hard. They're going to need all the help they can get.'

Lyn was now fully blushing from all the attention. "You too, Giles? I… You're… Thank you."

Giles felt a pull from his orb. 'Speaking of bandits…' Giles pulled his orb out as he followed the group through the town. 'There is a couple of them now.'

Giles watched the scene unfold. A young woman was talking to what appeared to be two mountain bandits. "Wait right there, little lady!" the first bandit yelled. "What are you going to do to apologize? Huh?"

The young woman looked a bit terrified. "Uh… I… That is, I…"

The second bandit was looking at her and the pegasus. "Hey, she's quite a catch, eh, buddy? I bet the boss'd give us a pretty penny for her."

Giles started to get a bit pissed. 'Definitely bandits. Better stop this.' "Lyn, we need to get to the other side of town quick. Something's going down and it's not going to be pretty." He diverted his attention back to the scene as Lyn made her way through town.

The first bandit smiled. "Yeah. She roughed me up a bit, so I figure fair's fair. It's no more'n she deserves."

Giles was growing increasing pissed. 'Scum. They're both scum.'

The young woman was growing even more terrified. "I… I…"

The second bandit was closely inspecting the pegasus. "What are we going to do with her flying mule?"

The young woman's bravery came back in spades. "Don't you dare touch her!" she quickly yelled.

The second bandit was angered by her reaction. "What? You just watch your mouth, girlie!"

The young woman knew she was outmatched. "Do what you want with me, just… Let her go. Please, I beg of you."

The first bandit started to laugh. "Silly twit! Pegasi can only be found in Itia. They're rare beasts, worth more than you by far! We can sell it for a mountain of gold. Let her go? HA!"

The young woman was nearly in tears. "No, you can't…"

The first bandit was getting restless. "C'mon! Let's move!"

Luckily for the woman, Lyn and her group finally made it up to them. Lyn spotted the Pegasus immediately. "That's… That's a Pegasus. Could it be?" Lyn rushed up to the young woman. "Florina? Is that you, Florina?"

The young woman that Giles was assuming was Florina turned towards Lyn. "Ah! Lyn?"

Lyn looked relieved. "Florina! What are you doing in a place such as this?"

Flornia ran up and hugged Lyn. "Lyn! Is that really you? I… I…"

Lyn smiled. "Come now, no crying!"

Florina bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

Sain, Kent, Kasumi, and Ukyo went up to Lyn while Giles keep an eye on the bandits who were exchanging glances. 'Not good. Wonder what they're planning.' Giles learned long ago to not assume someone was off guard lest you find yourself at the wrong end of a situation. 'Damn shaman. I'll get my gold back from her even if it is the last thing I do.' Giles kept one ear on the conversation while he looked at his map watching for anything. 'If these are the ones who raided the village earlier, than their buddies should be close by.' Giles noted that the conversation was getting a bit heated. He watched the bandit walk off and yell out something Giles didn't quite catch. His map showed that there were bandits nearby indeed. Many bandits. 'Thirteen of them including the two that were harassing Florina. Mix of axes, swords, and bows. Six of us. This isn't going to be easy.' "Lyn, make sure that the villagers are okay. We're going to setup a parameter and brace for an attack."

Lyn nodded. "Understood." She went to the house that was nearest to them. "Is anyone here?"

A shout of "Leave us alone, you thugs!" and "Go away! Go away! We've no more gold for you!" could be heard from the house.

"No, wait! Please! We're not bandits!" Lyn said trying to appease the occupants of the house. "We want to help the village. Please listen!"

"Remain inside, everyone. I'll see what's happening." The door opened and a dark brown haired youth appeared. He had a shoulder pad on and was armed with a bow and arrows. "No bandits, huh? So, who are you?" The young man asked.

"My name is Lyn. My colleagues and I are just traveling through here. We saw some bandits about. We're going to deal with them, but… We need you to go and warn the villagers." Lyn turned and started to leave.

"Hey! Wait!" Lyn stopped and turned towards the youth. "The name's Wil. I'm a traveler of sorts, too. Listen, these villagers have been kind to me. Mind if I fight with you?"

