Well, here we are. Another week, another chapter.

Keep in mind that I am in no way responsible for Gangrel and his aide's mounths. Ryoko's replies, however, are entirely my fault and I enjoyed every single one of those.

Also, not that anyone cares about this, I ended up 25th out of 30 in the Italian nationals for Solo Dance. Yay me! Here's some cookies to celebrate! (::) (::) (::)

Please let me know what you think of the story in a review.

Fire Emblem: Dragon's Claw

~ Chapter 12 ~

Trouble Brewing

"…Then Regna Ferox will support Ylisse?" Emmeryn asked, and her brother nodded in confirmation. "Thank you, Chrom. I knew sending you was the right choice."

"You should see Ferox's warriors!" Chrom told her happily, "Perhaps now our people will be safe from—"

"Your Grace!" Phila shouted as she burst into the room, panicking slightly.

She paused when she saw Chrom. "M-milord! Forgive me, but I bring alarming news!"

"Phila! Slow down, please! What's happened?" Emmeryn tried to calm the woman.

"Plegian soldiers have been sighted inside our southwest border!" the leader of the Pegasus Knights reported urgently. "They attacked a village in Themis and abducted the duke's daughter."

"B-but that would be…" Lissa trailed off, her eyes widening in realization, "…Maribelle! Chrom, we have to do something!"

"There's more." Phila continued gravely. "King Gangrel of Plegia claims Lady Maribelle invaded his country. He demands we pay reparations for this 'insult'."

"And we're to believe a dastard like the Mad King of Plegia?" Chrom asked hotly.

Emmeryn sighed and tried to reason with her brother, "Peace, Chrom. We must keep our wits about us."

"We should put a sword in his gut and be done with it!" the blue-haired man snapped back, "The Mad King has been trying to provoke war with Ylisse at every step! He won't stop until he drags this whole continent to hell with him!"

He was right, of course.

However, Emmeryn wouldn't let the events that led to her becoming the Exalt happen again. That loss of life was unacceptable to her.

So she would negotiate.

"I agree with the prince, Your Grace." Phila said, "We must demonstrate to Plegia that such actions have consequences."

"I understand your feelings, Chrom." Emmeryn told her brother, "Truly, I do. But if we give him the war he wants, then we lose, no matter what the outcome. Our last conflict nearly ruined the halidom. It left Ylisseans homeless and starving. We cannot repeat that mistake. I will offer parley with King Gangrel."

"Emm, no! You can't!" Lissa protested.

Phila frowned, "Please reconsider, Your Grace. He cannot be trusted to act in good faith!"

"So either we choose to march to war or leave Lady Maribelle to die?" Emmeryn snapped lightly. She shook her head. "No. I will not accept that."

Phila looked ashamed that she had even implied such a thing. "…Forgive me, Your Grace. I spoke out of turn. I know you will stand always by your own principles. Pray, allow the Pegasus Knights to accompany you, though."

"I'm going too." Chrom declared. "Someone has to save you from your good intentions."

"And I want to be there for you and Maribelle!" Lissa added.

Emmeryn smiled. "As you wish. Thank you all. Your strength will be mine."

.

"Well then?" Chrom asked, "Is everyone ready to go? It's a long march to the Plegian border."

All the Shepherds, including the still lightly injured Ryoko and Levi, were there, fully packed.

"We're both ready!" Ryoko declared, itching to have a few… words… with the Plegian King and his aide.

Beside her, Levi nodded eagerly.

"Captain! I'm all packed!" Ricken said, "when do we leave?"

Chrom sighed, thinking he should have anticipated this.

What was he doing, thinking that two mercenaries with a beef to pick with the Mad King and a boy eager to prove himself wouldn't insist to come, even if they were either still recovering or too young?

"Ryoko, Levi, you two are still injured from your fight at the arena." He told them, forcing himself not to sound too exasperated. "And, Ricken, you're not old enough for this mission. Go back inside, all three of you."

"But, Captain!" Ricken protested, "You know my skill with magic! You know I can handle myself!"

"I'm fine, Chrom!" Ryoko pouted, "I have almost full reserves again!"

"These are just scratches." Levi said, "And my magic will undoubtedly come useful in your mission."

"I'd feel safer with your magic here, protecting the garrison." Chrom stated firmly. "Alright, we're off. You three be good."

