Chris: You might ask why I'm updating this. Well, it's just because I feel like it. Tis fun writing an AU fic. Ahem, reader reviews and then we'll continue.
Miharu-san: Yeah, Lowen needs eyes. He does! And hah, you reviewed without me bugging you! Yes!
Xelion: Well, since this is an AU fic, circumstances will be different. Which explains why certain things are how they are. In this world, Ninian had been serving Eliwood's army for a loooong time, and as for Lyn and Guy, Karel, and Karla, they were living around the same area and met. You know, being nomads and all. AU stories give you a lot of leeway with stuff…Like seeing Nergal's wife...Having pirates terrorize everyone…Making Erk the leader of a resistance force in Bern, etc. Stuff like that. Just ask if you're still confused about some stuff.
Chapter 1: Fading Hope, Fading Dreams
"Come on, my friends! We must triumph!" Guy rallied his soldiers as they crashed into the enemy's side. His sword flickered around the rotting bodies, slicing off heads and arms. He couldn't help wrinkling his nose as the stench of the undead surrounded his face. He heard the sounds of his soldiers fighting the enemy, and felt a pang in his heart whenever he heard a fellow comrade get injured. A large zombie, holding a longsword, clumsily slashed down at Guy's head. The boy dodged, his braid smacking into his face. He pushed it out of the way and launched an attack. He focused his energy and spun around the zombie, striking it in the legs, the body, the arms, and finally ending with the head, severing it.
"Hunh…hunh…" Guy bent down, panting. He heard a person scream behind him, and spotted one of the nomads struggling with one of the undead that had managed to survive the charge. The myrmidon leaped up, racing to reach the nomad in time, but he arrived too late. The nomad was pulled off of her horse and before she could escape, the zombie had snapped its jaws around her neck, effectively ending her life. The zombie turned to face Guy, blood dripping down its mouth.
"Die, you monsters!" Guy flew into a rage, avenging the death of one of his friends. He stabbed his enemy in the chest, feeling it sink through the flesh. However, the zombie was still alive, and clenched Guy's sword with both if its hands. He tried to free his weapon by tugging on it, but the zombie was just too strong. More of the zombies were moving towards Guy, and the myrmidon kept struggling with his blade.
"Grrr…." Guy swung with all of his might and spun in a circle, cutting the zombies around him in half as his sword traveled through the bodies. Guy dropped his sword, which was coated in a thick layer of purple blood and looked around. Apparently, the undead had been defeated, and only Lady Lyn's forces were left. Guy breathed a sigh of relief and slowly trudged towards the command tents, afraid of hearing how high the casualty count would be.
-
A black cloaked man stood a cliff in Sacae, close to where the battlefield was. A turban was covering the top of his head, and he blinked his eyes. Next to him were two others. One was a young man with golden eyes and a black cloak, the same color as his hair. The other one was a young woman, with pale blue hair and light-red eyes. Her skin was slightly pale, and she was wearing a skirt and blouse.
"Ephidel, what do you think of today's observations?" The man with the turban spoke to the young man, but he didn't turn to face him. Ephidel smiled, his golden eyes shining happily. He brought out a small sheaf of papers, searching for the one that contained his notes.
"Let me see, Nergal. Apparently, the nomads of Sacae are too strong for the undead forces we have now. We believe it is mainly because of the tactical genius of Queen Lyn, the maniacal killing of Commander Karel, and the courage of Lieutenant Guy, a new officer in their ranks. Commander Karla is also a variable in their forces, as sometimes she strikes much harder that she normally would if she were fighting a living enemy."
"And? What do you think we should do?"
"Well, since our campaign in Ilia is going well, with already half of the land conquered, I think we should focus on there more, instead of the plains. And then, when we gain the extra support of the mercenaries and pegasus knights residing in that cold land, we should be able to defeat the Sacaens."
"So, you think we should leave them alone for a while?" Nergal grimaced. He hated letting people regain their courage and peacefulness.
"Of course not, father!" Ephidel looked shocked. "Since Valor Isle is all but conquered, I believe we should be able to pull some forces to attack Sacae. Plus, if we can somehow 'convert' some of the Sacaen soldiers, we should have a good chance of succeeding." Ephidel filed his papers again, looking at Nergal.
