DISCLAIMER: HELLSING IS OWNED BY KOUTA HIRANO. I DO NOT ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.
FIRE EMBLEM IS OWNED BY NINTENDO. I DON'T OWN IT'S CHARACTERS EITHER.
ITALICS=THOUGHTS AND SOUNDS
BOLD= DATES, PLACES, ECT.
BOLD ITALICS=WRITER
(NOTE: IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS STORY THEN DON'T READ IT.)
East Regna Ferox ~ East of the Longfort
September 1, Age 2609 (5:20 P.M)
The march to Regna Ferox continued early in the morning. Heading north from the Breakneck Pass and Eastern Ylissean Palace, the Shepherds would reach a remote village in Feroxi territory. There they hoped to be able to stock up on supplies for the journey west to the Feroxi capital.
Chrom marched at the head of the group, with Walter, Frederick, and Lissa marching behind him. The trio noted a change in the prince's demeanor since last night. He seemed conflicted about something. Of course, such behavior was normal, seeing as he was worried about Emmeryn.
"You okay, sir?" Walter asked concernedly. "You've been quiet since we parted ways with Emmeryn."
"Yeah…" Chrom replied half-heartedly. "I'm about as okay as any other person who's sister is in grave danger." the sarcasm in Chrom's tone made Walter flinch.
"So that bad, eh?" the butler sighed. He didn't actually know what to say. He could just give Chrom a stereotypical not your fault speech, but he knew that wouldn't put Chrom's mind at ease.
"There's a town just down the road. If you want, we can talk once we get there?" Walter offered, a hopeful smile on his face. Chrom let a deep breath as he silently nodded.
Satisfied, Walter gestured to Frederick to perform some reconnaissance up ahead. The stalwart knight was about to follow the order when Walter began to feel an overwhelming amount of killing intent in there. Recognizing there was only one thing on the planet that could radiate such a sickening presence, the Ylisse's Guardian Angel was unsurprised to see a large group of Risen shambling towards a town in the distance.
"Risen…" Walter grit his teeth. "They're heading straight for that town. We have to hurry and stop them!"
Following the butler's lead; Frederick, Chrom, and Lissa followed after him. The Shepherds formed up behind the four as they quickly rushed to the aid of the village. As they approached, they quickly noticed the large group of villagers pounding at the village gates.
"Help! Help! Open the gates!" one of the villagers, the leader cried. "The dead walk the earth! If you've any kindness in your hearts, you'll open the gates! We're from Woodham, up the road! For the love of Naga! We have women and children with us! Please open the gates!"
Unfortunately, the cries fell on deaf ears, as the gates did not budge an inch. This greatly vexed Walter.
"This is odd…" Frederick spoke up. "The townsfolk of this particular town are known for their hospitality. How could they so cruelly turn their back on these poor refugees?"
"Doesn't matter what the reason is, we've got to protect those refugees." Walter slipped his gloves on and turned to the Shepherds, a strategy already having formed in his mind.
"Sumia and Cordelia will ferry as many of us across the river that separates us from the villagers as quickly as possible. The one I want across the river first is Lissa. Lissa will stick close to the refugees and heal them when necessary. Following Lissa: Donnel, and Frederick will be the next to be ferried across. Those two will protect the villagers. Miriel, Virion, and I shall take care of the aerial threat just west of here."
"What about me?" Chrom asked.
"Chrom, I want you and Vaike to go directly to the town. I want you both to see if we can convince them to let those refugees in." Walter replied simply.
With the quick meeting over with, the Shepherds quickly mobilized. Moving into place, Lissa quickly mounted onto Sumia Pegasus, with Donnel mounting Cordelia's Pegasus. The two Pegasus Knights, with their passengers, took off and flew across the river; the sudden appearance of the four being a pleasant surprise for the refugees.
Vaike and Chrom began to move west towards the town. As they moved west, Vaike was the first to encounter enemy units. Seeing a heavily armored Risen, the axe-wielder hefted a large hammer over his shoulder. Jumping high into the air, the blonde hollered as he smashed the Risen's skull in, it's armor shattering on impact.
"That's one point for the Ol' Teach!" Vaike smirked as he moved back to Chrom's side. "I'm gonna call it now: I'm gonna get more kills than you, Chrom!"
