The Voice of Naga (Hiatus is over, New chapter tomorrow 5th of June, and regular updates from now on)

Morning. The large glowing sphere rose slowly into the dull morning sky. Golden rays were beamed in every direction and the dark sky would be succeeded by the brightness of the sun. At around this time, there would have been the birds chirping happily and the members of the earth's last hope would have been rejuvenated. But that wasn't the case. At least, partially it wasn't. Soon, they packed all of their equipment and belongings and set foot to reach their destination and make the first big step to secure their victory.

Robin was walking under the guidance of the fallen exalt along with his team. To make things worse, since Cynthia wasn't there to carry a considerable amount of equipment, they had to take her place. This made the personal sacks of each member a little heavier. Only Brady's was left the same, since the only thing he was carrying besides his staffs and tent equipment was his violin. He was always careful and treasured it like it was the most precious thing in the world for him.

Robin, like always he would follow patiently and conserve his inner energy. His best way to kill time was to be lost in thought. This would often cause problems, since he was keen to stumble across something every now and then. Nevertheless, when the time was right, a chat with friends was always welcomed. He got to meet them better, or hear some stories, which would seem to have taken from the darkest pages of a horror book. This day was one of those. The tactician silently walked besides his comrades and minded his step.

"Hey! Rob! How was your sleep?" The vibrant swordsman greeted him. He seemed keen for a talk. The swordsman was looking lively as ever. Little by little as the sun rose his golden hair shone slightly more.

"It was definitely different… You see, I had already slept for quite a while hadn't I?"

"Yeah, but you were greatly taken care of," he affirmed with a silly grin on his face. Robin giggled from awkwardness. As they continued he observed the mercenary. He was still walking with limb, hiding it with amazing effort. However, Robin, who knew his problem, could clearly see it.

"Who're you staring at?" Severa furiously asked. "Huh? No one?" Robin responded unsure of what he had done. Owain settled things for him, but the mercenary responded with attitude. "Hmph!" She did and turned her back on them. Robin just sighed.

He was once again lost in thought, remembering the last night.

"This must be an act of dancing. But Inigo… a dancer? This could be his secret and the reason to leave the base. His fear of getting teased at, explains this behaviour; becoming isolated enough not to be seen or heard…" Before he could end his stream of thought, the shadow suddenly collapsed. The tactician moved closer and whispered: "Inigo! It's me Robin! Are you alright?"

Although, the moon's and the stars' light was dim, the tactician was able to witness the embarrassed face of his comrade. Inigo seemed to have trouble getting up. He wasn't wearing his armour, but his ordinary clothes.

"R-Robin?! How long have you been here?" Inigo whispered, unsure about the tactician's intentions. The tactician felt rather eased. He was either a man short on his list, or closer in scrapping the overall idea of the traitor. Everybody has their secrets and this should be respectable.

"Enough to appreciate your effort. Come on! I'll lend you a hand," Robin silently responded and lifted Inigo up. The mercenary was able to stand, but as soon as he tried to make another step he was on the verge of falling again.

"I doubt his legs are weak, but also the possibility of being hit is low. I'm sure Brady healed us all didn't he?" Robin thought. Inigo sighed. "Don't worry, I'm fine. So, uncovered my secret…" He said embarrassed. This confirmed he was indeed dancing. "Just to be sure," Robin said. "You mean the fact you were dancing right…?" He added.

"Why? Is it such a big dea-" Inigo subconsciously was raising his tone and Robin immediately told his to keep quiet. "No! Of course not." He responded. Then, he remembered the missing link. Inigo's mother was a great and famous dancer. Olivia was known for beauty beyond bounds and majestic dancing and singing abilities, with her fame even reaching the continent Valm. However, she was also known for her shyness. Robin connected the dots in his head and figured the similarities between mother and son.

"Don't worry I got you covered. Just let me take you back to-" Inigo with a quick movement denied the tactician's help. He responded with pride that he could move on his own. At that moment, Robin observed how weak his left leg was. "He must be injured…"

"If your leg hurts then why not ask Brady's aid?" Robin curiously asked. Inigo moved his hands refusing to answer and silently began moving towards their small base.

"ROB!" Are you listening?" Owain asked annoyed. Robin became the center of attention to many. Awkwardly, Robin nodded and kept moving.

"As I was saying, next time we train, I really need you to teach me how to use those books!" He said excited.

"Ehm… You mean the tomes?"

"Yes! The tomes. I mean anything magic related! Laurent said I'm not cut out for it, but I want to hear your opinion as well." Robin was silent.

"Why do you want to learn magic?" He asked back. Owain's request was something he never expected to hear. It definitely came out of the blue.

"I remember my mother. She was very skillful with using them. But I admired father a lot and so I wanted to become just like him. Now, after seeing how magic saved both yourself and my cousin, I believe this is the right time…"

"The what?"

"The time to become master in both physical and special attacks! Just imagine the versatility mastering both magic and the sword! Well, I've already mastered the latter, but just imagine-"

"Owain!" Robin interrupted. "Get a hold of yourself. Magic isn't something easy to do. And I honestly don't know if you can suddenly learn how to use it. Laurent knows a lot more and I trust his judgment. And you should too I believe."

"One hour left until we reach the Selene village!"

Her voice was music to Robin's ears. Finally after quite while they were about to reach their first stop. Selene was a small village located near the Mountain Prism. Lucina knew that it would probably be destroyed as well and was unsure of the existence of Risen troops in it. Shepherds had to be alarmed at all times. If they managed to cross it safely then it would be a matter of only time to climb the mountain to Tiki. On the other, Robin was found at a place much like how the Selene village was thought to be, so "You never know…" The tactician thought.

