Author Notes: I hope you all have been enjoying the story so far! I had a lot in mind for this chapter so it's a way longer one then usual! I hope you enjoy it. Special thanks to SnowyRabbit for dropping me some nice reviews and if you all are looking for another fanfiction about Tellius characters to read...I strongly recommend hers!

A gentle reminder that I do not own Fire Emblem, Shinon, or Gatrie, but most everything else in this story is original! Thanks again for reading!

Chapter 8

Arena

Upon entering the waiting room, Shinon was able to briefly see the three other competitors that would be entering the free for all battle with him. Before they could get acquainted, each was escorted through a different entrance to the battleground arena by a different Coliseum guard. Shinon followed a large man in gladiator type armor down a dark corridor until he found himself in the center of the coliseum. This was the fighting arena, that had no ceiling and was surrounded by the viewing stadium that was jam packed with lots of spectators that paid top gold to see some spectacular bloodshed.

The arena grounds itself was comprised of many raised stone pillars of varying sizes, and a dirt floor. It was clear to Shinon upon arrival to the battleground that each combatant would be taken to a different part of the arena to begin the battle from. If he was going to be victorious, he would need to be on his guard from all directions as he had no idea when and where the enemy would appear.

Within moments, up in the stadium, large lanterns were lit. As soon as one flame engulfed, others all around the massive circular building lit up as well, and the crowd went wild as the battle started. Shinon looked around, trying to see if he noticed any action from any warriors around him, and he listened to try to hear any footsteps moving closer. Unfortunately, all he could hear was the loud crowd.

Shinon slowly began to move forward, trying to stay close the large stone pillars, and as out of sight as he could be. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, the archer took notice of a shadow of a woman jump over the pillar to sneak attack him from behind. Shinon quickly whirled around and used his bow as a defense to block her two small daggers that she used to try to slash him with the intention to kill.

Shinon could tell within seconds of clashing weapons with this assailant that she was a very skilled assassin. She had short purple hair that was cut in a pixie fashion, intense deep blue eyes, and very tan light brown skin. She had a natural and mysterious beauty to go with her, but Shinon was to distracted by her deadliness to admire her beauty. She wore an all black sleeveless GI with a red sash. She was clearly some sort of ninja or stealthy fighter. Shinon imagined that she belonged to some sort of order local to Tyseria that he had never heard of.

She was highly trained in martial arts and in addition to her swift kicks and whirling acrobatics, the woman wielded two curved short blades that she skillfully alternated from holding the handles to the base of the handle that had small rings that she could fit a finger in and twirl at ease, which allowed her for a swift attack or defense when needed.

Shinon did his best to keep up with her attacks, and was able to dodge the killing blows, but was quickly finding himself being bested in combat by the assassin. Had the battle gone on much longer uninterrupted, Shinon may have suffered from a vicious defeat.

As Shinon was moving swiftly to dodge and block quick attacks from his opponent, another figure leaped into battle and swung a massive steel buster sword at the warriors. Both Shinon and the assassin jumped backwards dodging the large blade, as a new warrior entered the battlefield.

Shinon took note of the new warrior entering the battlefield. He was a man with short, dirty blonde, spiky hair and a cleanly shaven face. He had confident brown eyes and a youthful smile with perfect white teeth. He wore a purple sleeveless shirt, showing his very toned and athletic physique, and white pants with black leather boots. He wielded a massive steel sword that was about the size of his body. Shinon could spot the look of this man from a mile away. He was a carefree mercenary who had decent skill, which gave him the ego that could fill the entirety of the arena battlefield.

Upon swinging his massive blade, the mercenary sized up both Shinon and the assassin and decided to turn his attention to the woman. He pointed his sword at her and smiled confidently as he spoke.

"I'm going to swing my big sword at you...try not to enjoy it, Gorgeous!"

"Oh god..." the assassin responded as the two began to clash steel, "if your first attack was to make me want to throw up in my mouth, you have succeeded."

Shinon smiled to himself as the two melee fighters began to battle, because it gave him the perfect opportunity to grab his bow, and point an arrow and ready a shot. Shinon weighed out his targets. On one hand, the assassin seemed to be able to possibly best him in hand to hand combat and was the bigger threat. On the other hand, the mercenary seemed like he was a loud and annoying tool, and Shinon found himself angered just by thinking of his face. Guided by his impulse, Shinon pointed an arrow at the head of the mercenary and fired.

