PHASE 2 INITIATING…

PHASE 2 UPDATE # 1

SYSTEM RESTORATION ENTERING SECOND STAGE…

ACTIVATING CROSS GUARD REFERENCING…

ACTIVATING NEURAL SENSORS.

STATUS: Alright.

MODE: OVERVIEW.

Ahh… Peace is in the air…

So why the heck am I in this pirate costume, wearing a mustache and an eye patch, talking in a funny accent, and dealing with the medieval equivalent of gangsters!?

"Well I tell ye, we be havin a real deal under this belt of mine!" I fake the accent. I really have to be careful with this.

"That is rather interesting Mr… Oneeye…" The mob leader tells me suspiciously.

I pretend to laugh heartily like those pirates.

Now there is an awkward silence…

Must… not… scratch fake beard!

"Well then alright you seem good enough… Boys!? *Snap!*" The mob boss snaps his fingers and his men bring in two barrels.

"Oi, they better be what ye promised!" I say.

"I don't joke around in business, Mr. Oneeye."

I rub/scratch my fake beard. "… Just ta be sure… Oi, Anna! Come here for a sec!"

Our Anna comes in with her special disguise: green hair and a pirate like uniform. Why do I have to be the one with the insane get up?

"You have an Anna with you? I can see why you are so cautious with this." The mob leader then lights an old looking cigarette with a dark mage's fire. (I think it was called tobacco in the past. I didn't know it was reachable here though.)

"So… tis it be the real thing?" I ask Anna.

"Sure is, Captain!" she smiles and salutes.

I look to the mob boss with my best crooked smile and put out my hand. (Not the fake hook one.) "Well then, we would like ta make Business with ya!"

He reaches out to shake my hand; I grab it and do a firm shake- then I immediately grip it and pull him over the table and punch him in the face with my new hand.

"Boss!" one of the gang members tries to move, but Anna raises a blade against one of them.

"What's going on here!?" the others scream and panic.

I remove the beard and fake facial hair. "You're all under arrest for illegal smuggling of drugs." I say to them.

One of them points to me. "You! You're one of them Shepherds! You're Maribelle!"

…

Anna chuckles a little.

"You twit! That's a girl's name; it's obvious he is Libra!"

…

"No no! You both got it wrong! He is obviously that kid that wears a pot for a head!"

I lose it. "YOU ALL BETTER SHUT UP NOW BEFORE I BUST YOUR KNEE CAPS! *huff* *huff*" they all stay silent except for Anna who is silently chuckling.

"HAHAHA! Oh – just *Wheeze* stop! You guys are killing me!"I look behind me and see Gaius come in with some of our men all of whom are holding in laughs.

"JUST ARREST THEM!" I yell out and leave.

I hear one last member before I leave, "Now I remember, his name is Streaky!"

+HAHAHAHA! Oh Stop It, Stop! I can't stop Laughing! AHAHAHA+

(Chronos, you suck.)

The laughter is so humiliating and my day isn't even done!

Right now, I'm just sitting on a chair in a nearby restaurant and people are still awkwardly staring at me.

"Hey, Streaky." I look over with a glare to Gaius and Anna who seem to be preventing themselves from chuckling at what just happened.

"… Kill me now." I remove the coat and toss it to Anna.

"Oh come on, Loony don't be like that. Here is your canteen of water. Drink your sorrows away." Gaius tosses me the closest thing to water. He and Anna take a seat at my table.

I facepalm and take the thing. I breathe in deeply. "So were they hiding more back there?"

"Yep, they were all good in hiding those things. They used labels of spice to fool the other inspectors in smuggling it in. I had to admit they were quite good in hiding its scent. I almost didn't recognize it for a second." Anna told us.

"Ever since the whole speech from that F.A. in Plegia, movement from the black market has increased. More bandit attacks on farmers, more dealings and trading going on, and some gangs are gaining power. There must be some new support for them with that whole "New Government" speech." I analyze.

"Well that means we still have more work to do even when the war is over…" Gaius says; he then stands up. "Hmp! Well then, let's put these punks in jail and head back to command."

We all leave the restaurant.

I can't help but feel so tired right now.

Ah… Home!

Or Shepherd's HQ. That's what I call this garrison now. Ever since the war ended, I've been sleeping, training, and being sent to missions from here. Despite the usual arresting gangs, it's all fairly boring.

I enter in and I see Streaky with Lissa and Donnel. Streaky tackles me and starts licking me.

"Haha! Hey! That tickles! I missed you too, girl." She gets off me and I get helped up by Donnel and Gaius.