Soon, the Shepherds arrived at their first destination. A sigh of exhaustion was heard. Gerome gently stroke Minerva and told her to have her nose sharp for any potential survivor. Lucina though, shook her head.

The Shepherds entered the village. Without any surprise it was damaged and destroyed. Most of the buildings had their interiors gutted and all windows, doors and frames ripped out. Amazing amount of dust was spread all over the debris. Bricks, wooden frames blocked some paths. On top of everything though was the intense smell of the decomposed bodies. Quite literally no matter where they looked, they could either see bones, internal organs or limbs from a mutilated body. One could vision the immense amount of people being callously killed or ripped apart. Children, women… Most of the exterior of destroyed buildings was painted red, from the bloodshed that had occurred.

The fallen exalt's eyes turned misty. Robin saw her saddened face and shook his head. This was his first time seeing the outcome of war. The outcome of annihilation. The outcome of brutal death. He felt weird on the inside. Like his whole body got colder. The chilly wind gave him the goosebumps. How many people were under those ruins? How many lives the hands of the zombie fighters took? Robin now realized.

Every time he heard this world was a living hell, He had simply nodded. He couldn't picture those brutal images on his head. But now, he could. At that time, he came to realize Lucina's grief and weight. The legacy her father left her was a heavy one. However, she kept that burden inside her for so long and moved on, believing and hoping to achieve her dreams. He now understood her words at the Valley. What she meant when rejected him. With a tear running down from his cheek, he followed his comrades.

Silence. Nothing could be heard other than their heavy footsteps hitting the earth. Most of the Shepherds looked down, avoiding to lay their eyes on the corpses or their remnants. The feeling of grief, anxiety and fear intensified inside them. Owain's sword hand was twitching. Lucina was holding her Falchion, ready to unsheathe it when needed. The rest of the Shepherds followed their example, except from Yarne who felt his legs trembling. He panicked as it reminded him of his past and began murmuring the names of his parents over and over again. Brady approached him in an attempt to calm his down. Yarne though had lost it. His whole body was shaking and cold sweat was running on his forehead.

"I-I ca-can't sta-and it!" His keen sense of smell made it difficult for him to keep up. Above all though, the sight was anything but bearable. The team stopped to treat Yarne and calm him down. Nah approached the fellow hybrid and with tears in her eyes she spoke with the last taguel on the planet.

Robin stared at the scenery. With a broken heart he got immersed in his thoughts. Neither he nor the others had seen Inigo falling behind.

The mercenary stood emotionless watching his friends from afar. He left the party and guided himself through the narrow roads and streets. Eventually he reached one of the damaged buildings away from his team. It had no significant difference from any other building the Shepherds had seen. It had no roof and the only thing that was standing were some of the internal walls. Inigo entered and walking inside of what seemed a room. Inigo bended and picked a cord from the ground. "It can't be…" He thought. It seemed to be what had remained from a bracelet. He kept staring at it and eventually he began weeping.

Several years ago…

The show had ended. A large applause was heard and the crowd passionately cheered. The dancer's cheeks flushed as she bowed and thanked them. A young kid captivated from what he had seen looked enchanted on the stage. Feeling proud he clapped his hands with passion.

"Isn't she amazing?" The young kid heard a soft voice. He turned around only to see a girl around his age and height smiling brightly. His cheeks turned rose when he heard her talking to him.

"Huh? What happened? Are you alright?" The young girl asked. The boys heart rate increased as his face turned scarlet red. He felt his throat getting dryer and he tried to open his mouth as if he would murmur something, but in the end he couldn't. In front of him, a greater spectacle than the dance unfolded. The girl had white as snow skin, golden hair, which extended up until the end of her neck and sea azure eyes. As the sun fell on them they sparkled, enchanting the young boy.

"Inigo! Oh there you are!" His mother said relieved. She got closer to the two children and noticed her son's shyness. She gently stroke his silver hair to calm him.

"Whoa!" You're miss Olivia! Amazing! Y-You were amazing!" The young girl did. Olivia smiled with the girl's words.

"Thank you young lady. Would you mind sharing your name with us?" The dancer asked.

"My name is Soleil. I'm happy to meet you," she said cheerful.

Fire Emblem: The Man That Never Was
Chapter 12: The Voice of Naga

A/N (Author's Note): Hello again everybody! :) So... I'm not dead. Thankfully I'm alive and though all the difficulties I managed to upload a chapter! Though, I'm sure this might not be what you expected... Unfortunately, I have both good and bad news. So, I'm starting with the bad news. The bad news is that I won't be able to upload for at least two more months. The amount of workload I have to do and the exhaustion I'm suffering from just don't leave me with enough time and motivated to write a quality chapter. So, unfortunately it pains my heart to say: probably the next update won't come until the end of May. Probably. But 99% it won't. I hope you understand. On the other the good news is that after that 2 month period I can fully devote myself to writing so I can upload at a pace of 1 chapter every 2 days.

You can always spend 30 seconds to participate in a small poll I made, for self improvement.

No, I haven't played Fates, yet (not until June...). And yes I know nothing about the game apart from some names. No the Soleil above isn't Fates' Soleil.

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As always, thanks for reading and until next time, please have yourselves a darn good one ;D

J.D. King

Dedicated to some friends, who without them I wouldn't be the person and writer I am today.