"Very well, my son. I trust in your tactical judgment. Ninis? Do you have your spells ready?" This time, Nergal turned to the young woman, who barely nodded.
"Of course, dear…Should I cast some now?"
"No…Save those spells for the Commanders of the Pegasus knights in Ilia. I will love seeing the reactions as Ilia's beloved commanders turn against their nation. Afterwards, you will need to study them again, as I plan on making Sacae fall under my heel as well."
"As you wish, Nergal. With this, we shall hold sway over this world." Ninis looked to her son, who nodded, and then back to her husband, who grinned.
"Of course. It's always easy to fight a living enemy. It's harder when that enemy is a dead friend! Come! It is time to see how our forces fare in Ilia!" Nergal chanted some words, gesturing with his hands. In a blink of an eye, Nergal, Ephidel, and Ninis disappeared, transported to the snowing lands of Ilia.
-
"Let's go, Florina! They're coming!" A girl with long, red-pink hair looked back at her wing commander. She gripped her pegasus's reins and worried patted her mount. Behind them were legions of demons, undead, vampires….Things that came from nightmares and dreams, not in real life. While it was true that they could just flee in the sky for a while, the demons were carrying bows, and some of the knights had already been shot down. What was even scarier was that the dead had come back to life, and they were filling in the ranks of the horde.
"J-Just run! Don't worry about me! I…I can handle this!" Florina, the wing commander faced her second-in-command, her orchid hair flying around her in the breeze. Her hand trembled as she gripped her lance, a halberd whose axe head was already breaking apart.
"But Commander!" The girl flew back to her commander's side, pulling out a lance of her own. But Florina steered her pegasus in front of the girl's path, blocking her way.
"I…If you don't leave, I'm going to make you leave!" Florina pointed her halberd at her friend. Her face and voice became pleading. "Please, Kiyuki. I'm begging you."
"…F-Fine! But I'm never going to forgive you for this!" Kiyuki turned her steed around, and sped away from her commander, tears getting blown into the wind. Now that she was certain that everyone would escape, Florina readied herself for her last fight.
"I-…I'm sorry, my sisters." Florina gripped her lance tighter as she flew into the pack of monsters. She swung the axe head at the nearest demon and pierced its body, making it explode into millions of fiery pieces. Some of the pieces landed on some of Florina's enemies, making them explode into flame. However, most of them landed on Florina's armor and pegasus. Florina quickly patted out any fires that were starting on her clothes, and used her lance like a bat to knock a zombie into a bunch of its fellows.
She turned to face the next challenge, but she was mobbed by the rest of the monsters and knocked off her mount. Her lance flew out of her hand and landed near her. A club hit her on the side of the head, and she lost consciousness, sinking into a black oblivion.
-
Kiyuki dismounted her pegasus when she arrived at the HQ where the other pegasus knights and mercenaries were gathered. She jumped off, ignoring the cries of welcome and relief. She ran immediately to the command tent, interrupting a conversation between the leaders. Nils, leader of the mamkutes that lived in Ilia, looked up from a map and greeted her with a small smile. Farina and Fiora, who were marking various areas of the map, put down their pens and rushed up to greet her.
"Kiyuki! Where's Florina?" Farina grabbed the pink-haired knight first, a big smile on her face. Kiyuki looked down at the floor, not willing to let herself speak. Farina, noticing this, shook her a little. "Come on. She's always with you. So, where is she?"
"…" Kiyuki continued to stare at the floor, occasionally kicking at the dirt. "I…came alone, Commander Farina."
"…So…Florina is dead." Fiora bowed her head. Farina turned to her sister, and then back at Kiyuki.
"That's impossible! She…can't be dead, can she?"
"She stayed behind so that we could escape…" Kiyuki ventured a glance at Farina, and found out that the blue-haired pegasus knight was clenching her fists so hard that she was making small cuts in them. Farina whirled on Kiyuki, venting out her anger.
"Why didn't you stop her! She was your commander, wasn't she! You could have knocked her out and returned with her! Why didn't you do that!" Farina was about to hit Kiyuki, but Fiora grabbed her arm before the blow could land. "What do you want, Fiora!"
