Author's Note:
Should I move this from the "Crossover" Category to the "Regular" Category? I'm not exactly sure if this will get a lot of views if it just stays in the "Crossovers" section.
The man with the list arched an eyebrow. "Shin-ji? What kind of a name is that? Were you raised by Khajiit? I met one named Ma'randru-jo, once. Their kind are always getting themselves into trouble." Curiosity overtook him as he eyed the top of Shinji's head. "Did you have a run-in with a mage? It's not normal for a man to be walking around with purple hair."
It was more than obvious to Shinji that it was just a passing curiosity, though. The man in brown leather armor didn't even bother to see if he'd respond.
Double-checking his clipboard and shaking his head, he turned to the woman in gleaming heavy steel armor next to him. "Captain, what should we do? He's not on the list."
The dark-skinned woman just stared at the Nord man like he was an idiot. "Forget the list." She said derisively. "He goes to the block like the rest of them!"
The Nord nodded to her. "By your orders, Captain." The light-skinned man turned to face Shinji again. "I'm sorry, kinsman. At least you'll die here, in your homeland." He said with an apologetic tone.
Shinji snorted at that, something which the man clearly didn't appreciate as his tone hardened. "Follow the Captain, prisoner."
The woman clad in steel armor, the Captain, started moving towards the execution grounds to her right. With each step her armored boots clanged on the ground.
Clang. Clang. CLANG.
Every step pounded into the ground like the way Shinji's heart was practically pounding its way out of his chest.
He didn't like this situation one bit. It didn't matter if he liked it though. The horse-thief, Lokir of Rorikstead, already proved what would happen if he were to try to escape. Archers turning his body into a pincushion, with arrows knifing into his back like a coward.
Shinji wasn't a Nord. He was as far from it as you could get, considering he was from another world altogether, even if his Russian blood helped him thrive in this cold weather just like any of the natives here. Still, he'd grown up here. He'd spent 8 years in Skyrim and another 2 abroad in Cyrodiil before he'd been captured crossing the border on the way back to Skyrim. He'd been here longer than he'd been on Earth. Shinji was just as much a Nord as anyone else born here.
AND HE WOULD NOT DIE A BLOODY COWARD'S DEATH!
Taking in a deep breath, Shinji turned to follow the Captain to his fate, joining the group of prisoners and Imperials that surrounded it.
A quick glance around showed a few familiar faces.
Blondie, who he now knew was Ralof of Riverwood, stood to his left, bound and waiting his turn to die just like the rest of them.
A middle-aged Imperial with gray hair who wore light armor that was gilded in gold, a red cape pinned to his back with clasps around his neck and a steel sword that was clearly above standard issue belted to his side. He was General Tullius of the Imperial Army, as Ralof had mentioned on the way here.
He was also standing in front of the whole reason why Shinji was in this mess in the first place.
Ulfric Stormcloak. The Jarl of Windhelm, Leader of the Sons of Skyrim, the Rebellion against the Empire. A man who was dressed in fine clothing and furs, but was also gagged like an animal. If he hadn't murdered the High King, if he hadn't been the leader of the rebellion, if his path hadn't crossed your's then you wouldn't be about to die!
Shinji blinked, the rising hate for the man disappearing as fast as it came, before his gaze drifted.
The Captain had gone to the center of the huge circle they'd all made, the outer edges surrounded by guards and archers. Standing next to her was a woman who clearly a priestess of one of the 9 Divines of Tamriel (even if the Empire had banned Talos worship and proclaimed only 8 of them as real, in accordance with the treaty they'd signed with the Elves at the end of the Great War, Shinji still thought of them as the 9 Divines), and someone who would most likely be the last person he'd see: the executioner with his tall, sharp and gleaming axe.
"Ulfric Stormcloak."
Shinji's gaze snapped towards the voice. General Tullius was now speaking to the gagged Jarl.
"Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his King and usurp the throne."
The growl from the leader of the Rebellion was muffled, due to the fact that he was still gagged.
"You started this war, flung Skyrim into chaos. And now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace."
Suddenly, a distant roar rumbled, its sound echoing all the way to the execution grounds. General Tullius turned his head to look around, along with many of the other people there. The one with the list, Hadvar, spoke up.