The arrow flew to it's target, but was suddenly deflected by another arrow that zoomed in from the distance. It was shot perfectly with the intention of blocking Shinon's arrow, which was not an easy task for a sniper to pull off. Shinon's eyes followed the trajectory of the arrow to see another archer in the distance with his silver bow glistening in the sunlight.

This third opponent looked as if he was a copy of Shinon in composure and style. The man had long blonde hair, tied in a pony tail similar to the crimson archer. He wore a black tunic with a brown quiver that was tied to his back in the same fashion as Shinon. He had brown leather pants, gloves, and shoes and stood with all the confidence in the world. His ocean blue eyes pierced with fierce competition as he stared back at Shinon. Both archers were wondering the exact same question...who was better?

Shinon's thoughts of the other archer were distracted as the mercenary flew towards him with his massive blade prepared to crash down on the red haired sniper's skull. Shinon quickly rolled to the left and fired two arrows towards the blonde haired swordsman, who raised his buster sword to deflect both arrows. His massive blade served both as a weapon and shield, and the mercenary was skilled in knowing how to use it as both. Shinon and the man began to battle, the mercenary swinging his sword and the archer dodging the massive (but slow) blows and countering with punches, kicks, and hits from his bow.

Suddenly another arrow zoomed by, this time towards Shinon's heart, the archer turned his attention to the flying terror, perhaps a moment to late. Before being hit, he was knocked out of the way by the assassin who was formerly trying to kill him. The arrow stuck into her left shoulder, which was a non lethal blow that provided minimal damage. The woman grunted in pain, as she pulled the arrow out and threw it on the ground. The mercenary took this opportunity to rush towards Shinon and the woman, once more swinging his blade, and this time both Shinon and the woman kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying a few feet and hitt the ground. Now Shinon and the assassin eyed each other, each expecting the other to attack first. When neither did, the assassin spoke.

"It is clear that these two know each other and are working together." She said, her voice cold as ice. "Perhaps it would be a wise strategy for us to split our efforts...I'll take care of this one, and you go after the archer. Sound fair?"

Shinon thought for a moment and then nodded his head in agreement. He also remembered his primary mission, which was not to win the battle, but to keep fighting until his two companions in the crowd decided to intervene. Shinon took this time to run behind a pillar which blocked him from the other archer's line of sight.

From behind Shinon watched the other archer who stood on top of pillar in the distance carefully. The archer was clearly providing support for the mercenary and would wait for a right time to shoot intentional shots with the intent to kill. Shinon and Gatrie typically ran a similar strategy. Shinon waited patiently, as the assassin and mercenary began to battle it out once more. He could tell that the other sniper was also anticipating that Shinon was still lurking somewhere on the battlefield, because the man's eyes would frequently survey the battlefield, unable to spot his red haired rival. Finally unable to resist a good shot on the assassin, the blonde haired sniper raised his bow once more and readied a shot.

In that moment, Shinon whirled out from the side of a pillar and shot and arrow that zoomed precisely towards the other archer's shoulder hitting him, and causing him to fall off his vantage point on the pillar. As the man fell off the ledge, Shinon rushed into his direction. The mercenary tried to stop him, but was met with opposition from the assassin, and was forced to continue his duel with her.

When Shinon reached to where the sniper fell, the man had already stood back up, dusted off the dirt from his fall and seemed to not be in to bad of shape, damage wise. The two archers stared each other down with competitive hatred.

"That was a dirty move." The other sniper spoke to Shinon as he raised his bow at his enemy.

"This is a fight, not a tea party." Shinon responded coolly, as he raised his bow as well.

"I didn't say it was the wrong move." The blonde haired man responded, as both archers began shooting arrows at one another.

Each arrow they shot either missed their target or was countered by the other sniper's arrow. It became very clear that the warriors would not decide the victor based on their archery alone, so they rushed forward and began a melee battle. They were equally matched, and each threw their bow, a punch, or a kick, and were met with a similar opposing counter. Shinon felt his competitive battle spirit raised as the two brawled, each hitting the other with all their might, and the crimson mercenary began to loose perspective of his main objective (to stall, until Eli did his mage thing, whatever that may be) Shinon found himself more and more wanting to reach a conclusion to the battle, ending with the other man's death. His attacks started as non-lethal, but as the brawl continued, the archer became more vicious.