With that, Chrom and everyone else left, leaving the three stunned into silence.

It was Levi who found his words first.

"…Be… good…?" he repeated to himself, "What does he think we are, twelve?"

"…There's a whole bunch of mages here who could just overpower everyone with sheer numbers." Ryoko grumbled, "Not to mention the other divisions."

Ricken nodded, agreeing with both of them. "Well, we'll show him how good we are!"

Ryoko smiled at that. "Well spoken, brat. I'll go get Kamui."

"Will we be mounting our own rescue team?" Levi guessed.

"Yup!" the blue-haired Dragon confirmed. "While they distract the enemy for us with pretty little words and threats and negotiations, we'll sneak in and steal back our hostage!"

"Of course, we'll have to give them a bit of head start so that no one will suspect anything." She added deviously.

"It sounds like a good idea." Ricken said. "But I'm coming, too."

Ryoko smirked, "You're the one who will have to rescue Mariaberu." She explained with a small sigh, "Me and Levi are a bit… overpowered, so there's a really good chance that Gangrel will sense us if we get too close. You on the other hand…."

Ricken understood what she meant and smiled happily.

.

Ryoko was a mystery.

A beautiful, impossible mystery made out of numerous contradictions, incredible power and a touch of insanity.

So, for the sake as exposition as he was a newly introduced character and all that rot, Levi mulled over the mystery that was the blue-haired Dragon.

Really, though, the woman intrigued him.

She had from the moment he saw her scarf, the signature orange and black that were the colors worn by the Seal and his immediate family within the Ravenfall clan.

For now she was reluctant to part with it, seeing as she was safely within Ylissean borders, where the Grimeal rarely even attempted to do anything, so she had kept the scarf. Who knows, maybe she would say to hell with it all and keep wearing it no matter what.

Another thing that had caught his eye had been the blade she wielded.

He would recognize everywhere the blade, extremely sharp and almost ivory in color, the intricate crossguard with its three wing-shaped layers, the leather handle that had a subtle golden design that seemingly formed a 'tail'. There was no question that it was the Dragon's Claw, Drexion.

He knew the moment he saw it that the woman was the current Seal holder, and she had managed to do something nobody really thought possible until then, unlock the blade's true form.

He remembered its history, passed through his family for generations.

It was said that it belonged to Grima's youngest, long before he was sealed. It was said that his childhood friend led the Hero-King Marth to the insane Dragon at the secret request of his three children, who couldn't bear to see their father destroy the world, but couldn't bring themselves to harm him, either.

It was kept out of the stories for a reason, but Marth couldn't seal Grima, even with the Fang Naga gave him. It was then that the children intervened.

The oldest and middle children kept their father at bay as well as they could, but it wasn't enough.

It was then that the youngest child, surprising everyone, offered Marth a chance.

You see, the third child had many troubles with magic and fighting as a Dragon like Grima and the other children did. So Grima gave him one of his claws to use as a sword in defense of his family.

The very same claw that acted as a focus for Marth to seal Grima for real.

However, using the Claw had a very unforeseen repercussion. Because branded on his arm and shoulder was the symbol of his actions against his father.

The youngest child carried the physical manifestation of the Seal. Distraught, he sealed the Claw's true form, saying that it would be returned only when Grima and one of his descendants finally made peace.

Levi didn't really know what that meant back in the arena, but with the talk they had on the roof, it made sense.

Ryoko had somehow managed to reconcile Grima and the Ravenfall line, who were the descendants of his youngest child.

But there was more to the blue-haired Dragon that drew him to her than a title and a common ancestor really far down the line.

The woman was quiet and withdrawn, yet once you broke past that shell she was a funny, talkative prankster with a protective streak and an amazing storyteller.

She was a Summoner, yet she had little power to back it up and also held the Seal. She had two opposing gender-specific roles, had survived on the streets and evaded the damned Grimeal, yet she hadn't crumbled under the pressure.

Or rather, she got up, picked up the pieces and moved on.

And he knew she had lived on the streets or something close enough to it that it made no difference. The jaded look in her eyes, after all, was something he saw every single day in his reflection.

Ryoko was young and childish, but mature and experienced at the same time. She hated being hot, yet spent most of the day under the sun, hated being coped up inside yet stayed in the libraries as long as she could.

And she managed to catch Levi's interest, so he watched her from a distance.

