I have returned. Now, I've taken a few risks with this chapter, nothing major mind you, but I expect at least one or two of you to be butt hurt.
On with the story.
Guts charged forward, feet pounding against the rock and sand beneath his feet as he rose up the slanted hillside. His brand leaked blood that ran down his neck, and he forced himself to go up faster. The Plegian soldiers that stood in his way were sucked towards the black orb surrounding Gangrel. One after the other, they were pulled towards it.
Guts furrowed his brow as he remembered that this wasn't how it was supposed to be… Gangrel had to… sacrifice someone he truly cared about to become an apostle. Yet random Plegian soldiers were just getting sucked towards it, it wasn't supposed to happen like that either… The only men that were spared this fate were the ones that rode the Wyverns, the only reason for that being was their beasts pounding their wings furiously to stay away from the vortex, which was growing larger and larger.
When Guts just barely started scaling the second slanted cliff, the orb had turned blood red, and started shrinking. All of Gangrels foot soldiers were gone, sucked into the continuously shrinking red orb. Red spikes shot out of it, making it appear like a giant crimson caltrop. By time he had ran through the small fortress to reach the Mad King, the orb was gone, and in its place stood Gangrel, now a giant of a man.
He towered over Guts by at least five feet, and his eyes were an insane green. His garments remained the same, only larger, but three large green spikes protruded out of his back and shoulders. His skin had become paler, and his hair became an even brighter shade of red. He held a large blade at his side, as long as Gut's own sword, but more slender. The blade curved downwards from the gold hilt like a snake, and it crackled with lightning.
The red cloaked man and the white haired woman stood next to him. The man gave a mad chuckle and the woman backed away a few paces, her eyes widening in fear and awe.
His brand stung as he held his sword out to face the newly turned apostle. Gangrel looked down at his new body with wonder, and his mouth contorted into a sick smile, showing pearl white teeth.
"So, this was the power you offered. I should have done this from the beginning!" Gangrel laughed.
He pulled off his necklace, and threw it to the man in red, who caught it with one hand. As it flew between the two monsters, Guts saw that it was a Behelit, though this one was purple instead of red or green. How many kinds of Behelits were there?
"I'm happy to have been of assistance, just remember your part of the bargain. Your new master's strength has yet to return, and the only way to bring him back is with blood." He said.
"You just want me to kill as many of his kind as possible right?" The king said, pointing to Guts. "I can do that! Hell, I'll start right now!" Gangrel yelled, jumping high in the air with his blade raised.
Guts brought his sword up to block the strike, and the two blades collided. Guts felt his feet sink into the sand as the force that Gangrel brought down on his sword collided. The monarch kicked Guts in the chest as his feet touched the ground, knocking the wind out of him and knocking the Black Swordsman back a few feet.
Guts rolled on the ground but stood upright as soon as the motion ceased. Gangrel gave another mad grin which threatened to split his face open. He heard footsteps and the clopping of hooves behind him, and he turned his head to see Chrom, Robin, and the rest of the Shepards running up the hill to his location.
That couldn't be said about Maribelle, which was riding in the opposite direction along with a young boy wearing a large brimmed hat. He looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen, and he clutched Maribelle's waist for dear life. Where did he come from?
His attention turned back to the Shepards
Apparently they hadn't learned a thing since the last fight with an apostle. He turned back to Gangrel, who was charging forward at a remarkable speed. The newly made apostle jumped high in the air, and held his curved sword towards the sky. Lightning struck the sword, and Gangrel launched the bolt at Guts.
He barely rolled out of the bolts path, looking at its striking point, he could see that the sand had been turned to glass. He couldn't let that lightning touch him. Guts grabbed a throwing knife off of his bandolier, and threw it at the mad king's head.
The small blade found purchase as it punctured the Monarchs right eye. Gangrel let out a horrible howl of pain that echoed out across the desert. He landed feet first on the sand, sending it flying everywhere. He reached up with his free hand and ripped out the throwing knife, spurting blood from his eye. He crushed the knife with his massive fist, and glared at Guts.
"You wanted to make me match you eh!? I'll strike out your other eye for this you dastard!" Gangrel yelled, charging at him once again.