The prince rolled his eyes at his self-proclaimed rival's antics.
"Look, I'm not in the mood for your games, Vaike." he grumbled as he unsheathed his Falchion.
"Is that so?" Vaike sniggered. "Sounds to me like you're afraid of facing defeat!"
"Vaike, I'm serious, I'm not going to…"
"Loser!"
"Vaike!"
"Ol Teach has beaten the mighty Chrom!"
"Fine!" Chrom leapt at a group of Risen, eager to take his frustrations out on the undead. He easily cut down the first of the group, halving it horizontally. Another Risen, this one wielding an axe attempted to take the prince out, but Chrom sidestepped out of the way. Chrom retaliated with a powerful vertical slice, cutting it down the middle. Chrom clashed blades with the third of the group. This one put up a greater fight than the other two, exchanging several slashes with him, but the prince's blows were like swipes from a bear. It wasn't long before Chrom disarmed the Risen with one powerful slash, before killing it with a swift beheading.
"Three to one, Vaike." Chrom smirked. Vaike let out a hearty laugh as the duo made their way to the village.
Cordelia and Sumia flew side-by-side as they flew towards two heavily armored units. Cordelia pulled out a javelin and threw it straight into one of the Risen. The armor easily deflected the blow, giving it time to retaliate with a javelin of its own. Cordelia effortlessly flew past the obstacle, proceeding to equip her steel lance. Charging at full speed, the redhead plowed straight through the enemy. The Risen dissolved, signaling its destruction.
Sumia confronted an enemy unit of her own, lance in hand. The Pegasus knight gracefully flew through the sky before charging at the Risen knight. Dodging a strike meant to ground her, Sumia rammed the butt of her lance into the Risen, knocking it down. The usually klutzy Shepherd than elegantly leapt off her Pegasus and drove her weapon into its chest.
"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Cordelia asked, wide eyed in awe. She'd never seen a maneuver quite like the one her best friend had pulled, even amongst the most veteran of her knight sisters.
"I dunno, I just kinda moved on instinct." Sumia replied, not completely convinced she had actually pulled such a crazy stunt. "I guess those training sessions with captain Chrom have been paying off."
"You've been training with Chrom?" Cordelia's jaw dropped. "H-how did you come to train with milord!?"
"Well, it was actually Walter that suggested it." Sumia pulled her lance out of the disintegrating corpse of the Risen. "During the training for the tournament in Regna Ferox, Walter said that Chrom should find a partner to train with; someone that wasn't Vaike. He suggested that we work together because of how well we worked with one another; said that training together would help our coordination."
"That's amazing…" Cordelia looked slightly downcast. She felt a tad bit jealous of Sumia, but happy at the same time. It was no secret that Sumia was considered the weakest of the Pegasus Knights. It was the reason why the klutzy Shepherd was most associated with the Shepherds and not the knight sisters. Sumia felt that before she could confidently call herself a Pegasus Knight, she'd have to earn some first hand experience on the battlefield; it just so happened that Chrom had begun recruiting for the Shepherds, so she immediately enlisted.
"Incoming Risen." Sumia snapped Cordelia out of her thoughts. Seeing the threat, Cordelia gripped her lance and prepared for battle.
To the west, towards the mountains, Walter led Virion and Miriel into combat.
"Shoot down those Pegasus mounted Risen." Walter commanded. "I don't want a single unit getting past us, understand?"
"Such a task is elementary." Miriel straightened her glasses as she pulled out an arcwind tome.
"I can assure you that not a single one will get past, my friend." Virion quickly nocked an arrow and began to aim towards the horizon.
As if on cue, several Pegasus mounted Risen came charging directly at them. On the ground below them were knights, fighters and archers.
"Focus on the airborne Risen, I'll deal with the ground units." Walter narrowed his eyes as he engaged several fighters and archers.
Weaving through the volley of arrows, the butler unsheathed the Van Hellsing and charged into battle. He began to slash through the risen like a hot knife through butter. More archers took notice of the butler, and they began to fire arrows directly at him. Ylisse's Guardian Angel ceased his assault on the enemies and returned to dodging.