Unknown to Shinon, as he was growing in bloodlust, he was also growing in unnatural speed. To him, it appeared as if his enemy was slowing down from fatigue, but in actuality, Shinon was beginning to move slightly faster. As he would hit the other archer, his punches also hit harder, crushing ribs in single blows. At one point, upon being hit, the blonde warrior fell to the ground, his wind knocked out of his chest, and began to cough up blood.

"Get up, you weakling!" Shinon taunted, desiring for more of a fight. "We aren't done yet."

Meanwhile, high above the battlefield where the crowd cheered on the violence and battle, Eli and Hrothgar watched Shinon very closely. As he grew in his bloodlust and fought harder, Hrothgrar's suspicions of Shinon were confirmed, and he turned to his young master and asked if he too had seen what the Paladin just noticed.

"There, Lord Eli...did you see?"

"Yes..." The Elementalist responded grimly, as he looked through a tiny monocle scope that allowed him to zoom in on the contenders in the arena. "For just a moment, as he has been battling...Shinon's pupils dissipated and his eyes flashed yellow. I do believe the other man is in to much pain to have noticed, but it was clear as day...He is in the early stages of transition...Just like I was years ago..."

"What do you want to do with him then?" Hrothgar asked, "Perhaps it would be best if we put him out of his misery right now, before things get worse?"

"Hmm..." Eli considered that option. "That would probably be best for him but...A monster like him would undoubtedly come in handy for the upcoming battle against Kilvern..."

"A monster like him?" Hrothgar repeated sadly, "Please remember, my Lord...he isn't a monster...he is a person, a human just like you and me...and now he is inflicted with a tragic condition that the poor soul has no idea exists."

"Yes..." Eli responded with a sigh. "I suppose you are right, Hrothgar. Well, I believe we have seen everything we need to see...Let's get this show on the road!"

Eli reached into his cloak and pulled out a dusty old tome that could be used to cast magic by an Elementalist from the Sunder tribe. The mage closed his eyes and began to prepare his spell.

Back on the battlefield, Shinon had began to take an overwhelming lead against the rival archer. The man tried to strike back, but was to beaten up now to be much of a threat. He swung towards Shinon, who jumped out of the way with a vicious smile and grabbed the arms of the blond haired sniper and threw him into the pillar with superhuman force. The pillar cracked a little, as the man crashed into it, falling to the ground with lots of broken and battered bones inside. He was a bloodied mess, only to get bloodier as Shinon jumped on top of him, completely lost in bloodlust, as he began punching the archer in the face, over and over again. Shinon felt himself getting a strange high from the feeling he was getting from punching his enemy, as the blood left his body and some fell onto Shinon's knuckles. He was in a weird state of ecstasy, that was suddenly interrupted by a terrifying and powerful sight that the entire coliseum laid witness to.

From the crowd, massive bolts of lightning shot into the sky so bright that they demanded the attention of every man, woman, and child present in the audience, as well as the four warriors in the arena. The lightning bolts at first shot in several different directions, but they began to collide in one spot on the battlefield, and take the form of a large humanoid type creature of pure electric energy that towered over all the warriors, at a stunning ten feet tall. The large entity began to take form in a kneeling position, and then it slowly rose to a standing position and raised a hand to emit even more lightning into the air. As bolts flew into the sky, complete panic resided in the crowd, and the people quickly ran out of the coliseum in every which way.

Shinon had never seen anything like this display of power, and it quickly snapped him back to his senses. He was also shocked at the past few events, as it was as if someone else had possessed his body and fought for him. He looked down at the bloodied and battered man he was on top of and jumped off him, in horror of the damage he unknowingly committed. His horror of his own actions were put on the back burner to his horror of the terrifying electric creature that stood in the middle of the arena battle ground. Then Shinon looked at the base of the creature to see both Eli and Hrothgar walked towards it. Eli held a book open, that glowed with the same light that the electric humanoid was glowing.