Lyn smiled. "Not at all. We need all the help we can get! Welcome aboard, Wil!"

Wil checked his bow quickly and followed Lyn as she went towards her companions.

Giles smiled. 'Great. Some help. Definitely useful. Now I have two archers.' Giles's smile broadened. 'Think of the damage I can do.' Giles glanced at his map. 'Speaking of archers, I better get rid of those enemy archers quick. Pegasus knights are very susceptible to archer attacks.' "Sain, Kent, head towards the wall from where we came from and take out that archer. We'll set up a perimeter there."

Sain and Kent headed off to battle while Giles went towards Florina. "How do you do? I'm Giles, the group strategist."

Florina looked very nervous. "I… I'm Florina. I…"

Giles looked a bit worried. "Are you okay?"

Lyn walked up to Giles. "Giles, Florina is intimidated by men. Please don't make any sudden movements."

Giles looked Florina over. 'Great, a Pegasus Knight who's scared of men.' "Can you fight well?" Florina nodded. "Good, cause there is a sword user on the other side of the wall over there who is by himself. Can you take care of him?"

Florina nodded. "Yes… yes I can." Whit that she mounted her Pegasus and flew off.

Giles watched the orb. 'That's strange… Sain and Kent haven't finished off the archer yet… and it's attracting unwanted attention.' "Lyn, help out Kent and Sain. They're having some trouble." Giles looked up and saw that Will was with Lyn. "Wil, you help out too, but watch where you aim."

Wil looked towards Lyn. "Who's he?"

Lyn smiled. "He's Giles, our group strategist. He knows what he is doing. Let's help out the others."

Wil nodded and followed. Giles walked behind them at a slower pace with Kasumi and Ukyo by him for protection. Giles saw that Florina was done with her man. After a quick check to see if she was okay, he sent her to make sure that the other villagers were well. When Giles made it to where Lyn and the others were fighting, he saw that the archer was finally put down, but the group was a bit tired. "What happened?"

Lyn shook her head. "He was very fast. I was barely keeping up with him, but he was tough as well."

Giles looked a bit worried. 'Sounds like he was trained. If the rest are like that, we could be in trouble.' Giles observed Kent and Sain battling some bandits and were doing quite well. 'Okay, I guess that won't be the case. That's good.' Giles looked down towards the fallen archer. 'What made him so special?' "Lyn, let the enemy come to us. We'll use the small opening in the wall to our advantage. These bandits are not very patient or smart. Once we thin the numbers, we'll advance." Giles looked towards the orb. "Florina, once you're done helping the villagers, head towards here."

Giles examined the body of the archer. 'Definitely trained. Not an amateur either. Why is he here with these bandits… wait a minute, what's this?" Giles found a tattoo of a red claw on the arm of the bandit. 'Intriguing.' Giles looked back at the orb and saw that the battle was dying down. "Alright, it time to strike. Giles, Sain, and Lyn, take point. Florina, Wil, Kasumi, and Ukyo, stay back and cover. Let's move."

The group moved forward quickly mowing down anyone who came close. Once they made to the edge of town, they confronted the leader of the bandits. Lyn walked towards him with her sword in her sheath. "Hey, listen! There's something I wanted to ask you."

"Begging for your life so soon, wench?" the bandit leader spat.

Giles clenched his fist. 'Bastard.'

Lyn decided to let the insult slide… momentarily. "Are you… Taliver bandits?"

The bandit looked shocked. "Talvier? Those greedy monsters? We're nothing like them!"

Giles rolled his eyes. '-Nothing- like them. Riiiight.' He thought sarcastically.

The bandit continued. "Those fiends will even kill women and children! We're from Ganelon, and we know a little something of honor. We don't harm women, for one thing." The bandit shrugged. "After all, why kill what you can sell?"

Giles shook his head. 'Honor? What twisted concept of honor do they believe in?'

Lyn nodded. "If you're not Taliver, then there's no reason for you to die here today. If you would like to tuck your tails and flee, do so now."

Giles sighed. 'Okay, must teach her to be more aware of her surroundings. She's talking to the last bandit standing. And that reminds me, why is she now offering this rather than before we killed all those bandits? She confuses me.'