"What was that?"
The man in the red cape looked more annoyed than anything else. "It was nothing. Carry on." General Tullius snapped.
Everyone around them snapped to attention. The Captain nodded, her centurion-style helmet bobbing with it. "Yes, General Tullius!"
It didn't matter, though. Not to Shinji anyway. He didn't notice when the first person had been executed, with Ralof commenting on his bravery as he stood next to the purple-haired man. He barely even noticed when he was told to step forward to the chopping block, his legs automatically carrying him forward without a thought.
As soon as that roar rang out, there was something inside of him that roared back!
His body was tense as a board, even as he kneeled with his torso lay flat on the chopping block, his neck an open invitation to the executioner's axe. Unknown to everyone there, deep inside Shinji's soul, something sparked to life. Spark met kindling, bursting into flames!
An ancient Sorcery trait activated, and Inheritor met Inheritance.
His body thrummed, flooding with power. His light purple eyes starting to emanate a peculiar light as the nearby pebbles and fallen leaves shook.
It didn't matter if his body didn't have any Magic Circuits. Only human souls needed those to do magecraft.
And as a giant, colossal being landed on top of the tower, spewing fire and burning the village and its people alive, one word rang out from his soul and the throats of the townsfolk.
DRAGON!
"And the Scrolls have foretold of Black Wings in the Cold, That When Brothers Wage War Come Unfurled! Alduin, Bane of Kings, Ancient Shadow Unbound, With a Hunger to Swallow the World!"
-Song of the Dragonborn
It was impossible.
A Dragon, black as the night, with eyes so red that it looked as if they'd been bathed in the blood of the world countless times. A wingspan that looked as if it could cover half of the village if outstretched.
With a single Shout, the Dragon had conjured an unholy storm! Fire rained down from the skies, lightning struck their unfortunate victims, and hail the size of people speared down!
Amidst the terrified screams of the townspeople, General Tullius snapped to action. No matter what else he was, Thalmor supporter, Leader of the Imperial Army, and the Emperor's Representative, he was first and foremost the Protector of Skyrim!
"Guards!" He yelled out, the authority that rang out in his voice somehow rising above the chaos of the burning town and the roars of the dragon. "Get the townsfolk to safety. NOW!"
While everyone else was distracted, Shinji felt himself being lifted up from the chopping block. Turning his head, he could see Blondie, Ralof of Riverwood, standing there grabbing him. "Come on, kinsman!" He urged, the Stormcloak leather armor practically rippling in what seemed like hurricane-level winds made from the dragon's wingbeats. "The guards won't give us another chance! This way!"
Shinji followed him into a nearby tower, the door closing somewhere behind him, taking refuge in whatever pathetic defense the stone walls of the tower could provide. Any ordinary man would be cowering in fear at that moment.
Not him, though.
He didn't know why, but adrenaline was coursing through his veins, flooding his body with more energy than he ever had before!
"Jarl Ulfric!" Ralof said, turning to the man. Shinji noticed that he'd managed to find a dagger in the tower to unbind his own hands and was moving forward with it to unbind the Jarl's.
Honestly, Shinji had never even noticed him following behind the two of you, or the fact that the door had closed behind him and not you.
"What is that thing? Could the legends be true?"
Ulfric, now with his hands free, reached up to the back of his head to undo a knot, spitting out the gag that it had held out to the side. "Legends don't burn down villages." He said in a dark, matter-of-fact tone.
Shinji just stared at the two of them, holding out his still bound hands towards them, before realizing that they'd been so caught up in their conversation that they'd forgotten about him!
Before he could say anything though, a roar shook the tower. Small pieces of stone fell from somewhere above their heads to the floor they were standing on as all of their faces paled.
"We need to move. Now!" Ralof yelled out. The Stormcloak soldier ran up the stairs, Shinji needing no convincing at all to follow him up the flights of stone steps.
When they got to the 2nd flight of steps though, things took a turn for the worse.
With a BOOM!, part of the stone wall collapsed and caved in, and the Dragon's head was there.
Shinji could've sworn he heard words amidst the Dragon's rumbling shout, right before fire spewed from its mouth!