However, the barrage of arrows began to grow more and more rapid, making it nigh impossible to not get nicked. Switching tactics, Walter began to block arrows with his sword, whilst dodging. As he did, he started to reduce the number of archers surrounding him. One archer after another was defeated until all that was left was the Risen fighters.
Close-by, Virion and Miriel were side-by-side and rapidly eliminating Pegasus mounted Risen. Quickly firing arrows, Virion was the equivalent of the five archers. His aim was pinpoint accurate. If he fired an arrow, there was no doubt it would hit his target. He could fire an arrow once every second, only barely comprising his aim.
Miriel was definitely one of the most capable Shepherds. Her arcwind tome devastated the airborne Risen. Not a single charge of the tome was wasted.
Back with Chrom and Vaike, the duo successfully reached the town with ease. While Vaike covered Chrom's back, the prince knocked at the gates of the town. Surprisingly, unlike the refugees, Chrom was welcomed with open arms. Entering, the blue-haired royal was greeted by the elder.
"Shepherds are always welcome here." the elder bowed, whilst presenting a Blessed Bow. "Please, take this as thanks for defending our town." Chrom took the gift, though the look on his face was not that of a pleased man.
"There are refugees at your doorstep, and you refuse them?" Chrom crossed his arms. "Can I inquire as to why this is?"
"We are a peaceful town, sir." the elder backed away, knowing better than to stand close to an angry lord. "We've no weapons to defend ourselves, nor do we want any. We survive by barring our gates to those who might bring us harm- friend or foe. Harsh as it may be I can't have my people dying on account of other people's problems…" Chrom raised his hand and stopped him there.
"You say you have no weapons, yet you present this bow as a gift?" the prince glowered. "Bar your gates like cowards then."
Nodding, clearly perturbed by the barely concealed venom in Chrom's tone, the elder followed the prince's instructions as the bluenette left.
"How'd it go?" Vaike had his axe ready. "Find out why these guys aren't letting anyone in?"
"Yeah." the prince replied. Explaining the situation to Vaike, the blonde agreed with Chrom that the actions of the townsfolk was terrible. Seeing as how they finished their part of the operation, the duo decided to move south to help protect the refugees.
With the refugees, Frederick had finally met up with Lissa and Donnel.
"What's the status?" Frederick stopped his horse beside the former farmhand.
"A few of 'em people's been hurt." Donnel gestured towards the men who had taken up weapons to defend their families. "Her Gracefulship has been tending to their wounds. Darn Risen keep on comin', so we can't stop fer too long."
It was true, the Risen were pushing them further and further away from the town. No matter how many Risen Donnel- on the rare occasion Lissa- killed, they just kept on coming.
"Incoming!" As if on cue, an arrow came flying at them. Frederick and Donnel dove out of harm's way before turning toward the direction of the danger. Risen were rapidly approaching. Raising their weapons, Donnel and Frederick charged into the fray.
West of the refugees, Walter and Virion had paired together to stop a group of Risen from advancing. Gripping his sword tightly, Walter sprinted towards two foes. Flourishing his weapon, he simultaneously deflected two slashes aimed at his side. Countering, the butler twirled his sword and raised it above his head before halving his target. Using the momentum from the vertical slash, Walter front flipped out of the way of an axe swing aimed at his legs. Before the Risen fighter could follow-up with another attack, he was hit in the head with an arrow. Standing a good distance away was Virion, bow in hand.
"You owe me for saving your life, my friend." Virion smirked. Walter scoffed at the idea of needing the noble's help.
"I could've defeated that one easily on my own." the butler retorted as he returned to Virion's side. "Besides, I believe it is you that owes me."
"How so?" Virion gave the butler a bewildered stare. On cue, an arrow came flying at Virion. The arrow was deflected by Walter before it could hit its mark. Virion immediately shot an arrow into the bushes where the arrow originated, taking out the hidden archer.
"Make sure you watch yourself, my friend." Walter chuckled.
Elsewhere, Chrom and Vaike had managed to catch up with the refugee's but not without a bit of struggle. After cutting down a few Risen, Chrom managed to speak with one of the injured merchants.
"Are you alright?" Chrom helped the fallen man to his feet. He had taken an arrow to the knee, and he was having trouble keeping up with the rest of his convoy.
"Yes, thanks to you Shepherds." the villager replied. "Praise Naga, I thought I was doomed, seeing as how far from the rest of my village I am."