The bandit looked shocked at that statement. "You… You… No more courtesies! You're going to learn to watch your tongue!"

The battle was quick but fierce. Lyn came out on top, but took a few blows. The bandit went down mentioning that his brothers will not let this go unpunished. Giles got everyone together. "Is everyone alright? Lyn, you took some nasty hits. How do you feel?"

Lyn nodded. "I feel fine, now that's finally taken cared of."

Florina ran up to Lyn. "Lyn!" She gave Lyn a hug.

Lyn flinched when Florina made contact with her. "Florina… Why did you follow me? It's so dangerous."

Giles noticed the flinch. 'She's not willing to admit that she's hurt. Proud like a true Sacaean.' Giles saw a small group of villagers walk up to them. "Hello. Is everyone alright?"

One of the men in the group stepped forward. "We want to thank you for helping us. The bandits came so quickly, we were easily overwhelmed"

Giles put a hand up to stop him. "Don't mention it. It was our pleasure." Giles glanced over to his comrades. "This may not be a good time to ask, but do you have somewhere we could stay for the night. My friends are tired from the fighting and"

The man quickly cut him off. "Please say no more. It will be our pleasure to help you."

Giles smiled. "Thank you." He watched as a young girl walked up to him. "How are you doing?"

The young girl smiled. "I want to thank you for helping us mister." She held out a red fan shaped crystal.

Giles took the gift. "Why thank you." Giles didn't notice the fact that the crystal started to glow when he touched it. "I will be right back. I need to talk with my friends." The girl nodded with a big smile.

Giles turned around and started to walk, but his vision started to blur. 'What the?' The scene in front of him changed. He saw that he was in a strange room. Surrounding him was many people who were dressed in various styles. He tried to turn around, but he quickly discovered that he couldn't control himself. Another thing he noticed was the fact that everyone turned to face him very quickly. He also noticed two familiar faces. 'Kasumi? Ukyo?' Kasumi was dressed in a long dress that almost touched the floor and Ukyo was dressed in an outfit that was similar yet different than the outfit she had on when they met. Then he noticed two other faces that were very familiar. 'D-D-Demona? The Shaman!' He noticed that Demona was dressed in a short dress with a long sleeve top and the shaman was dressed in a pair of pants and a short sleeve pull over top. This was making no sense to Giles. He took note of the others who were the room which included a man with a long white robe with long black hair, another man with short black hair with a yellow and black bandana who had a yellow shirt and black pants, a woman with long purple hair and some strange purple clothing which consisted of a long sleeve shirt and a pair of fluffy pants, a man with long blue pants and a white top who had a wooden curved sword, and a man who had a red shirt and black pants who's hair was black with a pig tail. It was also important to note that this man was directly in front of him.

Suddenly the room flashed and he heard a loud yell then he blacked out.

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Lyn looked over Giles as he laid in the bed. For no reason Giles just stopped walking and fell unconscious. Kasumi walked in with a pan of water. "How is he?"

Lyn shook her head. "No response."

Kasumi noticed that Lyn looked worn out. "Lyn, you should rest. Let me take care of him."

Lyn wanted to protest, but she saw the look in Kasumi's eyes that basically said -Don't argue please-. She sighed. "Well, I am a little tired."

Kasumi smiled. "I already made your bed in the other room. I'll call if he awakes."

Kasumi gave Lyn a soft hug. "Please don't overexert yourself Lyndis. I don't want to lose you too."

Lyn returned the hug. "I won't Auntie. I promise." Lyn broke the hug and went to her room.

Kasumi looked Giles over. Memories of the day of the attack filled her mind. She remembered as she watched many of her kinsmen, the very people who accepted her in the tribe when she was lost and alone, died at the hands of the bandits. She remembered when she picked up her bow and started to defend her people, not caring if it was the first time that she took another's life. All she cared about was defending those she cared about, including Hassen, Madelyn, and Lyndis.

Kasumi was brought out of her reverie when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright Kasumi?"

Kasumi quickly recognized the voice and language. "Yes I am. I'm just… remembering some… sad times."

Ukyo found a chair and took a seat. "I can tell. You're crying, sugar."