"I know you're angry, Farina…After all, she was my sister too. But it wasn't Kiyuki's fault, and denying the truth won't make Florina come back." Fiora placed a comforting hand on Farina's shoulder, and felt her relax.
"Yeah, I know…" Farina walked over to where spears were stacked along the wall, in case of an emergency fight. She grabbed one, running her fingers over the wooden shaft. "Florina always loved playing with these…" Screaming a curse, Farina flung the lance into the ground and kicked it, snapping the shaft in half. She stomped outside past the shocked stares of the people inside.
"She'll get over it…I hope. I wouldn't be able to handle losing another sister." Fiora placed her palms on the table that held the map. "Kiyuki?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think you can handle leading a wing?"
"Of course, sir!" Kiyuki nodded enthusiastically.
Fiora smiled. "No 'sir's around here. It annoys us, especially Farina. Since you've known them best, you'll be taking over the remains of the 10th wing, okay? ….Try to brighten their spirits up."
"At once." Kiyuki saluted and walked out of the tent, heading to where her soldiers were clustered.
Inside the tent, Nils clasped his hands behind his back. "I am sorry for your loss. This war…It is becoming too much for people."
"I thank you for your words of kindness…" Fiora shuddered as tears began falling. She wiped her eyes quickly. "I-If you please excuse me." She dashed outside, still wiping her eyes.
"Yes…This is becoming too much." Nils muttered to himself as he marked another part of Ilia that had been overrun. "Too much."
-
"Are you sure this is safe?" Sain, a member of an infiltration force that was entrenching itself in Bern, looked at the squad leader. Matthew, peeking outside of the abandoned house that they were hiding in, nodded.
"Don't worry, Sain. We just have to get inside, steal the Fire Emblem, and hand it over to Etruria so they can use its magical powers. And hopefully, grab some loot for ourselves." Matthew nodded, looking at the members of his group, which was painfully small. He, of course, was the leader. Erk, a young mage from Etruria, was tasked with group defense, using his powers to hold enemies at bay while they escaped. Sain, a cavalier with questionable chivalry, and his partner Kent, were the strongest members of the group, although Matthew drilled them constantly because they weren't that quiet. Wil, a young archer, had knowledge of forest and mountain paths that crisscrossed the nation of Bern. And finally, a shy, soft-speaking girl named Priscilla handled the healing and cooking duties.
"Well, as long as we all survive and get back home safely, any outcome is fine with me." Wil leaned against one of the walls, resting after the long trek that had gotten them to the outskirts of Calran, one of the cities in Bern.
"Um…Matthew?' Priscilla raised a hand.
Matthew turned to Priscilla. "Yeah, what is it?"
"Do you really think this mission will go well?"
Matthew looked at the ground, then looked back at the red-haired healer. "We're the best infiltration group Lycia has got, even though Sain and Kent still need to learn how to muffle armor."
"Hey, hey. That shot was uncalled for." Sain grinned, not at all fazed.
"Right, right." Matthew waved him off. "Anyway, we're the best, and while I cannot guarantee your safety, I am confident that we'll be back home with our friends and families." Matthew smiled as he remembered Leila, the spy that he had married a year ago.
Priscilla smiled. "Thank you for raising my spirits, Matthew."
"That's what I'm supposed to do, right?" Matthew shook his head, grinning ruefully. 'I can only hope that I am right, and that this mission will go smoothly.'
-
"Urgh…W-Where am I?"
"You're awake. Good."
"Who-who are you! What am I doing here?"
"Don't struggle and it won't hurt as much. Trust me."
"A-Answer me!"
"Cast the spell, my dear. I'm sure our…captive, will enjoy working for us."
"Of course. Don't worry, young girl. You won't feel a thing."
"Wha?"
"Just close your eyes. We are your friends, and we just want to help."
Chris: If you're wondering about the ending, I purposely made it so it wouldn't reveal the names of the people there. Of course, if you were paying attention, you could probably determine who those people are. So, review please, and I hope you like it so far!
PS: I know the halberd is classified as an axe in Fire Emblem, it technically is a lance with an axe-head on top. It's slightly shorter than a true lance, but its length definitely takes it out of the axe category. And I wish QuickEdit would keep indents...Stories just look better with them.