"Go to your people, friend." Chrom said sternly. "See my sister, she'll heal that wound up in no time."
Nodding, the villager ran off, thanking Chrom for everything.
"Hey, Chrom!" Vaike hollered. "I'd get ready, cuz it Iooks like the Risen boss man is on its way to greet us!"
The blue-haired prince looked in the direction that Vaike said the Risen was approaching to see a large Risen Chief, just as the blonde had said. It had a large silver lance in hand as it stomped through the snow covered forest. Chrom shivered, recalling his first encounter with a Risen Chief. He wasn't able to keep up without the aid of Marth, but he was stronger and faster this time. Gripping the Falchion with both hands, he stood before the Risen, who towered over him. It's mask like face and glowing red eyes sent a chill down the prince's spine, but he still held his ground.
Charging in, Chrom clashed with the the monster. It's movements were aggressive, and far more calculated than any normal Risen. Even with as much training Chrom had, he was still being pushed back by its aggression. Vaike charged in, moving to aid Chrom, but was easily batted away by the mighty Risen.
Clicking his teeth, Chrom moved to attack again. The slash was parried, and the Risen began to push the fight again. It twirled the lance like a staff and deflected all strikes with ease. The monster swung the lance violently, knocking Chrom back a bit. The prince regained his footing and began to fight back with just as much intensity. He slammed his sword downward, shoving the Risen groundward for a bit. He repeated the motion, with twice the power.
The Risen Chief pushed forward and unleashed several aggressive attacks of its own. It continued until it knocked Chrom to the ground with one forceful slash. Sparks flew as the metal grinded against metal. The prince of Ylisse quickly got to his feet and lunged at the beast again. These attacks were batted away effortlessly. The Risen shoved his lance forward, aiming directly for the prince's heart. Chrom barely managed to parry the strike. His parry was not wholly effective, as the lance's tip dug itself into his shoulder and he was pushed back into a tree. Yelling in pain, Chrom slashed the Risen's face. The beast recoiled, giving the prince time to recuperate.
Vaike had recovered from the major blow dealt him. He clutched his head in slight pain as he watched Chrom fight a losing battle. The prince lunged at the Risen chief once more, but he was easily deterred. One powerful swing of its lance, and the Risen Chief disarmed Chrom of his weapon.
Before the monster could deal a finishing blow, Vaike leapt to his feet and intercepted the attack aimed for the blue-haired prince's chest. Raising his axe, Vaike used all of his strength to deliver a single critical strike to the monster. Embedding his axe into the Chief's head, he halved the monster vertically before spinning and quartering the beast.
"That's what you get for messin' with Ol' Teach's eternal rival." Vaike spat as he watched the corpse of the Risen leader disintegrate. When he was sure the beast was dead, he ran over to his friend's side and gave him a shoulder to lean on.
"Come on, Chrom, 'tis only a flesh wound." Vaike steadied the prince. "How can you expect to call yourself captain of the Shepherds if you're beat by something like that? Maybe I should be the leader of the Shepherds now." The blonde attempted to lighten the mood, but it didn't give Chrom any sort of comfort.
The Shepherds regrouped with one another after the last of the Risen had been finished. Confronting the refugees, after a quick healing session with Lissa, Chrom was thanked for his kindness.
"There is no amount of repayment we can give you that will serve as proper gratitude, milord." The leader of the convoy thanked the captain of the Shepherds. "It is thanks to you that our convoy survived. All our women and children- our families- are okay thanks to you. As a token of our gratitude, we present you these gifts. They aren't much, but it is the least we can do to repay you for this kindness." Handing the prince several bags of goods, the refugees turned and left.
Walter could clearly see the discomfort in his eyes and chose to confront the prince now.
"Come, before we continue this arduous march, let's talk."
"I don't want to talk, Walter."
"Too bad, we're not leaving until we do." Walter sat the prince down. "I realize that leaving your sister behind is weighing you heavily. Please, don't bottle it up, you'll only end up feeling worse."
Chrom looked to the side, clearly trying his best not to engage in conversation with him. When it became obvious that Walter wouldn't let him go without talking, the prince gave in.
