Chapter 34

AN: Sao pulled ahead 4 to three, and beyonders still has one. In other news, I wrote a sort of bloopers reel for this story. It is on my account as well, so go check it out if you want. If enough positive feedback is received, I may continue. It is total crack though. Be warned.

I was in hell.

The trip to Donnel's village was tame compared to this. The rolling and pitching reached a fevered pace as I emptied the contents of my stomach repeatedly on the floor. For those who don't remember, I get super boatsick. This ship was going to be the death of me. The tiny wood container where the entire world roamed and shook with religious fervor. It smelled of salt and regurgitated hard tack. From what I heard from Oliva's daily news, we were passing through a bad storm, and would be reaching port soon. All I could tell was hell was not any more bearable knowing it would end soon. You know who I felt like? The badass pink haired dude from Fairy Tail. What was his name? I can't remember. Too sick. Most of you know what I am talking about. Anyway, those of you who don't, he has the worst case of motion sickness I have ever seen. Except mine only extends to boats. Not all modes of transportation. Natsu! That was his name. I felt like him. Maybe I am developing dragon powers. I then attempted to cough out my stomach.

Kill

Me

Now.

I sat up straight, and wiped the vomit from around my mouth, and pressed my fists together.

"Now I have a fire in my belly." My miserable voice said into the dark. I placed my hands in fists in front of my mouth. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" I blew out, and I vomited at the same time. The result was Vomit all over the wall in little drops of acrid yellow stomach acid.

Maybe I wasn't developing Fire dragon powers. A huge lurch rocked the boat as I looked around. There was still the rolling motion, but all forward motion had stopped. I was still miserable, but the stopping of forward motion meant something.

We had reached land.

I ran unsteadily up the steps as I rushed towards land. I saw my waifu turn her head as I passed her. She just shook her head and followed my rushing pace. There it was. Land. About a football field away was the sandy shores only separated from me by a rolling sea, and sheets of driving rain. I had to get to it as soon as possible. I ran past Robin and Chrom talking.

"We are going to have to wait until the storm lets up before sending our forces to resupply on that island." He informed Chrom.

"Then we wait." A splash was heard as I hit the water. "What was that?"

"Man overboard!" Virion called from the crows nest where he was playing lookout. Robin and Chrom rushed to the edge of the deck, where I had reached halfway to land already.

"Is he insane?" Chrom pushed his wet blue hair out of his eyes so he could witness this better.

"He was locked in a tiny cabin throwing up everywhere for a week." Robin sympathized.

"Ah." Chrom agreed. The two men stood at the edge of the deck in companionable silence for a while longer.

"Why is this feeling so weird?" Chrom asked after about five minutes had passed. Robin looked around on deck for a bit.

"He left his POV here he was in such a hurry to get off this boat." Robin snorted with a short laugh.

"What is a POV?" Chrom looked at him in confusion.

"Something very precious. I will return it as soon as possible."

"OK."

About two hours after the storm had stopped, Robin had returned my POV safe and sound. Great! I thought I was going to have to write from the point of view of the deck forever. Anyway, turns out the storm blew us further off course than expected. We were on an independant island somewhere between Valm and Pelagia. We were going to go into town to request the acquisition of supplies for the war effort. We had orders (Much to Anna's anger.) To purchase these supplies at double, maybe triple value to speed our return to Regena Ferox. I knew that we would find no supplies in that village. We entered through the southern portion of the village. It was a simple place, stone buildings scattered on a dirt plain where a population decided to spontaneously settle down. The only problem was the population. Groups of children playing with sticks and hoops stopped playing at the sight of us, and would return to their homes quietly. Mothers washing laundry would scoop up crying children and haul them inside to avoid our sight. One girl of only about fourteen dropped a babe in a trash heap, running with all of her might to a safe place. Wherever we passed, only silence greeted us. Instead of the laughter of children and the sound of merchants hawking their wares, only silence and desolation met our march in the village's central market. Men women and children in ragged clothes hiding behind overturned market stalls, rotten fruit spilling across the street. The smell of rotting food was only less disgusting than the smell of burning corpses. Sadly, since my time began here, I have smelled both in abundance. Chrom stepped in front of the group, and raised his hands to show he was unarmed. The light in the villagers eyes turned from scared, to furious.

"We are merely weary travelers looking for supplies." Chrom unbuckled Falchion, and laid it on the ground before him. "A storm blew us off course."

"Don't think we don't recognize you 'Chrom of the shepherds!" One said, popping up from behind his cover.

"Yeah! Just because you dyed your hair doesn't mean we don't recognize you!" Another dirty and hungry face popped out from the stall directly to the right of us.

"Why don't you go and plunder another village you dastard!" A third exclaimed, throwing a rotten tomato in our general direction. It hit Chrom on the right cheek, exploding with an overripe splatter. The red was not only coming from the fruit however. A shard of porcelain was inserted in the tomato, cutting his cheek and drawing blood. As soon as this was done, all semblance of tolerance left the villagers systems as they began throwing various rotten fruits and vegetables, partially shattered beer mugs, and slabs of wood from the very things that they were hiding behind only a moment before. various death threats, insults, and accusations were hurled at us harder than the fruit was. I heard a desperate female voice over the clamor.

"You killed my family! I hope you are happy in hell you murderers!"

The last word echoed through my mind as I thought on how it applied to me. I still have told no one the fate of Severa. I realize that it made me just as guilty as the one who murdered her. That made what she accused me to be true. A murderer.

Wasn't the first time someone called me that either.