Today was no different than any other day since he joined, even if they had to mount up a rescue.

"Are you still following me?" Ryoko shouted without looking up from saddling Kamui.

Levi didn't say anything. He was too busy panicking internally.

Ryoko let out a very annoyed sigh. "That answers my question. Skies, it's like I have my own personal stalker with you."

The green-eyed woman had turned to face him, revealing that she was about to start tossing fireballs around in an attempt to fry the offender.

"…Sorry." Levi apologized.

Ryoko looked up and groaned. "Why me?"

Levi panicked silently, searching for a valid excuse as to why he had been basically stalking her in the past few days.

He had, after all, been following her around camp the entire trip back.

"Your blade." He told her, "I know of its legend, and you managed to unlock its true form. And I made a promise to protect the Seal Holder."

"Fine." Ryoko said, resigned. "As long as you don't follow me to the baths."

Did she think he was insane and with a death wish?

The woman's smirk didn't bode well for him.

"But know that it means that you're my new sparring partner." She chirped happily.

Levi paled. She was almost as bad as Frederick when she bothered to train!

"I see…" he said. Then he regained his footing.

"Then I won't let you win!" he declared determinately.

"Yeah?" Ryoko challenged, "Bring it on!"

"Next chance we get, whatever serves as a training field?" He suggested.

The green-eyed woman nodded. "Sounds good enough to me."

She returned to getting Kamui ready, while Levi went off to tend to his own horse, Kana.

.

Ricken was having trouble staying still.

He was both anticipating and dreading their little rescue mission.

Ryoko and Levi had hammered out a plan of action, trying their best to include him but not really succeeding because of his inexperience.

He still appreciated the sentiment.

They didn't blame him for his inexperience, but instead tried to work a way around it and give him some experience as they went.

Levi had laughingly admitted that constantly hitting a still target like a training dummy would do wonders in learning the very basics… but it was otherwise mostly useless.

He had gone back to the barracks to lighten his pack a little, knowing they would need speed most of all, and that getting to the border in time even if half a day of travel behind the rest was the most important thing.

Ryoko had stressed that making sure that they could reach the border undetected was essential to saving Maribelle without giving everything away.

They would be watching out for potential interlopers or surprise attacks. They wouldn't be, however, on the look out for a young mage under a concealing enchantment and a pair of Dragons ready to intervene from a distance.

And that was were Ricken came in.

He would need to sneak past the border and into the enemy lines where Maribelle was, free her at the last possible moment or when everyone was distracted and hightail it out of there like Risen were on his tail.

It was simple. Levi said that the more complicated something was, the bigger the chance that the plan went bad.

It was also terrifying, because he would be mostly on his own while searching for Maribelle. Ryoko and Levi would be watching over him from the air, but there was no guarantee that they would get to him in time should he run into trouble. And he could only use his Wind and Elwind tomes and a pair of knives that the purple-haired man lent him.

They didn't want to draw attention to him with sudden loud noises and flashes of light.

"Are you alright, Ricken?" Ryoko asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ricken smiled at her. "I-I think so."

Ryoko returned the smile. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. And I promise that I will listen."

The moment was ruined when Levi ruffled Ryoko's messy hair.

"Come on you brats, we need to get going." He said.

Ryoko batted angrily at his hand, but the man danced out of the way and climbed onto his horse, speeding away.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Ryoko shouted, "Come on, Ricken!"

She jumped on Kamui's back, helped him get behind her and followed after Levi, shouting threats of retribution.

They left without anyone realizing it until they didn't come back hours later at dinner.

By that time, they had almost caught up to Chrom and Emmeryn.

They would only need a few more hours come the morning.

.

"What's this, then?" Gangrel taunted, "The Exalt herself, in all her radiance? I fear I must shield my eyes!"

He burst into mad laughter.

"King Gangrel, I've come for the truth of this unfortunate incident between us." Emmeryn said patiently.

The King's aide, a white-haired woman on top of a large black Pegasus, scoffed. "The truth? I can give you the truth."

"Perhaps milady might first share her name?" Emmeryn inquired.

"You may call me Aversa." The Dark Flier told her.

"Very well, Aversa." Emmeryn said diplomatically. "Is Maribelle unharmed?"

"Who?" Gangrel asked, "Oh, the little blond brat."