"I don't know what's wrong with me…" Chrom sighed. "I just feel so helpless right now, and I don't know what to do. First I have to let my sister return to Ylisstol without me, and now I can't even beat one stupid Risen!"
"Hey, we all have our low points, Chrom. Besides, that was a Risen Chief you and Vaike faced. Remember, those kinds of Risen aren't to be trifled with. Quite frankly I'm surprised you made it out with only a couple of bones." Walter sat beside the prince. "Look, you can choose to mope and lament your perceived helplessness, or you can try to do something about it."
"What can I do?" Chrom through his hands in the air in frustration. "The whole point of this march was to get Emm to safety, but all it did was waste time because she's on her way back to Ylisstol as we speak! All that training we did in preparation for the tournament in Regna Ferox was meant to make us stronger, yet I'm still as useless against the Risen as ever before!"
"Chrom, if there's anything I want you to realize it's that what your feeling right now is only natural." Walter placed a hand on the prince's shoulder. "I told you this before the battle at the border pass; what makes one strong is not the ability to be flawless, but the ability to pick oneself up after falling. Stop lamenting your failures and pick yourself up." There was a distant look on Walter's face as he finished. "I've made my share of mistakes, and I'm still feeling the consequences. I'll have to live with the weight of my own guilt until I die, but heaven knows I won't let it stop me from moving forward. That's what I ask you to do; move forward."
Walter's words sunk in, and Chrom immediately realized that he was being childish.
"Thank you, Walter. Naga knows what I'd do without you." Walter let out a small chuckle as they stood up.
"Well, if you continue to follow my advice, I think you'd do just fine without me." Walter gave Chrom a fatherly smile. "Anyway, let's move out. If we're quick, we'll be able to reach the Eastern Capital within the next two days."
Regna Ferox ~ Eastern Capital
September 3, Age 2609 (2:30 P.M)
Upon reaching the capital, they were accepted with open arms. After a nice warm meal that staved off the frigid climate, the request for Feroxi reinforcements was brought to Khan Flavia's attention. Regna Ferox would mobilize troops to back Ylisse in the impending war. Despite this, the two remaining members of the Halidom were wrought with worry.
"She's gonna be safe inside the castle." Lissa comforted Chrom, whilst simultaneously trying to assure herself of Emmeryn's safety. "She's got Phila and the remaining Pegasus Knights backing her, and Khan Flavia is prepping her best troops. We'll be back home in no time!"
Chrom seemed to be trapped in his own thoughts, not paying Lissa any mind. This greatly aggravated his younger sister. The one-sided exchange caught the attention of Sumia, who was conversing with Walter. Walter, noticing her attention shift towards Chrom, smiled.
"Why don't you go snap Chrom out of his stupor?" the butler suggested. "I think he needs someone to break him out of his dreamland."
Sumia stared at Walter in bewilderment, until an idea came to her mind. The Pegasus Knight swallowed as she gathered all of her courage. The normally meek Shepherd confidently walked up to Chrom.
"Snap out of it, Captain!"
Much to Walter's great shock, and amusement, Sumia punched Chrom in the face. He had to resist the urge to burst into laughter as he watched the usually stoic prince fall flat on his back.
"What the hell!?" Chrom rubbed his cheek in pain. "Why the hell did you do that for!?"
A look of horror formed on Sumia's face as she realized what she had just done.
"Oh no! Did I do it wrong?" she panicked. "Captain Phila said that sometimes a good slap will break someone out of their doldrums."
Walter moved to stand beside the Pegasus Knight, chuckling as he did.
"Yes, a good slap will do that, but what you did was not slap Chrom." the butler helped the prince to his feet. "It was more of a punch than anything else."
"Oh…" Sumia's face was beet red as she shrunk behind Walter. "It's the thought that counts?"
As Chrom rubbed his cheek in pain, Khan Flavia came into the room. There was a look of great amusement written across her face as she slapped the prince on the back.
"What's wrong, my dear prince?" Flavia sniggered. "Y'know, sometimes love hurts! You should consider yourself a blessed man to have a strong woman by your side! Dainty flowers would get in the way of warriors like yourself." Composing herself, Flavia stood up straight. "In any case, I bring good news. The Feroxi army has finally mobilized. Every last man in our ranks is itching to fight. In fact, I myself can hardly wait to join the battlefield."
