AN: Ok, so it took a while to finish this, but I'm back with the first chapter! Yay!

Also, special thanks to my friend who gave me some writing advice! They've helped me through a lot.

With that said, enjoy the chapter!

Ah, Ram City. Where the roads are often filled with well used cars, and almost every building is either brick red or mud brown.

The Greil Mercenaries were on the move, feeling conflicted about the sudden course of action.

Ike felt like the day had dragged on, and yet only two hours had passed since he woke up. He could only imagine how draining the rest of the day would be. Bored out of his mind, he looked beside him. None of the other mercenaries seemed very energetic themselves. Shinon was more cranky than usual. He didn't know that was even possible.

Stumped, the newly promoted 'leader' spoke up.

"Uh... So what do we do?"

Some of the mercenaries groaned. Greil tried to ignore the negativity. It's not like any of them had started out as the cream of the crop when they first held a weapon. Ike just needed a little push in the right direction, is all. He was sure of it.

"Ike, you're leader of this group now. That means you're the one who makes decisions. I thought you'd have known this after watching me and Titania do the same for years."

"Oh, ok... Let's go to Puck C.'s Pizza!"

"I meant a plan to help us recruit people for our mission! Even if our situation wasn't urgent, we still couldn't go for already explained reasons." Greil was already having second thoughts on making his son leader, but he resisted those feelings for the time being.

"But I don't wanna recruit! It's MY birthday, and you're making me do hard work! THIS IS STUPID!"

"Boy, you'll never get far in life with that attitude! Quit your whining and do what you're supposed to!"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

The heating tension made Titania's motherly instincts kick in. Splitting the arguing men apart to dissolve the sudden anger, she then put a hand on Ike's shoulder.

"Ike, I know things are difficult right now, but if the bird flu keeps spreading like this, then life as we know it may not return to normal for a long time, which is why we have to push on. Understand?"

"... Fine, but I better get the greatest party ever after this!"

That wasn't the answer Titania wanted, but she couldn't worry about such trivial things when she likely wasn't going to get a better response anyway.

Shinon wasn't convinced. Then again, when was he ever?

"I bet you a thousand gold he's going to try risking his life for some WcBonald's."

"Shinon, that's enough!"

"Ike, I don't want to be too harsh, but we've been knocking on neighbors' doors for about an hour at this point. Isn't it time for a new strategy? Not that this was much of one to begin with..."

"Don't worry Soren. I have a good feeling about this one."

"That's what you said about the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that, and so on! Brother, sometimes I wonder how we're related. In fact-"

Small 'THUD's could be heard by the door, followed by said door opening. Two young men who appeared to have just woken up could be seen.

"Hector, you really need to practice manners. Nobody wants to see you in your pajamas!"

"It's, what, 8 in the morning? I'm sure they don't mind, Eli. Besides, look at that boy! He's dressed up like me! Although, I'm not sure why. Halloween is six months away..." The taller of the two men pointed at Ike.

"First off, this is my normal outfit. More importantly, I AM NOT A BOY! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I AM A MAN AND THAT IS FINAL."

"You only turned 17 today, and earlier you threw a tantrum over a little kids' entertainment center being closed because of serious reasons." Mist was quick to point out her older brother's immaturity.

"Says 'Little Miss Tattletale'."

"Boyd, shut up!"

"Mercenaries, QUIET." Greil yelled. Everyone obeyed.

Maybe they obeyed a little too well. Nobody spoke a word, unsure of what to say.

"... Ike, why don't you introduce yourself?" Greil encouraged.

"O-ok. Um, hi, I'm Ike, and you are... ?"

"My name is Eliwood, and my friend here is Hector. Not to be rude, but... why did you come here?"

After a lot of explaining from the Greil Mercenaries which we shall skip because The Department of Redundancy Department is closed until further notice, Eliwood invited the group into his apartment.

"Make yourselves comfortable. Just try not to make a mess... Already have to deal with Hector 24/7..."

