BF: Yo. This is my first fic, so have mercy when/if reviewing. Keep in mind that I like good reviews, but constructive critiscm is allowed and welcomed. Flames are no fun. They will be used to create a solar-powered flaming sword for Karel.

Karel: ( smiles )

BF: I didn't know you could smile…

Karel: ( smiles wider )

BF: Okay, let's get started. Karel, say the disclaimer.

Karel: …Blazing Fool doesn't own Fire Emblem, despite his repeated attempts to steal the rights to it.

The dusty path was starting to irritate Guy. He'd been walking along this path for hours, and there was nothing of any intrest around. Nothing to see but grass. Nothing to do but look for Karel.

Karel. The thought of the Sword Demon had been plauging Guy every night for the past year. Ever since he had made that foolhardy promise to defeat him, Guy had been fleeing from Death itself. Everywhere he went, people ran from him, afraid to bring the wrath of the Sword Demon on their own heads. Guy had developed an impending sense of doom everytime he thought of Karel. The thought of the Wo Dao plunging into his stomach, spilling his blood…

Guy shook his head fiercly. It was best not to dwell on thoughts of death. Might as well enjoy life while I'm in it. It's what she would have wanted.

"She" was referring to a young valkyrie Guy had met during his travels with Eliwood's Elite, by the name of Priscilla. Guy had crush the size of Sacae itself on her, and he fervently hoped she returned the feeling. Her brother was kinda scary, but Guy was willing to look past that. He could still remember the time she healed the small cut on his cheek. It barely even hurt, but she had gone out of her way to take care of it. No doubt about it, Guy was smitten.

But, alas, it was not meant to be. Guy had discovered early on that she was a member of "high society". Guy was no fool. He realized that he was just a poor swordsman, without a penny to his name. The last thing he wanted was to drag her down to his level of poverty.

And so, when the battle was over, Guy had taken a horse and ridden far away. There were no goodbyes. He couldn't do that to her.

Still, he wished he could have seen her one last time…

Guy sighed in frustration. This was going nowhere. He'd paid a few villagers to tell him where Karel was, and now it looked like they had made some easy cash. Guy was beginning to wonder how exactly he could extract revenge on the fools without pulling a "Karel" or "Jaffar." Just then, for a moment Guy paused. It felt like someone was watching him… Uneasily, Guy remembered Matthew's story about the famous knight who stabbed his opponents in the back. He began to feel an unpleasant churning sensation in his stomach.

Fear.

In the blink of an eye, Guy unsheathed the Killing Edge, whipped around, and brought up his beloved katana to meet the cold, hard stell of the Wo Dao and the even colder glare of the Sword Demon's mad eyes.

They said nothing. There was nothing to be said. Guy could see that Karel's madness had not dissipated over the last year, and the Wo Dao had acquired a few new stains. But Guy had grown stronger as well, and it was time to show his crazed ex-master just how far he had progressed.

The two swordsman began to circle each other slowly. Karel bored his red eyes straight into Guy's, testing for weakness. He could not afford to show any.

Guy had never heard such silence before. The wind itself seemed hushed. Without a sound, the two swordsmen disappeared, then reappeared , backs facing each other. Guy winced as he felt a few gashes appear on his side. Karel seemed unharmed. To Guy's surprise, Karel vanished again. Guy closed his eyes and listened. Left, right, left, right… there!

Guy parried Karel's attack with a sweep of the Killing Edge. Karel was now thoroughly annoyed. He had expected this to be a easy kill. But the boy had a stubborn cling to life. Karel hacked away at Guy. Guy could feel the tremors rushing through his blade. He miserably remembered that his Killing Edge hadn't seen a Hammerne staff in a while. Now he was beginning to see cracks form on the blade's edge. They spread out further and further until…

A hideous shattering noise wrenched the air as the Killing Edge shattered into a thousand pieces of metal, falling to the ground like so many droplets of snow. Guy was now completely defenseless, with Karel himself standing in front of him, eager to kill.

Karel grew cocky. The fight is over, he thought. Might as well heal myself and finish the runt at the same time. Karel threw his sword to the ground, much to Guy's confusion. But his look of puzzlement soon changed to one of horror as he saw Karel pull out a second sword, one he had seen before. The Rune Sword.

Karel launched a blast of Nosferatu at Guy. He was still unprepared because of the loss of his precious sword, and the dark magic hit him dead on. Guy screamed as he felt his life force flow out of him. Karel smiled grimly as it flowed into him.

But just as he thought, the boy still clung to life. He got to his knees weakly. It's over. But to Karel's surprise, Guy leaped to his feet and made a mad dash straight for him. Karel raised his blade to deliver the finishing blow, Guy dropped to the ground instantly. The blast sailed straight past him. Guy leapt to his feet. And now it was Karel's turn to look horrified as he saw Guy speed right for him, the wrath of heaven in his eyes, and the very blade Karel had abandoned in his hand.

Guy thrust himself into Karel, the very force of his being, his hopes and aspirations, into his mentor. Karel felt the cold steel enter his chest, but… not piercing his heart.

"Fool…" said a voice that was not his as he sank to the ground. As he fell to the sleep that was to claim him, Karel felt a great weight lifted off of him.

I am… alive…

" That's why you don't break my sword." muttered Guy as he slowly sank to the ground. He felt raindrops falling on his broken body, and wondered if Karel was dead. For as he weakly lifted his head, he could see Karel had gone. Guy realized he was still clutching the Wo Dao in his hand. The Sword Demon… no, Karel… had left his sword behind.

Guy felt the darkness growing around his vision, and the last thing he saw before he succumbed to it was a red haired angel descending upon him…

I realize this probably leaves a lot of questions unanswered. What happened to Karel? Is Guy dead, and seeing hallucinations? Or did Priscilla rescue him from the brink of death? I'm gonna leave it up to you. And by the way, I DO think Guy is capable of defeating Karel. Crazy, I know, but Guy can be a really awesome character if you put some effort into his development. Whereas Karel is inheretly powerful. I just hope I don't get killed by the Guy or Karel fangirls who believe I killed off their favorite characters. I won't beg you to review, but it would be nice.

Blazing Fool