"Wait? You're coming along?" Chrom stared at Flavia. "I'd have thought you'd leave the fighting to your men, seeing as you are a Khan."
"And miss out on all the fun? Chrom, you are quite naive in the ways of Ferox." The East-Khan smirked. "We are proud warriors, us Feroxis. It is expected for every able bodied warrior to fight, from the lowest of infantry to the highest commander; it is the way of the Ferox. We look down upon those who would not take up arms in battle."
"Does that mean you think Emm is weak for not attacking Plegia?" Chrom's eyes narrowed at the supposed insult to his sister.
"Not at all!" Flavia laughed. "If there is any strength that is to be applauded, it is the strength not to abandon one's principles! Exalt Emmeryn may be a pacifist, which goes against Feroxi views, it is commendable that she remains so steadfast in her views. That is true strength, my dear prince- not giving up on what you believe in. Only the weak would do that."
As Flavia rambled on, Walter began to feel guilt for his past actions. He couldn't help it, it was burned into his memories. It was a self-inflicted scar on his psyche. The result of the foolish decisions he made haunted him, even over a month since it had occurred. He hated himself for betraying Hellsing, for betraying England, and for betraying his friends.
Of course, that was why he was doing what he was. His service in the Shepherds was his chance to start again, this time not making the wrong decision.
"Chrom!"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Walter looked up to see Basilio running into the room. The stoic Khan looked troubled.
"Is something wrong?" Chrom's eyes were wide open.
"Our scouts have reported back." Basilio sighed. "I hate to tell you this, but Ylisstol has…" he breathed deeply. "Ylisstol has fallen…"
All eyes were widened in shock at the news. The surprise and worry was evident in both Chrom and Lissa
"I'm afraid that isn't even the worst of the news." Basilio crossed his arms. "Exalt Emmeryn was captured during the attack. Gangrel has declared that the Exalt is to be publicly executed."
The news came as great shock to those present. Chrom was absolutely speechless and Lissa began to sway. Walter was quick enough to catch the blonde as she fell, fainting from the shock.
"This is bad, very very bad." Walter carefully picked Lissa up and placed her into the safe arms of Frederick, who left to tend to the princess. "It's obvious Gangrel wishes for us to march into Plegia. He wants us to act, he wants us to charge in without a second thought."
"Then we'll give him what he wants!" Chrom slammed his fist into a wall. "Trap or no trap, we march to Plegia!"
"Chrom, that's suicide." Walter reasoned. "If we charge in now, Emmeryn won't be the only one to die. It'll be the whole Royal Family that's defeated."
"Are you suggesting we sit around and wait for my sister to be executed!?" Chrom lashed out. "I don't care if I have to march into Plegia all by myself, I am not leaving my sister there to die!"
"That's enough!" Walter silenced the prince, raising his voice towards the prince. Flavia and Basilio, who were silent for the heated exchange, were shocked by the butler's outburst. They never thought the polite, even-tempered, butler would ever raise his voice to a superior.
"I'm not suggesting that we leave Emmeryn to die, Chrom. I'm suggesting that we think things through first." Walter regained his composure. "We know it's a trap, a fairly obvious one for that matter. So we spring the trap and turn it against them somehow. If we play our cards right, we can end this war before it even starts. We can march into the capital, save Emmeryn, and capture Gangrel all in one fell swoop. Just give me time to come up with a plan."
Chrom took a deep breath as he nodded.
"Very well, I leave everything to you, Walter. If there's anyone that can do this, it's you."
Walter bowed to the Chrom and left the room, hopefully to clear his mind for a bit. As he left, Flavia turned to Chrom to voice her concerns.
"Are you sure that man can handle it?" Flavia asked. "If he fails, we all die. Are you sure it's a good idea to leave it all to him?"
"Yes, my trust is in Walter."
Author's Notes
Yeah, I took a break...
Despite having chapter's in reserve, I've been hibernation. Why? Well, because I needed the break. Anyway, I have a computer to type on now, so no more annoying touchscreen!
Hope you didn't mind the short break, despite the fact I said I'd get the chapter's out in quicker succession. Realize that every time I say I'll get something out quickly, I take an eternity to get it out? That means that if I say it'll take a year for me to get something out, I'll get it out super quickly!