Hands still bound, he somehow managed to grab Ralof and drag him backwards against the wall with him, the flames sliding past them and shooting down towards the first floor. The fire might not have reached them but the heat still blistered their skin, their bodies practically being cooked and charred.
Shinji imagined it must've been what the idiots that jumped into lava must've felt like. The scant 2 seconds before they died anyway.
Despite the pain, neither of the 2 let out a sound, hoping the Dragon wouldn't realize that they were there and would just leave.
Unknown to Shinji, Ralof was shivering at that exact moment. Not from the Dragon and definitely not from the heat of its breath. It was from the sick, twisted grin that was cracked open on his fellow Nord's face, excitement and glee shining from it the way the sun shone off of the reflection of a pool of water.
'This lad's damn insane.' He realized.
Thank the Divines, the Dragon didn't seem that interested in what was inside the tower as it quickly snapped its jaws shut and flew off to terrorize another part of the village.
Ralof shook his head free from the thoughts that plagued his mind and dragged his savior to the opening as he pointed to the building next door. "See the inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going! We'll follow when we can!" He yelled out, his voice barely managing to be heard through the sounds of destruction running throughout the village.
The man quickly ran back down the stairs to check on his Jarl and the other members of the Rebellion.
Shinji looked down at the other side, a building that was charred and ruined by fire, more than half of it having already been destroyed. Luckily for him, the half of the roof that was destroyed was also the one facing the tower, which would let him jump straight down to the 2nd story of the building.
'This almost feels like one of those video games.' Shinji smirked. 'Press triangle to jump.' He amusingly thought to himself, jumping straight through the embers of the remnants of the roof, the ashen air he breathed in on the way there almost seeming to invigorate him.
"Nngh!" He let out a muffled grunt, having hit part of the collapsed roof that was still burning on his way down to the 2nd floor of the inn.
It'd be fine. Perhaps it was because he'd been dragged to a world that was still in the Age of the Gods, but after being here for more than 10 years, Shinji knew that with enough time he could recover from almost anything.
Running past beds that were strangely unharmed by all of the chaos and destruction, he reached a part of the 2nd story that was destroyed, having holes that led to the first floor. Jumping through, he could hear a familiar voice calling out to someone in the near distance, outside the walls of the inn.
"Just walk slowly towards me. It'll be fine, just don't look up!"
Walking out of the inn, he saw the same guard with the list from before. Hadvar, with his list long since gone missing, was crouched behind the remains of a house, trying to coax a child to get out from the open street and to safety.
The child walked slowly towards him.
"You're doing great, son. Just keep it...up." Hadvar stuttered, as the Dragon landed right behind the boy. "Hemming, YOU NEED TO RUN NOW!"
Scared and shaken by the urgency in his voice, the boy somehow managed to run towards the Imperial Guard, enough so that he could quickly grab his outstretched hand, yanking him off his feet and towards himself, before pushing him off towards the side. Right on time as the ebony Dragon spewed forth its flames once more, melting the cobblestone street to slag and immolating part of the house that the guard had been hiding behind to embers.
The Dragon flew off, gone to attack another part of the village, no doubt.
Hadvar noticed Shinji out of the corner of his eye. "Still alive, prisoner? Stay close if you want to survive." He passed the boy off to his comrade who was beside him. "Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and aid their defense. You," he nodded towards Shinji. "With me. Let's go!"
With that, the Nordic Imperial quickly took off with his sword drawn, Shinji sprinting right after him with only a slight hesitation at following the man that had so easily consigned him to his death not too long ago. Neither of them managed to hear the reply that Hadvar's companion gave, the dirt and gravel path giving way to stone as they neared one of the battlements.
"Stay close to the wall!" Hadvar called out behind him as the two of them ducked into an alley, sandwiched between the smoking ruins of a house that only had its stone foundations still standing and a rock wall.
It was a good thing he'd quickly followed Hadvar's orders. As soon as he'd sprinted into the alley and flattened himself alongside the wall, the Dragon, in all its dark glory, perched itself on top of it and roared, the flames licking the edges of his skin as it rushed past him.
'There it is again!' The purple-haired prisoner thought to himself. Right when the dragon roared, Shinji could've sworn it'd said something! He knew it, because he could almost feel something in his chest rumble at the words that it said, thrumming with the magic that he could feel emanating from the Phantasmal Beast.