Ike walked around the confined space. He could tell there was an effort to keep the place tidy, but there were quite a few unfolded clothes scattered about. The smell of popcorn lingered through the air.

Also, The Weather Channel was on the TV for some reason.

Eliwood was sitting in a red, cushiony chair. Ike took a seat in a near-identical chair right by, wishing to discuss matters with the redhead. Well, not so much redhead, but rather brownish-orangeish-redishhead.

"Like I was saying, we were hoping to recruit you for our battle. Father said we're going to need as many people as we can get."

"I suppose I'll join since it's for a good cause. I've had experience with the common sword, although I'm not the most hearty person you'll find around. I hope that won't be too troublesome."

Ike huffed. He didn't want weak people on his team! The 'Hector' guy seemed pretty strong, though. If he really was good with an axe like he claimed he was, then Ike guessed he could tolerate a weakling tagging along.

"Hmm... we should get to know some things about you before we recruit you. Anything important you can think of?"

"Oh, alright. Let's see... I'm almost 17, my father is the marquess of Pherae, I know how to play the piano, I once-"

"Wait... What was that second one?" Ike seemed troubled.

"M-My father is the marquess of Pherae?"

"Marquess... then that means you're... R-R-ROYALTY! EEEEEEEWWWW!"

"What?! Why are you going 'Ew'?"

"Those of royal blood are the most disgusting people alive. They want nothing more than to see the rich get wealthier and the poor suffer on the streets!"

Eliwood was BAFFLED. "That's not true at all! My father is a very wise man. He wants everyone to be happy!"

"Yeah, keep claiming that, future marquess. Come on, 'Hector' was it, we're going!" Ike grabbed Hector's hand, trying to pull him out the front door.

Hector yanked his hand from Ike's clutches. "Um... my brother is the marquess of Ostia, you know..." He replied sheepishly.

Ike shook his hand in disbelief. "WHAT?! EW EW EW EW EW! I'VE GOT MARQUESS COOTIES!" The lordling washed his hands vigorously. He left the building immediately afterward, not saying another word to whom he considered scum.

The rest of the mercenaries were in a rush, greatly upset at their so called 'leader'. They wanted to tie up loose ends but if they lost Ike then that would be an even bigger problem.

"We're so, so sorry for that. Ike can be... very stubborn when it comes to his beliefs. We can't stay longer, but maybe we can sort things out another time?" Titania said, very embarrassed.

"Here's a gift to make up for Ike being a meathead!" Boyd handed Eliwood a half-eaten chocolate bar.

Titania facepalmed. That just made their first impression go from bad to awful. "Mercenaries... let's go..."

The group left to search for Ike. They eventually found him at a WcBonald's.

"Told ya so." Shinon smirked.

Greil walked up to Ike, who was eating a cheeseburger.

"What the hell happened back there?!"

"My instincts never lie! Besides, you made me the leader! I can do whatever I want!" Ike crossed his arms in defense.

"That's it!" Greil then spoke the forbidden words. "You are grounded grounded grounded for 7366284746428356219483751735618339 years! That means no fast food, no TV, no video games, no computer, and certainly no Puck C.'s Pizza!"

Ike yelled to the ceiling. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Meanwhile, back at the apartment...

"Man, that little blue guy is so crazy! What's with him?" Hector admitted.

"I don't know. Didn't his sister say he was 17?" Eliwood pondered.

"17? More like 5! AH-HA-HA!"

...

...

"Hey, Eli?"

"Yes, Hector?"

"Wanna kiss?"

"Sure."

Eliwood and Hector then kissed.

Matthew popped out of the hole in the apartment's ceiling. "Milord, you know I've been here the whole time, right?" He gave an annoyed look.

And that's the end of Chapter 1! So much suspense! So much drama! So much... dialogue. Hopefully over time I'll get better at making this more description and less talk.

What will happen next? Find out in Chapter 2, coming probably soon!