Not far from them, so that she could be seen yet in a spot where somebody could still sneak in with enough effort, was Maribelle, hands tied and guarded by a small group of Gray Knives bandits.

"Unhand me, you gutter-born troglodyte!" The noble shouted indignantly.

From the skies, Ryoko grinned lightly before circling once more and leaving. They had found Maribelle, now they needed to wait until Ricken got to her and swoop in. She could easily Flash herself there, and Levi apparently had a similar method of transport that used shadows.

"Maribelle!" Lissa cried out, apparently having heard the noble's shouted insults.

After that, she couldn't hear much more.

Returning to human form, Ryoko Flashed herself to the ground, where Ricken and Levi were waiting.

She was quick to report the location to Ricken, who ran off to find her.

Levi transformed into Dragon Form, and Ryoko climbed on his back before he took off.

Now, all they could do was wait.

.

Ricken was quick to run off to find Maribelle.

The location Ryoko described was not as far as they feared, but somewhere in between King Gangrel's position and Chrom, Lissa and Lady Emmeryn.

The rest of the Shepherds were slightly behind the three while the Plegian, both soldiers and bandits, were scattered all around the area.

He would need to watch out for the Mad King and his aide Aversa, who were both higher up than him and Aversa was also a Dark Flier, rumored to be associated with the Grimeal cult and had been granted Shadowgift by them.

Under Ryoko's cloak, which had been laced with a ton of stealth enchantments and a green color-changing spell for this mission, Ricken hastily made his way to Maribelle.

"LIES!" He heard her shout. "You speak nothing but lies, hag! Did they not teach you the meaning of the word 'truth' in wretched-crone school?"

Ricken was somewhat relieved to hear her defiantly insult somebody like that. It meant that she was relatively alright. She was not dead, not at swordpoint, not slowly bleeding out on the ground or suffering under the Plegian bandits' 'care'.

He didn't hear Aversa's reply well enough, but he could guess that she was gloating about kidnapping his fellow Shepherd.

"Such a violent temper speaks for her guilt!" Gangrel shouted insanely.

And what does that say about you? He thought.

"This will call for a weighty punishment!" the Mad King declared loudly. "And if she were to later confess to being an Ylissean spy? My goodness! It would take an act of considerable good faith to repair our relations!"

"And I have done nothing wrong!" Maribelle protested. She was close enough that he could hear her clearly, "It is they who should confess! They are the ones who invaded Ylisse! They razed an entire village! When I attempted to intervene, they took me and dragged me across the border. Let the plundered shops and charred homes serve as my proof!"

"That would only prove that Ylisse has a bandit problem— something I hear oft of late…." Gangrel countered, "But indeed, tonight I shall weep salty tears into my pillow for your dead villagers."

Ricken barely restrained himself from growling. And whose fault was that Ylisse was being plundered by bandits! There was no way so many of them would be Plegian bands without him sneaking them past the border! And not to speak of what was happening in the Feroxi border!

But he managed to remember the mission, that Ryoko and Maribelle and Levi were counting on him to rescue the only daughter of Duke Themis.

"Your Grace, please!" Maribelle pleaded.

"Peace, Maribelle," the Exalt reassured her. "I believe you."

She turned to address the Mad King. "King Gangrel, I request that you release this woman at once. Surely you and I can sort this out without the need for hostages."

"Without so much as an apology?" Gangrel demanded, "Why should I even bother with parley? I'm within my rights to have her head this moment and be home in time for supper."

"You black-hearted devil!" Chrom shouted angrily.

"Control your dog, my dear, before he gets someone hurt." Gangrel told the Exalt flippantly.

Chrom growled with barely restrained rage.

Ricken cursed silently. At this rate, he would end up needing to do something at the last possible second, where a single mistake could get both him and Maribelle killed.

"Now then, Your Graceliness." the Mad King continued, "Perhaps we can arrange a trade? Say… You give me the Fire Emblem and I return Mari Contrary here in one piece."

Ricken gasped quietly at this.

The Fire Emblem! Gangrel was demanding the Fire Emblem, which not only was a priceless treasure, but was meant to be used only to save the world.

Emmeryn was equally taken aback by this. "You would ask for Ylisse's royal treasure? But why?"