The black dragon flew off, with Hadvar quickly running down the street that the dragon had just devastated. It went without saying that Shinji followed his captor down the cobblestone path. Slag and blackened timber, embers and ashes were all that was left of the street that he passed down. The bound man slowed to a pause as he noticed a charred corpse of one of the Imperial Army's men which hadn't been as badly burnt as the others.
'Maybe…' He eyed the dead body. Crouching down, he quickly rifled through the corpse's belongings as fast and as efficiently as a man whose hands were lashed together could.
Which was, to say, not very well at all.
If he could just find something sharp, anything at all, then maybe he could finally free his hands. Nobody wanted to be tied up and unable to defend themselves in a dragon attack!
The ground suddenly shook, right before he heard another roar.
'Aw damn it Oblivion!' He cursed, right before he was sent flying in an awkward tumble through the air, miraculously managing not to hit anything but the ground.
Shinji grunted, more from the fact that he'd had the breath knocked out of him than any pain. His body had toughened up in the 10 years he'd been in Tamriel, things that would have slashed open his skin and broken his bones in his old world only managing to leave a bruise and some scratches.
He chalked it up to a mix of the fact that humans really did seem to be a lot hardier during the Age of Gods, and the fact that his body had a decent amount of muscle to protect him.
Pushing himself to a kneeling position with his still bound hands, he was able to get back up to his feet in a matter of moments. He growled in frustration though, when he saw that the body he'd been trying to loot was now nowhere in sight.
'No choice then.' At this point, his legs were starting to feel the strain, having jumped from a tower into the roof of a nearby building and being in a non-stop sprint since was already taking its toll on him. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't exactly in the best of shape since he'd been captured and beaten unconscious before ending up in that cart in the first place. Still, Shinji pushed through, sprinting once more after Hadvar.
"By Ysmir, nothing kills it!" Cried out one of the Imperial soldiers in fear and desperation as the purple-haired prisoner burst through the open doorway of a ruined house.
The otherworlder looked around, trying to spot Hadvar among the Imperial mages and Soldiers that were bunched up. Interestingly enough, he immediately spotted General Tullius amongst the crowd.
Shinji ducked back into the house as the dragon made an overhead pass, white hot heat streaming from its jaws as it flew by, before poking his head out again. 3 of the soldiers were now dead, their final expressions of twisted agony forever charred into their corpses. The mages shot out blast of spell after spell, fireballs flying after the giant monstrosity. Lightning seared and shards of ice flew from their hands, but it was obvious that it was no use at all.
"Enough of this!" The gold-clad General yelled out over the roar of the battle. "We're leaving. Everyone to the keep!"
Not everyone heeded his words. Despite the fact that they were all seasoned and battle-hardened warriors, some were clearly lost in the rage of battle. Their eyes were glazed over with hatred as they kept screaming at their flying enemy, the desecrated corpses of their friends laying nearby. Fortunately, those that had lost themselves were few in number, with the rest of them snapping to attention and following their leaders orders.
"Prisoner!"
Shinji snapped to his head, following the voice. There was only one man who could say it in that exact annoying tone.
Hadvar stood off to the side, gesturing with his head down what must've once been a main street. "With me! Into the Keep!"
He didn't need any further encouragement at all. With the way things were, he didn't want to end up barbecued as the dragon's next victim. Brushing past the General on his way, he followed Hadvar down the street to the giant stone fortress.
Passing under the ruins of what must've been an overhead bridge, Shinji quickly realized that shadow he was under was too big for a small and thin bridge like the one that he'd just gotten out from under.
There was only a split-second between him seeing the dragon perched on top of a ruined wall near the Keep and his thought of 'Gods Dammit!' before he was sent flying again from the force of the dragon's roar.
This time, he cartwheeled straight into one of the walls surrounding the stone fortress. The impact jarred his head, making his vision blurry and having him see stars.
Shinji blinked away the blurriness from his eyes, the world slowly coming back into focus as he stood back up. What was immediately obvious to him this time was that the dragon had flown off again. 'Not for long though. With the way things are going, I'll see him again in practically a few seconds. I've gotta get into that Keep!'
He was also just in time to see his two favorite people in the world cross paths.