"So how was the mission, guys?" Lissa asked.

The two redheads start laughing and I say "It's wasn't that funny!"

"What happened?" Donnel asked.

"Gaius, I swear…" I eye him evily.

Then Anna goes off and tells them.

Amongst the new laughter, I glare at Anna. "Anna…" She just smiles at me. I just yawn and stretch my arms. "Well I'm going to take a nap now. Then work on my composition. Hey, is Stahl, Cordelia and/or Olivia here yet?"

"Cordelia and Stahl are in separate missions. Olivia should be in the practice halls." Lissa tells me.

"OK thanks. See ya later!" Streaky follows me into my room. I jump and lay down on the bed. I take out the Elements book and my audio log.

I press the button and start re collecting my thoughts over the week. "Knoll's Log # 4. It's been week since the end of the first war and some stuff has happened. Due to the fact Emmeryn was missing, Chrom had to be the new Exalt. He was hesitant but eventually agreed to be a "momentary" Exalt until Emmeryn has been found. With the war out of the way, there seems to be a new focus and goal for both Chrom and his new fiancée Lucile: Finding the Exalt. Since it was one of the F.A. that kidnapped her, we have reason to believe that her location would be somewhere known among black marketers and mob leaders alike. So the Shepherds have been on what feels to be a police hunt. We capture the black marketers, bandits, or any other ties people have to the underworld. After capture, we send them to Frederick for interrogation. So far none of them seem to know the location of the F.A., not even rumors of what their base is like. Most of them say that, to reach them, you need an insane amount of money and one near impossible job for them…"

(… Hey Chronos? Do you think you can detect her?)

+I can't do that. Even if I could, The Interferer would block that detection.+

I sit back up on my bed.

(I still find it odd that you were sent to Chon'sin.)

+Someone was able to send me there. But I don't have the slightest clue as to why they did that. The shrine there prevented me from moving. When it was destroyed, I was freed. I sent away the fighters that freed me in a random location and I headed back here.+

I nod then move on back to the log. "Well I met Olivia a few days after the war. Basilio had her join us as well. She was surprisingly hot and cute in real life. I might not have been making eye contact a few times… She is really shy, but she seems to get along with us all fine, especially Nowi now. Lastly, in three months from now, Lucile and Chrom will have their wedding! It's going to be so huge! … And they asked me to organize the music for the entire thing… I'm doomed!" I stop the recording and fall to hide my face under the pillow.

+You sing one song and then everyone thinks you're a musical genius.+

I talk from beneath the pillow. "Chronof waf am e Fo do?"

+Hmm… Maybe I can work something out by copying the mystic energy of your guitar into your mind. I still see it over there collecting dust on your room.+

(That's great! But most of the music I know is from my world! Captain wants me to orchestrate the royal band! Can you also somehow give me the ability to turn in some of the music scores?)

+That shouldn't be too hard. Come on, let's think of some music while you're still free.+

OVERVIEW: DISABLED.

=Five days ago/ Ikena River=

The scene is set in the battle field where The Mad King fell.

"Ggrr… Ugh…"

Gangrel is seen barely alive and struggling to crawl on his belly.

"… Men are… always alone…" He grumbles to himself.

"Oh, wow he is alive! The boss was right after all."

Gangrel turns his head at what appears to be a young girl dressed up like an Indian (those native people that lived in Columbus' expedition.) He also sees an old tall and skinny man with a large cane.

"Is that really him? I can't really tell…" the old man tries to squint. (Small note: he sounds look those old grandpas in cartoons. The ones with a stretched out high voice.)

"Don't be silly, Ancient! This is definitely da guy!" the girl squeals in delight.

"Who… You?" Gangrel tried to ask from them.

The girl walked up to him and smiled, but then she stomped hard on Gangrel's hand.

"AAAAHH!"

"Hush now, o Mad King. The Benefactor wants you to be alive and well when you meet him." The girl smiles darkly.

"What's that? You want "a live well to beat him"? What's that suppose ta mean, Manure?"

"Ancient! It's Nature! Please get it right!" Nature looks back at Gangrel, "Come on now, we have quite the surprise for you.

This ends with Nature covering Gangrel's eyes.

RECONNECTING WITH TIME LINE…

RE ACTIVATING OVERVIEW…

=Lunch time in the Shepherd's garrison=

"Oh come on, Knoll let me see!" Lissa said as she tried to take the music scores from me.