"Stay back!" Guts yelled at the Shepards.
"We can't let you fight him on your own! Let us help!" Robin yelled, spell glyphs surrounding his body.
The rest of the Shepards began to steel themselves, and rode towards the giant insane king.
Guts charged toward that apostle, and Gangrel slashed downwards, in the hopes of splitting him in half. Guts brought up his sword with his metal arm and blocked the blow, unsheathing the dagger he had at his belt. Gangrel tried to kick him once more, but the Black Swordsman anticipated this, and barely side-stepped out of the way of the blow.
Before Gangrel could pull his leg back for another go, Guts had stabbed the dagger into his knee. He twisted the dagger into the bone as much as he could before Gangrel could get his leg away from him. The Mad Monarch stumbled back away from him, his leg now limp with the dagger still embedded hilt deep in his knee.
Gangrel ripped out the knife, and growled at Guts like a rabid wolf. Guts saw as a bolt of electric energy launched itself at Gangrel, which was no doubt Robin's spell. The Mad King batted it aside with his curved blade like it was nothing. Guts then heard a whistling sound, and saw as an arrow whizzed past his ear. The arrow found purchase in Gangrels other eye, blinding him completely.
Guts quickly turned his head, seeing Virion give a bow, his signature smirk plastered on his face. Gangrel howled and raised his sword up, conjuring lightning. Before Guts could react, a bolt of lightning had flown past him, and hit the still bragging archer in the chest. He heard a yell of pain as the blue haired braggart was sent flying from the force of the blow.
"Virion!" He heard Chrom yell.
When he had turned his attention back to Gangrel, he was gone, hopping along the cliffs as if he were never blind in the first place. Disappearing over the horizon. The man in the red cloak gave a mad chuckle, and gave Guts a knowing look. He jumped after the mad king, and the white haired woman seemed to have hitched a ride with one of the wyvern riders, flying after them with all due haste.
"Damn it all!" Chrom yelled, running back to Virion.
The other Shepard's gasped, and followed after him, all surrounding the blue haired archer. His breathing was ragged, and he stared at the sky with foggy, distant eyes. He reached upwards toward it, and gave a sad smile.
"My dearest Rosanne… I have failed you…" He uttered.
"Rosanne? What is Rosanne?" Chrom asked the archer.
Frederick coughed.
"It is a country across the sea, on the continent of Valm my lord." He said.
"Virion! Stay with me!" Stahl yelled, grasping the archer's hand.
"So… he's the Lord of Rosanne? What's he doing here?" Chrom asked, his brow furrowed.
Guts narrowed his eye, and walked over to the downed archer, who continued his grin. The cloth on his chest was burnt off, and the skin beneath it was as well. All Guts could see was bone and blackened skin, much of his lungs were fried as well, and it was a miracle he could speak.
"Read… the letter…" Virion mumbled, his eyes closing. "Give it to… Cherche… tell her that… I'm sorry…" He said, his eyes now fully closed.
Guts saw a letter poking out of the archer's pocket. He reached down and pulled it out.
"I'll do it." Guts told him.
Virion smiled.
"Thank you… Guts… She has pink hair… and rides a wyvern she calls Minerva… Please find her…" He said, his breath ceasing.
Guts frowned, looking down at the letter in his hand.
Lissa had rushed to his side, and propped his head up in her arms, holding the dead archer's mouth open, she uncorked the lid on a bottle and poured the contents down his throat. After a few moments of silence, Lissa began to tear up. She placed a finger on his neck, presumably to check for a pulse.
"He's gone…" She said, tears rolling down the sides of her cheeks.
Stahl ground his teeth, and began to tear up, along with most of the other Shepards.
"Dammit all!" Chrom yelled, falling on all fours.
Robin looked solemn, and scowled, looking away.
"I failed him…" He muttered. "All those games of chess… dammit!"
Lon'qu did nothing, just nodding at his passing. Lissa was full on bawling over the noble's corpse. Sully actually looked surprised, and frowned, staring holes in the ground. Vaike screamed something about burying his axe in Gangrels skull, and Kellam was nowhere in sight. Miriel merely adjusted her glasses, and sighed. Sumia was losing her lunch all over the dirt, tears and vomit mixing together beneath her. Frederick walked over to his body, and lifted him from the ground.