"Ralof, you damned traitor!" The Nordic Imperial clad in light-armor seethed. "Outta my way!" He said heatedly.
"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time." Ralof replied with a steady edge to his voice.
"Fine!" Hadvar spat. "I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!"
The two of them glared at each other as they passed by, heading to doors on opposite sides of the keep. The both of them stopped and called out to him just as they reached their separate entrances.
"Over here, Prisoner!"
"Come on, we've got to get inside NOW!"
Shinji stared, his head going back and forth between Hadvar and Ralof. It was as if the world suddenly paused, and he could feel that this whatever choice he made, it would put a long chain of events in motion.
'Gods DAMMIT! Isn't there a 3rd option? I hate the both of them SO MUCH!' He screamed inside his head.
On the one hand was Hadvar, waving to him frantically from an entrance close by the tattered flag of the Keep. He'd risked his life to save a little boy from turning to ash and showed loyalty by supporting General Tullius even though it was obvious that none of their attacks were hurting the dragon.
He's also part of the group that tried to execute him despite the fact that Shinji didn't have anything to do with the rebellion at this point. Not only that, the arse didn't even have the decency to call him by his freaking name, even though he'd already told him that his name was Shinji! It was always just 'Prisoner!' with this guy.
On the other hand was Ralof. He was the one who literally picked you up off the chopping block and rushed you into the tower away from the dragon when it attacked. He tried to make sure you survived, even though you only knew each other from the cart ride into Helgen.
He was also part of the group that was the whole reason Shinji was stuck in this mess in the first place!
As if sensing his hesitation Ralof called out to him again. "I can cut you free once we're inside. Let's go!"
And with that, Shinji was able to quickly make up his mind and ran off to join Ralof. It was too bad, if he'd been a little slower he'd have been able to hear Hadvar yell out, "Where are you going? The Barracks is this way!"
It was something that definitely would've swayed him back to the Nordic Imperial's side as the promise of armor and weaponry would've been too much to pass up. It was really too bad that Shinji had been too eager to get his hands free and had sprinted too fast towards Ralof to hear Hadvar's last words to him.
Omake: Easy Skill-leveling Glitch
"Hah! I knew it!" Shinji yelled out. "I am in that Skyrim game! Even that easy One-Handed Weaponry Skill-Leveling glitch is working!"
The purple-haired magus was, at that moment, at the exit to a cave that had somehow led into the Keep. He and Ralof had just snuck by a sleeping bear when he realized why everything had seemed so familiar. It was just like the video-game he'd once played!
Ralof was crouched in front of him, and neither he nor the bear gave any indication that they'd heard what Shinji had said. Then again, Shinji had been hacking his sword at Ralof's back for the past few minutes now with the man only giving out grunts and yelps, along with a seemingly endless amount of blood which kept spraying out with each hit.
[One-Handed Mastery Skill leveled up to 21]
"Now I just have to keep doing this for a little while longer."
9 hours later….
Breath leaving out in gasps, with his chest heaving from the effort, Shinji somehow managed to throw out one last swing of his sword.
[One-Handed Mastery Skill leveled up to 99]
"Heh. Hehe, hahahaha." Shinji guffawed as he collapsed into a heap on the damp, cave floor. "It was so worth it."
Author's Note:
So in the end, I chose Ralof for Shinji. I hate both choices, and I'm pretty sure Shinji would hate both of them as well, but since you have to pick one of them in the game I just went with what first popped into my head.
Funny enough, I actually found another glitch while doing all of this. From the tower that Ralof leads you into when Alduin first attacks, right after he tells you to jump across to the building on the other side of the hole, is where you can find it. Instead of jumping across like he wants you to, just walk straight off the edge. There's an invisible platform between the two buildings (which isn't really big but you can still land on it most of the time). You'll find yourself standing between the two buildings in mid-air, with just enough room to jump into the building you were supposed to anyway. Pretty sure it was there for any gamers who failed their initial jump, lol.
Now, for those of you who've played the game and know what comes next, should I write what happens in the Keep or should I skip to the Standing Stones?
You can all feel free to comment if you've got something to say or noticed something I could be doing better.
Next Release: The Fox that Became a Dragon (by 9/13)