Kasumi went and found a handkerchief to wiper her eyes. "I'm sorry about that."

"You don't need to apologize. After hearing what happened back in Sacae, you have a right to feel sad every now and then." Ukyo would of continued, but she noted some movement from the corner of her eye. "He's waking up."

Kasumi turned towards Giles who was starting to sit up. "Mr. Giles, don't move strain yourself."

Giles shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Kasumi. I just need a minute to clear my head." Giles looked around. "Where are we?"

"We're in the local inn," Ukyo replied. "You gave us quite a scare back there with that whole collapsing ordeal."

Giles nodded. "I guess that would worry just about anyone." Giles took note that he was in his under clothing. "How long have I been out?"

Kasumi smiled. "Only a few hours. Everyone has already retired for the night. I promised Lyn I would tell her when you awoke."

Giles smiled. "You can tell her, but also tell her I'll talk to her in the morning. We all need our rest. That includes you too, Kasumi."

Kasumi nodded. "Of course. I'll go to bed after I get you your dinner. I don't want you to go to bed hungry Mr. Giles."

Giles sighed. "Kasumi, can you at least just call me Giles."

Kasumi looked worried. "But that would be impolite, Mr. Giles."

Giles laid back down on the bed. "You know, I'm too tired to argue right now. You win for now."

Kasumi's smile returned. "I will return with your food, Mr. Giles." Kasumi left the room.

Ukyo shook her head. "You should know better than to disagree with her, Giles. Her cheery demeanor stops protests before it leaves lips."

Giles nodded. "I've noticed that. How does she do it?"

Ukyo shrugged. "If I knew, I would tell you."

Kasumi came in with a plate of food. "Here you go Mr. Giles. Do not worry about the dishes. I will pick them up in the morning. Have a good night." Kasumi left the room with Ukyo close behind.

Giles's mind drifted off to the vision he had earlier. 'I wonder. Was that a vision of the past or future? Or was that all fantasy?' Giles shook his head. 'I'm never eating mushrooms for breakfast again.'

Ukyo followed Kasumi. "Kasumi, I need to talk to you in private."

Kasumi nodded and they headed to the room where Kasumi was staying in. Kasumi noted that Ukyo looked a bit worried. "What's wrong?"

"Do you remember this?" Ukyo held out the crystal that Giles had earlier.

Kasumi immediately recognized it. "Oh my! What's that doing here?"

Ukyo pocketed the crystal. "I don't know, but if the rest of it is around, then it could be our ticket home. Tell me, have you heard anything about the others?"

Kasumi shook her head slightly. "No, you are the first one I've seen since then. I almost thought that I was the only one here."

Ukyo nodded. "I almost thought the same thing, but I heard some rumors."

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "Rumors?"

Ukyo nodded. "It seems that a certain young man mysteriously appeared in the middle of a violent coup in Lycia. He defeated all the soldiers on both sides. He was wearing strange traveling cloths and shouted in a strange language."

Kasumi looked hopeful. "Really? Anything else?"

Ukyo nodded. "I asked Kent about the rumors and he said that they were true. He even gave me a name. You're not going to believe who it was."

"Who?"

Ukyo smiled. "Marquess Hibiki."

"Hibiki? Ryoga!"

Ukyo nodded. "Yep. The people immediately declared him the new ruler and after some convincing and political plays, he was named the new marquess."

Kasumi looked worried. "What about his curse and his directional sense?"

Ukyo shrugged. "I don't know, sugar. I didn't hear anything about those."

Kasumi smiled. "This is great. That means the others have to be around here somewhere. All we have to do is keep looking."

Ukyo nodded. "Yep. And maybe we can get some answers about why we are here as well." Ukyo stood up. "I'm going to bed. I'll tell Lyn about Giles. Get some sleep Kasumi."

Kasumi nodded. "You too Ukyo. Have a good night."

Ukyo smiled. "I will sugar."

A/N: Finally! I've decided not to rush these out and to take my time. I'm also in the process of beating Fire Emblem again. My original game was lost and I have to redo it to get the support conversations. If anyone has any suggestions, I am willing to listen. Until next time, peace!