"We should bury him, but not in a place like this." Frederick said.
"Agreed, anywhere but here… let us make haste back to Ylisstol! We have a war to plan!" Chrom yelled, standing up from the ground.
Guts sighed. In battle, it was rare for a side to never have a casualty. Poor man. The Black Swordsman vowed to find this Cherche, and deliver the note, but first, he needed to kill that bastard Gangrel. Guts put the letter into his shoulder bag.
Guts looked down the hill, and saw the small form of Emmeryn and Maribelle speaking. The boy was behind the blonde healer, smile plastered on his face. It was too bad that the smile would no doubt soon be replaced by a deep frown. Today has been horrible… but still not his worst, he could tell.
Another head splitting headache surfaced, and an image flashed in his mind, the same scene as before. A black sun, a giant hand rising out of the earth, a deformed person floating above each appendage. A lake of blood and gore, and what was worse… the woman that came up in his memories… was being raped by someone he knew. The name was still lost upon Guts though, but he knew that he hated him. Those cold, red eyes made him want to kill something.
Pure anger rose up in his chest, and he had to resist the urge to scream in rage. Gangrel was definitely going to die, that was guaranteed, and if he ever saw the man who raped his woman, he would die too. It was so frustrating the fact that he couldn't bring up the bastards name. Even though it felt as if it were on the tip of his tongue.
…
…
…
After a few days of hiking across rugged terrain and camping, they had finally found their way back to Ylisstol. They had buried Virion, as they said they would, on a little hill under an apple tree. His gravestone epitaph was written by Frederick, and read as followed.
"Here lies Virion of the Shepards, a brilliant ally and friend. The Archest of Archers."
The funeral was depressing. Though what funeral was cheery? Guts had read the contents of the letter long ago, and his mind still hadn't changed. He was going to find this Cherche, and give the letter to her after this business was said and done.
He was laying in his bed provided to him by Emmeryn; staring holes in the ceiling of the room that he had awoken in previously the last time he fell unconscious. It felt odd to have a room, his body wasn't used to it.
The morning light came through the window, and Guts sat up from his bed, letting his blanket fall into his lap. He stretched, and cracked his back. He got up, equipped himself with all of his gear, and left. Guts wandered around the courtyard of the palace for a while, seeing the other Shepards training with wooden swords and the like.
Eventually, Vaike had come up to Guts to speak with him, a cheery smile plastered on his face. He held a wooden sword to Guts hilt first, and held his wood axe over his shoulder.
"Whaddya say? Wanna train with me? It think it'll be fun." Vaike said.
For the first time in a while, Guts allowed himself to smile, gripping the handle of the small training sword. They walked over to an open area with enough space to practice, and the blonde got his axe ready, giving it a few test swings. Guts grabbed the hilt of his blade, and laid it out across the ground away from them.
He removed his black cloak as well, laying it on top of the hunk of iron he called a sword. The other Shepard's ceased their training, and looked to the two about to do battle. Guts hadn't used a training sword for a while… he could tell. The familiarly massive weight of his blade was lost on this wooden training sword, it was so much lighter.
He allowed himself a few test swings as well, chopping through the air vertically and horizontally, until he got a good feel for the much smaller weapon. Vaike cracked his neck both ways, and held his axe at Guts. The Black Swordsman did the same, holding his sword out in front of him.
The Shepard's were all silent, and they were all present, looking at the two with wonder.
"Kick his ass Guts!" He heard Sully yell.
He turned his head to see the red-head with both hand's placed over her mouth.
"Do your best Vaike!" Stahl yelled.
"Thanks Stahl old buddy! And Sully… have a lil' faith wouldja?" Vaike asked, scratching his cheek.
Guts took in a deep breath, and let it out. Vaike turned back to him, and held his axe in a battle ready position. They both charged at each other, and Guts disarmed Vaike with a single blow, finding himself holding his practice sword at his throat.
"Swords beat axes Vaike. You should know that by now." Frederick sighed.