"Look Lissa, I'm still trying to plan everything!" I put them away and I look over to Olivia. "Olivia, while waiting for Cordelia and Stahl, I'm going to need your opinions on the music I chose."

"Uhh… I don't think I'll contribute that much…" Olivia plays with her food a little.

"Don't worry. You'll be dancing as well. I need to make sure you're at least comfortable to dancing with this kind of music. Then I have to make sure I meet up with all the other musicians and make sure they play this right… Not to mention they want to have me do a solo!... Wait a sec, I just realized I have to make enormous amounts of copies of the music sheets I plan!" I bang my head into the table. "There was so much more to this than I expected." I say then I get back up and eat some of the soup here.

"Besides black marketing busting, you seem to have your plate full, Loony." Gaius says as he eats some candies.

"Speaking of marketing, where is Anna?" Lissa asked.

"She said something about re opening one of her old trade business. She said she'll be back for dinner." Gaius said.

The door opened up and the remainder of us looked to see who was back.

"Ricken, Frederick! Welcome back!" I shout out to them.

Frederick addresses us. "Everyone we have a lead in finding the Exalt!"

Everyone was surprised and started talking, "What do you mean?!/Where, how?/ You know where my sister is!?"

"Calm down!" Frederick silenced us and looked around. "Is it just you five?"

"The others haven't returned from their missions or free time yet." I say. "Frederick, what's the lead?"

"The mob leader you, Gaius, and Anna captured told us that one of the F.A. occasionally visits one town just south of here: Katako Village. According to the map, it is also found to be in the direction Marvo ran to from Plegia. He heard rumors that the F.A. just goes there to relax on the night of a full moon."

"That's one creepy rumor." Donnel said.

"And it just so happens that astrologists predict a full moon this night! We need to make haste now or we shall miss our chance if we wait for reinforcements!" Frederick said.

Olivia raised her hand. "Um… what about the current Exalt and Lucile, did you tell them about this?"

"I wished to tell them, but they are both still dealing with the politic works on helping all sides of the war heal their wounds. I sent Sully to message them. Now pack up your gear and get ready to move!"

=Meanwhile in the Main Ylissean Castle=

"What?! We found a lead?!" Chrom said while slamming the table and having some of the papers fly about.

Lucile chimed in, "Then we have to regroup with the others! This is no time to waste!" She stood up with Chrom, also leaving her pen on top of a huge pile of paperwork.

"Frederick did say that he and the others would handle this, but hell, anything's better than what you two are doing!" Sully told them both.

The three of them all nodded and started heading to the door.

"You're Highnesses!"

All three of them stopped and looked behind them to see an old lady. Dressed in war clerk armor and wearing glasses.

"Err… Duchess Kena! What a surprise! Hehe…" Chrom said as he loosened his collar. "We have some important business to attend-"

"Now I wan't non' o that! Mister Lonair was sick today, so ya all had to do more of the paper work than usual, but I come on out here on the goodness of me heart to help ya poor angels… And now ya dump all da paper work on me?!" she said like a mother scolding her children.

"But Duchess Kena!" Lucile tried to defend. "Our friends have a lead on Emmeryn! We have to go help her!"

She pointed at the soon to be king and queen. "And da people of Ylisse need ya to! I hear o the message! "Your friends be the ones to take on this job for ya!" Ya got's to trust em! They all be knowing the importance ya job be." The two looked down in shame and defeat. Kena pointed back to the desks and both great leaders sat back down in defeat.

Sully slowly backed away. "Err… well then.. I'll be sure to tell Fred-"

"And where do ya think you be goin!? If ya really want these two to get to ya friends faster, then ya better help them with these white squares of ink! Be it sword or pen, there always be a struggle to push through!" Duchess Kena brought in another chair and ink pot and motioned Sully to get in.

Despite usually being so head strong, Sully had to comply with the persuasive and eloquent Duchess Kena.

Kena then claps her hands and smiles widely. "Ain't you all a bunch of angels! I'll be back to get ya some milk for ya bones."

As Kena left the room, all three Shepherds groaned at the amount of paper work scattered around.

"Really?" I say in disbelief. "Everyone? Even Frederick and Sully?"

"Yep! Nana always knew how to convince anyone out of their tantrums. She was always there to keep even some advisors straight!" Lissa said as she smiled wide.

"I can't believe I've been with the Shepherds this long and only now do I hear of the famous "Nanny" of the Shepherds!" Gaius said chuckling.

"You laugh now but if it wasn't for Lady Kena, I don't think I would be the knight I am today." Frederick said.