"This...This is the doing of that kid?" Shinon wondered, having never seen any spell like this before.

"Hello there!" Eli yelled out at all the warriors, who had stopped their fighting to stand and watch in amazement of the electric sight before them. "My name is Eli, and as you are now realizing...I am an Elementalist of the Sunder tribe...and this is my Golem. Yes, I know, you heard stories of our entire magical tribe being destroyed and every magician being violently murdered but...as you see...I survived. I am the last surviving Elementalist...and I would like to to extract my revenge on the swordsmen who killed my entire family. And that's where all you wonderful people come in! I am in the market for some strong help me to infiltrate the Unforgiving Sword Mercenaries so I may kill their leader, the great swordsmaster Kilvren the Black Blade. So here's my one time offer...as I know I just totally killed your chance of getting paid from this arena...I will pay you triple what you would have made here if you come with me to take on my enemies...so how does that sound?"

"I'm in..." the assassin spoke calmly, seeming the most unaffected by the giant electric summoned beast that stood in front of her. "Fighting mercenaries can only stand to better my own skills, which is why I took a break from the Shadow Guild..."

"If the hot assassin is going, count me in too!" The swordsman spoke with a cheerful smile, as he wiped blood off his face and extended his hand to her. "The name's Griffin, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Maybe a pleasure for you..." She responded as she walked away, not even acknowledging his out reached hand.

"Playing hard to get...I can dig that." Griffin responded casually as he shrugged and walked over to where Shinon and the other archer were standing. He looked down at his comrade who was barely conscious and losing a lot of blood. "Damn...what the hell happened Arthur? This guy didn't seem that tough!" Griffin then looked at Shinon, seemingly unaffected by the violence inflicted on his friend, "Well come on then...you did this, help me get him up."

"Uh about that..." Eli said looking at the man and not wanting a severely injured person to accompany his team. "We don't have a cleric with us...and this guy would just slow us down. Besides, with Shinon here we already have a skilled archer...sorry Griffin, you can come, but your friend has to stay here. I am sure once the Arena officials come back, they'll get him the help he needs though. He'll be fine...probably."

Griffin paused and thought over this offer. He and Arthur rarely separated and had been running together since they were kids. But then he remembered their lifelong goal, and knew he needed to go and take this opportunity to get paid for an unbelievable feat of defeating Kilvren the Black Blade. He knelt down his comrade, who laid on the ground and whispered to him.

"Sorry man, but you know I gotta go." Griffin spoke has he padded Arthur's back. "Whatever it Takes, right? You understand..."

Griffin stood up and walked towards where Eli and Hrothgar stood. Shinon also followed as the four warriors left the Dragon Fang Coliseum to their next destination. As they walked Shinon tried to process what had just happened on that battlefield. What was wrong with him? How did he fight the way he did against that other archer, Arthur, and why did it feel like it wasn't him who was doing the fighting?

Meanwhile, back in the arena Arthur laid on the ground struggling to move. He felt the blood leaving his body and he could barely speak to tell his friend off who had just ditched him. As he laid hurt, a shadowy figure appeared near him. Arthur slowly looked up to see a shaman in a black cloak with purple trim.

"Well, you look like you've seen better days..." The shaman spoke as he knelt down next to Arthur. "That man who beat you...his power seemed pretty unnaturally didn't it? How frustrating for a man like you, to know that wasn't ever a fair fight. Try as you might to be the best, you will never be able to compete when forces like that exist in this world...but what if I could offer you the very same power? Not only can I save your life, which is clearly ending in mere moments...but I could give you a power that would make you a force unlike anything this world has ever seen!"

Arthur coughed up blood as he found the strength to speak out. "Get the hell away from me you monster...I know exactly who you are and what you are offering. I'll never join your devil army, and you can leave me now to die in peace...Hell would freeze over before I become a monster like that. You're barking up the wrong tree, freak!"

"Suit yourself..." Morphus spoke as he faded away into darkness, "Some people are to stubborn to be useful to bring my chaos into this world."

"Ladies! Over here!" Titus the Dragon Fang's owner's voice was heard by Arthur, right before he fell into an unconscious state, "One of the combatants is still here! I think if you come quickly we can save his life!"