Vaike let out a huff of defeat.
"You're just too good Guts, no one here can beat you-"Vaike started.
"Maybe that is something we should all find out then? Everyone! Form a line, every single one of us will take turns facing Guts." Frederick yelled. "If you can fight even slightly on par with him, then any foe will fall before you easily."
Guts sighed.
"I guess I don't have anything better to do. Come on then!" He yelled.
"I'll put you face first in the dirt big man!" Sully yelled, walking towards Guts with her wooden practice spear.
She held it far in front of her, allowing her the reach advantage. Guts took a deep breath, and Sully charged at him. She swung, and Guts easily batted it away with a single swing. Sully was knocked off balance and Guts took the opportunity to move in, tapping her on the neck with his sword.
"Dead." Guts said.
"No fair!" Sully yelled. "You just got lucky that time!"
Frederick laughed.
"Next please!" The knight-butler yelled.
Stahl came up, holding a practice sword as well. He gave a knowing smirk, and Guts furrowed his brow.
"I know that I probably won't win, but I've gotta try!" Stahl yelled, charging at him.
Guts parried the first blow, and dodged the second, bringing his sword up to the green armored cavaliers chest.
"Dead." Guts said.
"Wow Stahl." Sully chuckled.
"I lasted longer than you did." Stahl pointed out.
"That doesn't mean nothin' you turd!" Sully yelled.
"Jeez calm down." Stahl said.
One after the other, the Shepards each had a turn fighting against him, Guts winning in one or two strokes at most. When he fought against Frederick though, it took him three strokes to win. They all spent the rest of the day trying to get past his defenses, but found that they were unable to do so. They were all wiped out, sitting down on the ground in a circle, with Guts standing in the middle. The only ones that had enough energy to stand were Frederick, Chrom, and Robin. However, the blue haired lord and the white haired tactician were only barely able to do so. Frederick had the endurance of a horse, not even seemingly winded.
Guts rubbed his chin in thought.
Did he fight against Kellam?
"That was a great training session everybody! I'd like to think that we've all grown stronger for it. We'll continue with this routine until Emmeryn gives us permission to march on Plegia." Chrom announced.
He heard several of the Shepards groan with complaint.
"Milord!" He heard a man yell.
Guts turned and saw a man rushing towards Chrom, when he was just a few feet from the prince, he stood up.
"The Exalt wishes to speak with you… and him." The messenger said, pointing to Guts.
"She wants to speak with just us? Why?" Chrom asked.
"Someone showed up that knows him!" The messenger yelled, pointing at Guts. "They're waiting in the throne room for you milords."
The Black Swordsman dropped his training sword immediately, and hoofed it as fast as he could towards the throne room, leaving Chrom behind and running through the twisting hallways of the palace until he finally found himself in the large open room.
Emmeryn was speaking with an incredibly large man. He wore his hair in a Mohawk pony tail, and had a sleeveless shirt on, showing off his massive muscles. Guts narrowed his eye, then Emmeryn spoke something to him. The massive man turned, and Gut's eyes widened.
Memories of this man came flooding back immediately, drinking together, fighting together, arm wrestling… Guts had watched him die in that vision though! His back was torn open by that Count bastard! His face was square like, and despite his large size, he was calming to look at. He kept his eyes shut, much like Kellam did, and Guts found his name flowing out of his mouth.
"Pippin!" He yelled.
Virion is dead, Pippin is alive. Why though?
*Ahem*
Anyway, I think I've decided on a girl for Guts. Buuuuuttttt…
I know that if it's not the one YOU want him to be with, you'll probably unfollow the story based off of just that huh? Well Sally…
You're just going to have to deal with it.
If you're bothered by it THAT much, then just write your own Fire Emblem Berserk crossover. No seriously.
There are PLENTY of you following this story. I'm pretty sure that a few of you have the talent to make it great. I do actually want other stories in this section, I'd read it. Seriously, I'd love it if more Fire Emblem Berserk stories showed up. It would be like finding a dead prostitute under the Christmas tree.
I mean a present.
Yeah. A present. Ignore that last bit.
Also…
Can we get some fan art? I would LOVE that more than you know.
Toodles.