Genius!
Anyway, I'm gonna be honest, I don't like this chapter that much. I kind of weaseled this paralogue in for the sake of making everything flow more coherently. Unfortunately, this is probably one of my weaker chapters. I dunno, there's just something I don't like about it. Anyway, I'd move onto behind the keyboard stuff, but I got nothin.
Onto recent reviews!
Reviews
Touhoufanatic
Yeah, now get into darker part of the story. With what I plan on doing, things are going to get really grim. So grim that the rating may really need to be upped to M.
VGBlackwing
Spoilers dude, spoilers... (Totally right, people should go play the game)
Anyway, you might be right...
...but you might be wrong.
Neema Amiry
Never! I shall pair Walter with everyone! This story will become a harem animoo story! There will be copious amounts of make-out scenes that will make everyone blush hard! It will become a badly written smut fic where everyone loves Walter, especially Chrom!
*cough
In all seriousness, we'll see what happens. If I do have him romance someone, I'm going to make sure it not only works but also develops his character. It's not going to be something like "Walter likes someone so that has to be the main focus now!" No, that would cause the story to come to a screeching halt. I'm incredibly focused on making Walter seem as Walter like as possible. (Of course some people think Walter is a bit more crazy than I do but it's all up to opinion at that point.)
MelonLordOfMelons
Hurrah! So long as I know at least person is, I can continue writing them! (Unless of course it's a chapter like this where there was nothing of note happening behind the keyboard.
pt1oef
Wow, you reviewed every single chapter up to chapter 11. At least I know the quality was consistent from chapter 1 to 11. Hmm... perhaps I got worse after 11? Nah, I'm just joking around. Thanks for the multiple reviews! Despite them being comments, they really brighten my day.
Any
When I read your review, my entire week was brightened. Hey, the fact that you went out of your way to write a review, despite not being a native English speaker is incredible. Seriously, I have serious respect for people who are able to do that.
It's kind of funny that you say you wouldn't be able to play Fire Emblem Awakening because it's missing Walter. A bit of trivia, the only reason this fic exists is because I named the main character "Walter" on my first play through. I was in the middle of my Hellsing craze, and Walter was and always will be my favorite character. Flash forward a week after my first play through. I thought, "huh maybe I should write a story about the actual Walter being in the game." So I started writing this story and here we are now.
Anyway, you're right about Walter not getting many fulfilling fanfics. Many of the decent stories Walter is in remain unfinished, and a good portion of them are badly written. I'm glad I'm writing what you consider to be a good Walter fic. I hope you continue reading this fic, even when there are chapter's like this one; chapter's I feel just miserable writing.
Thank you again! Seriously, special shout out to you!
Anyway, I really want to keep the rating at T so that more people have access to it. M is something I wish to thoroughly avoid, but the story is going to get more and more graphic in the future. I dunno, I want to keep it at T, but dumbing down the intensity of the fights will be silly. To give an example...
Walter swiped his hand, his wires flying out of his gloves once more. He commanded them to wrap around the brigand before him. He stared at the man with merciless eyes as the criminal was killed slowly but painfully.
versus.
Walter swiped his hand, his wires flying out of his gloves once more. He commanded them to wrap around the brigand before him. He stared at the man with merciless eyes as his wires slowly tore his limbs off. Walter clicked his teeth. watching the trash before him writhe in absolute agony as the last of his blood poured out. With one final swipe of his hand, he ended the villain's misery.
I don't know about you, but I like the second one better. In fact I liked reading it and writing it more than the first. By the by, that's not a preview, that's just something I wrote on the fly for the sake of getting my point across. It's more Hellsing like, and a Hellsing crossover fanfic needs to be Hellsing like.
Anyway...
...anyone notice I use "anyway" a lot in these? Seriously, you'd think I'd find a better way of starting a sentence... gimme a sec...
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...
...
So next chapter is going to be interesting. Last chapter, I listed the next chapter as "Bonds" but I just realized that it doesn't work well as an individual chapter. I may combine it with another chapter to make it work better. Of course, the key word in that sentence is "may" so I might not do it.
So...
(Maybe) Next time on Walter Dornez of the Emblem!
Bonds (or possibly a different chapter altogether...)