When I awoke once again, I was laying in a starch white room. I was not sure if I was in heaven or not. Then I smelled it. The smell of sterilization, desperation, sickness, and death. The smell of a hospital. I felt the bandages on the side of my head, and remembered that it was not in fact a dream like I had hoped. It was a living nightmare with proof of existence on the side of my head. A woman with a white uniform walked in, and looked me up and down.

"You're awake." She observed.

"Where is my family?"

"They are dead." She stated bluntly.

"What happened?"

"You of all people should know. You watched them die. Did nothing as you watched them die. You didn't even try to help your dying family." She tapped her clipboard, every single pore oozing contempt for my existence. That makes you a murderer in my opinion."

Murderer.

I was struck above the right eye with a shard of glass, and the laceration bled into my vision turning half of it red. This brought me out of my flashback very quickly. I scanned the angry faces, all aiming their rage at one man. Chrom stood before the accumulated village, shock the only thing that was prevalent from his body language. Every Shepherd's muscle was tensed, just waiting for the order to strike. Robin immediately took over.

"Do not return fire." He said to us. "Walk away from them slowly."

Most of the Shepherds grumbled as we left the village, but I left gladly. There was no way in hell I was staying there another moment while that bonfire of rage and hate was threatening to consume us like we were just another bundle of sticks. Something was going on here, and I had a theory on what it was. Cynthia was probably on this island with the bandits that were pretending to be Chrom. I can't remember the guy's name for the life of me. He certainly looked nothing like Chrom in the game, but in Asleep, the man was described as looking exactly like Chrom. I am not sure what version of it we are going with though. I am sure it will be whichever one the writer wants.

I have been reaffirmed of Cynthia's idiot status. The man looked a good bit like Chrom in facial features, but his hair was brown, he had a lazy eye, and the mark of the exalt tattooed on his arm looked more like a dying duck. If Cynthia thought that he was her father, than Chrom must have really let himself go in the future as well. The impersonator also had quite the beer gut. All around, this man seemed less threatening, and more comical. Now, the men he had surrounding him… they were a different issue. Each and every one was a hardened mercenary, you could tell from the light in their eyes. I searched around for Olivia to fight with her once again, before realizing she was with Erin. Gaius slunk next to me, and I noticed his physical state had deteriorated even more than last time.

"Pair with me?" He croaked miserably. "Erin still hasn't forgiven me." Okay, this has gone too far. Cherche had already confirmed the actions that Gaius told were true. I see in no way how he is at fault. Erin needs to get over the fact that Gaius may or may not have liked it. Gaius was obviously slowly poisoning himself with self pity. And chocolate. Lots of chocolate was involved.

"Sure." I struggled to keep the pity out of my voice. That was the last thing he needed.

We drew our weapons, and stared down a paladin as he charged us. I drew my bow, and shot him through the eye slit of his helm. Gaius, (Now an assassin.) shot the horse, and it collapsed about three feet from us. Close call. If it had gotten any nearer, we would have had to run around him. Then an explosion was heard. Smoke billowed across the battlefield, blinding friend and foe alike, including myself.

"I am the hero of the justice cabal! My name is Cynthi-ahh!" She and her pegasus tripped over air. She was definitely her mother's daughter. I wonder if the murder gene is dominant too? Sumia and Chrom made a beeline to talk to her. I turned back to the battle at hand. in front of us, Henry was riding on Nowi, blasting people with various magic while Nowi toasted them. They really worked together well. I wondered how long it would take before they got together. I shot a war monk in the knee, dropping him to the ground. Gaius finished off a berserker who tried to attack us from behind. I saw fake Chrom huffing and puffing a hasty retreat behind a line of various elite cavalry units. He could not escape. I will not excuse what he did to that village.

"Gaius." I said, hopping on the ruins running parallel to the impostor's retreat. "Hold this position."

"Easier said than done!" His voice faded behind the sounds of battle as I ran a beeline for the ridiculous looking imposter. He saw me coming, and picked up his struggling pace. I did as well, matching him stride for stride. I must be in better shape than I ever have been in my entire life. I was running across unstable terrain like I was skipping through a meadow. I must have finally hit level 15 and got acrobat. I saw a berserker in between me and my quarry. I jumped off the edge I was running on, and over the berserker, fell into a roll, and recovered firing a single arrow to the back of his neck. The imposter collapsed in a heap. I didn't have time to celebrate before the berserker was on me. I raised my trusty killer bow to block the strike. The bow shattered under the blow, and the axe cut deep into my left shoulder. Damn. Today just wasn't my day. As my left arm went limp, I drew a kunai from it's sheath and impaled the berserker's head on it. He fell, dead as I walked over to the wall of the ruin. I pulled the axe away from my wound.

"Medic!" I called. My wound was bleeding profusely, then an explosion of pain and light hit me like a sledgehammer to the face. My wound was completely healed, but I was stiff and sore everywhere. That was the power of psychic. Left you feeling you had just bench pressed your maximum weight for endurance reps. … And most of you have no idea what I just said. But it healed really well!

I stood unsteadily, then heard Olivia scream. I ran around the corner, and saw a collapsed Gaius with a gaping wound in his chest. Erin was thrown against the wall like a ragdoll. Olivia was facing a general alone, with nothing but her steel sword. I saw red, and located the weakest point of the armor. I drew Donny, and stabbed it through that point on his back. Olivia looked at me, and ran towards me, tears streaming down her face. Erin rose unsteadily, and saw us, smiled, then looked over to Gaius. She gave a choked sob, and ran over to heal him.

"Gods, Gods don't let it be too late."

The wound in his chest healed, and Erin gave a sigh of relief. Wasn't she mad at him for some reason? I can't remember. We all stood a silent vigil over Gaius' unconscious body until the battle was over.

AN: Follow, Review, and VOTE is all I have to say.