I ask, "Didn't you also have a master during your knight hood?"

Frederick answers, "Yes, but Lady Kena had a very unorthodox way for keeping me inspired and motivated."

"Now how was it unorthodox?" Donnel asked.

"That's a story for another day… We should be able to see Katako village right after this hill." Frederick tells us.

As the seven of us walked up the hill, we saw a thick forest. I couldn't see a town beyond the forest but…

"No way! Tree houses!?" An entire village was nestling on the trees! Like that one planet in Episode Six of Star Wars with the Ewoks!

"Yes. Katako village is best known for its tropical fruits and special silk from all of the trees in the area. They actually try to live with nature by making their homes and clothes from natural resources." Frederick explained as we all went in.

I looked around in the scenery. I really felt like I was in another planet as I saw people wear something like half Hawaiian, half Indian clothes. They were smiling and talking on the bridges to other houses above us-

*Whoosh!*

Hey! Where those kids swinging on vines!? It's also like a bit of Tarzan! This world is simply amazing!

"Wow that looks like fun!" Ricken says out loud.

"I'd like to try it to!" I say.

"Bet I could swing faster than both of you." Gaius mocked.

"You're on!" Lissa joins in.

"Everyone!" Frederick said strictly. "We are on a time schedule here. You can have fun here on another occasion, but our mission comes first!"

"Oh…" Even Olivia seemed rather depressed from that.

Frederick sighs. "We need to ask around. Those decorations around their houses suggest that there is some festivity soon." Frederick observed. "We must split up and ask around if it ties in with the full moon tonight and whether they witnessed someone suspicious during the previous times. Do not talk about the F.A. directly, we may lose our chance of finding him if we talk casually about it. Split up in pairs while I try to find the village elder or mayor." Frederick said.

As he leaves ahead, I can't help but smile.

=later=

"Knoll? …I.. uh don't think this is a good idea…" Olivia said.

She and Streaky were just watching me as I was about to be taught how to swing on vines by the local kids.

"It's simple really, Olivia: I'll just ask the kids around for rumors since they are the ones who have the best ears. Even if it's warped greatly from the truth, there is bound to be some clues that can help us! By swinging around, I'll be able to ask the kids what they hear."

Bubba, a kid who is helping me swing, asks me something. "Mister, why can't you just ask directly our parents or us?"

"Because this is more fun."

"Oh… You see, swinging is easy, the transferring is the hard part. For someone a little older and heavier, you'll have to swing for all the thick looking vines. If there is a vine that seems a little thin to you, don't use it. Sometimes you might have to swing the long way just to make sure you can get the thick and strong vines. It's also a good idea not to grab onto a vine that another person recently grabbed on to." Bubba finished explaining to me.

"Alrighty then." I take a grip and try to aim myself at another thick looking vine in the distance.

I jump off and- "Whooohhooooo!"

=With Olivia=

"Oops, I forgot to mention that you have to pay attention that you don't bump into another person's swing." Bubba said as Knoll left.

"Oh, dear… Come on, Streaky." Olivia said as she and Streaky tried to follow Knoll.

=Back with Knoll=

"This. Is. Awesome!" I jump off grabbing onto another thick looking vine and swinging along.

Aww man! Is this how Tarzan feels!? This freaking rocks! The wind in my face, the adrenaline and speed, and best of all I feel like I'm on top of the world!

I try to reach for one more vine… and I suddenly see Gaius and Ricken?!

"Guys!?"

"Knoll!?"

"Whoa hey!?"

*Crash!*

=later=

"Dudes… we totally wiped-out." I manage to laugh a little, but the pain in my head hurts.

"I told you that it wasn't a good idea…" Olivia said.

"Oh, I wanted to try it next!" Lissa pouted. "But I don't think we have enough time now. I wish you three buffoons didn't have to crash on each other!"

Ricken rubbed his head and put his hat back on. "Sorry, but it was a lot of fun."

"I never got to swing by tree vines before, I got curious." Gaius said. Admitting curiosity got the better of him in this.

While we were all trying to argue, I noticed something off with Donnel.

"Hey, Donny. What's bothering you?"

Everyone stopped talking and looked his way.

"Well, I've been noticing for a while, but that tree over yonder." He points to a big and old looking tree just beyond here, and we notice something like a tree mansion built on it. "They call it the old Tree Fort. It's about an old family of witches and other odd mages that use to live in that there tree. On the nights of the full moon, the villagers wear a mask so as not to be cursed from the magic that seeps from over there. The decorations here are all for what they call the Mask Festival."