"Because I know the legend!" The man screamed. "The Fire Emblem is the key to having one's wishes realized. And I have desired it for years! YEARS!" he suddenly adopted a mournful demeanor. "…And yet my birthday comes and goes each year, and nothing from Ylisse." He giggled creepily.

"The Emblem's power is to be used for a single purpose, King Gangrel." Emmeryn scolded calmly, though it was clear that her patience was wearing thin as well, "And that purpose is to safe the world and its people at their hour of most desperate need. Would you claim a more noble wish?"

"I want what every Plegian wants, a grisly end for every last Ylissean." The madman replied petulantly, "What could be more noble than that?"

Ricken could almost hear Ryoko drawl '…stealing candy?'

She might have been somewhat distant and he might have known her for only a day and a half, but Ricken and Levi both had the pleasure of hearing her snark at someone who was being an idiot, and she had made easily known her views on mass genocide while ranting about the Grimeal: that stabbing a wounded, invalid child in the back for no reason was still better. And this came from a woman who hated anyone who harmed children.

"What?" Emmeryn exclaimed.

"Surely you have not forgotten what the last Exalt did to my people?" Gangrel screamed, "Your father named us heathens! His 'crusade' across Plegia butchered countless of my subjects and my kin!"

"I have never denied any of Ylisse's past wrongdoings." Emmeryn said, almost sternly, "But I have sworn to never repeat those mistakes. Ours is a realm of peace, now."

"Yours is now a heaven of hypocrisy!" the Mad King screeched, "Now give me the Fire Emblem!"

"No, Your Grace!" Maribelle protested, "I'd sooner die than act as a bargaining chip for this filthy reprobate!"

"No, Maribelle…" Emmeryn whispered.

Gangrel groaned theatrically. "Ugh… Taaaaaalk talk-talk-talk-talk. It's time to speak louder than words! This negotiation is over, Your Luminosity! I shall have the Fire Emblem even if I have to pry it from your shiny dead hands!"

Brigands ran towards Emmeryn, and Chrom moved to defend his sister, striking one of them with a swift stroke of his Falchion.

"Stay back!" He warned, "Or you will all suffer the same fate as him!"

Ricken charged his wind spell as Gangrel burst into a fit of mad laughter.

"Now that's a declaration of war if I've ever heard one!" He shouted, "A big, messy war that will bleed you Ylisseans dry!"

Aversa was about to strike down Marbelle, but Ricken intervened and shot the most powerful Wind spell he could manage, which incidentally was a weakened version of Rexcalibur.

"Maribelle, go!"

Gangrel and Aversa have no idea what hell they're about to bring down on themselves when they piss off the Dragons. You'll get the first taste in the next chapter, readers.

Yes, Ryoko's shape-changing sword has a name. At the beginning it was simply the titular Dragon's Claw, but when I wrote the first draft I got the idea of it being Falchion's counterpart and wanted a similar name. I decided to somehow mix in the word 'dragon' as a tribute to the original idea and came up with Drexion. I ended up keeping both names in the story.

Levi's stalking habits have a very interesting story. Originally, when I was still planning out the idea for Dragon's Claw, Ryoko was supposed to be somewhat of a Fem!Robin without the Grimeal heritage and tactical genious, but with much more skill and power. Levi was intended to be Ryoko's version of Tarja, only instead of freaked out, Ryoko would have challanged him. The story changed, but I kept that little tidbit of Levi stalking Ryoko out of curiosity about the Claw.

Levi's horse, Kana, is named after another FE Fates character, Kamui/Corrin's kid according to the wiki. I don't know for sure, since I still haven't played that stage.

The change in Ryoko's plans was fully intended. She tends to jump the gun unless someone or something forces her to think about it more throughly. Her first idea was to jump in and retake Maribelle. Then Levi not immediately following her made her think of an half-assed strategy. And he convinced her offscreen to make a better plan.

Also, he deliberately pissed off Ryoko when they were about to leave, and Ryoko followed his lead when she noticed this moments later. Anyone who could have been watching thought that Ricken had just gotten caught up in the middle.

And before anyone attacks me for Ryoko's thoughts on genocide, keep in mind that they are her thoughts and not mine. Given her background of being one of the few survivors of her village, she would be marginally less pissed off about someone killing a child. Considering how pissed off she gets, 'marginally' is not much of a difference in this case.

That said, I hope you liked the chapter, and I'll see you next week!