"So all these decorations are also masks that everyone here is going to wear tonight?" I ask.

Donnel nodded "Yep, one of the locals said it was an old folklore though, so no one ever gets cursed, but it's a fun tradition none the less."

"I don't think that's true!" we all look to see Bubba back with some of his friends.

"What do you mean, kids?" Gaius asks.

"On the last Mask Festival, I and some of my friends were swinging nearby the Tree Fort. We saw shadows moving around in the windows and creepy noises coming from inside the mansion." He says. "The old rumor of the Tree Fort being haunted is true!"

"Wait a sec…" I say. "This only happened the last full moon right? Not any other time after?" I ask the kids.

"Well… no… we were too scared to go near there again." Bubba rubbed his head.

The Shepherds and I looked to each other. "Guys, we need to find Frederick."

"This must be it then…" Frederick said as we all looked at the old abandoned mansion. "Since we cannot bring our steeds up here, we were to leave them in the care of the village."

Really? Really, an old haunted mansion!? I sigh because apparently, I and the supernatural just go together don't we?

+Actually, I've been here for a while and I haven't detected a spirit's presence.+

(Chronos, you seem to come in at random times.)

+I've been trying to look for energy signatures lately, either my senses have been impaired or everyone, including Grima and Naga, have all been eerily silent. I don't detect a spirit here, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong. And I do check in with you time to time, so I don't come in at random times.+

(That's a relief…)

+Mental sarcasm is not a good form of communication.+

(Fine fine.)

"So are we going in? it's going to be night soon." I say.

"Yes, it's best if we all search the place thoroughly; however, we don't want to be alone if we ware to face the F.A." Frederick gave us a plan. "We will go in two groups of four. Gaius' group will consist of Olivia, Knoll, and… Streaky…" Frederick stares at Streaky weirdly. "Lissa, Ricken, and Donnel are with me. Gaius will try the left side of the fort, and we the other. Be careful as you all go about, there is no telling what we will find in there."

We all head into the Tree Fort, where a very long full moon was awaiting us.

=Outside of Katako village.=

"The sunset looks beautiful from here… I could watch it for hours…" a man looks into the setting sun.

"Deceit, just hurry up. We finally tracked Voodoo to this location. I don't want to wait a long time to meet with him again." A man wearing a sleek, white knight armor said.

"Fine, Cross. Say… What has Voodoo been doing all this time anyway?"

"Don't you remember? Ever since the attack on Fort Kartol, Voodoo went on an impromptu vacation because he found something that belonged to his ancestors. He has been trying to master the thing ever since."

"What was it again?"

"I don't remember; let's just ask him when we get there."

The two Assassins started walking to the town.

Did- Did I just put another chapter out already?!

How'd I do that?!

Do not expect another quick upload! This one was pure luck!

Since I ended this early, I'm going to explain a few things I couldn't go over detail in my other author notes.

About chapter 17, I tweaked how the upgrade items like dracoshield and other items work. Instead of increasing a stat by two, I made it double their specific stat. I forgot about this a while back and only recently remembered it. This will help me a little later in making more challenging bosses for the later part of the story.

William Runner:

He has the design similar to a Myrmidon, but his clothes are black trimmed with dark green.

His hair is short and black.

He is 20 years old. And just like Knoll, he is in college.

Now about the story…

I really had fun with making this chapter. I'm starting to notice how fun and easier it is to make chapters not based on the game chapters…

But what do you guys think? I'm having a lot of fun so far!

Now let me talk about one of the new characters introduced: Duchess Kena.

I was going over Fire Emblem and I re-read the part about Chrom and Lissa being "wet-nursed."

I don't know what that means- wait gimme a sec…

…

Odd, it goes around the meaning that some other woman breast fed them that isn't the mother…

But when I heard nurse and since I remembered that their mother died when they were young, I got to thinking "Hey? Wouldn't Lissa have some kind of mother figure in her life besides Emm to help her?" And then bam!

I got inspiration to write a sassy and fully of attitude Duchess who won't hesitate to straighten someone if they take one step of the right path. And I personally enjoy writing about her.

I also plan to write about Chrom's wedding! Whoop!

(Rubs hands evilly.) Oh I have a lot planned for that event…

I think the vagueness of the two year skip is complementing my loose imagination which means now I feel less stressed about writing the chapters. But they still might come late so don't expect them to come quickly!

I'll end this off now.

Wow I really do feel refreshed.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
Socrates

Thank you all! And Please Comment and Review!