Quick A/N: Story is AU. A few minor things like age difference and species change for some characters, so if you can't live with a few changes, tough. And if you can't tell by the angst category, this isn't exactly a happy-go-lucky fairy tale.

Hope

Chapter 1: The Fate of Weyard

There were only a million of us humans left alive. Most were children or the elderly; those too weak to pick up a sword and fight. I was one of the few left alive in the prime of my life. But please, allow me to start at the beginning of my story.

About three years ago, when I was thirteen, "special" people in Weyard were discovered. These special people, called Adepts, were very different than the average human. The Adepts had the power to bend an element to their will; those elements being: earth, water, wind, and fire. The Adepts had been hiding themselves from the rest of the world, deciding that they did not want to be considered pagans or demons. But alas be the fact that one day someone did discover the Adepts and their secret life. I do not know who made the initial discovery; most likely he has died in the war. We Adepts… we ruined everything.

Almost immediately after Adepts were found in Weyard, the entire universe suddenly had its eye on us. Neighboring planets to our world once considered humans too weak to become a serious threat or slave. But with the new rise of Adepts, the other planets began to fear Weyard. Others wanted to capture Adepts and force them into doing labor.

Let me assure you, we tried to ease our neighbors' fear. This did some good, but still three planets wanted to enslave Weyard. No matter how strong our Adepts were, our planet was no match against these terrible demons. We were outnumbered and overpowered. When we had lost all hope, the Universe Council proposed a solution.

All planets that had a disagreement or quarrel with another planet would choose a champion among their own kind. The champion of his own planet would wage an all or nothing battle. If the champion won, the opposing planet would be forced to meet the other's demands. If the champion lost, then his life and planet would be forfeit to the other's will. For you see, such disputes were not uncommon in the universe.

Of course Weyard agreed to this proposition. What choice did we have? As things stood, we were sure to be annihilated. At least in this way we had some hope. We chose our best warrior and made him our champion. He was to fight against three other warriors, each one fearsome foes and none of which were human. Our champion won against the Xerian Ogre's and Krag's champions. All that remained was the Slate champion.

If Slates are not demons, I don't know what are. They are terrible creatures that can transform into two forms. Their original form resembles a dragon, with some exceptions. Slates have the same claws, wings, head, and body like a dragon, but their scales can be either blue, red, or purple. Unlike dragons, Slates usually breathe white fire. My parents died in a battle against Slates. My brother was more fortunate with his encounter, and managed to be the victor against a Slate.

When Slates are not fighting, they take on a form that resembles humans. The only physical appearance that remains the same are their piercing eyes. If someone was to look directly into a humanized Slate's eyes, he or she should immediately be able to tell the difference. Unless one had never seen a Slate before, one might discard the strange eyes as merely genetic. This human form is generally used for their basic life skills, although I'm sure there were many spies in Weyard…

So it came to pass that Weyard's champion would fight against the Slate's champion. For the people of Weyard, our champion was the only hope left alive. But the champion was more than just that for me. Weyard's champion was my brother, Felix.

"You haven't been sleeping again, have you?" My brother Felix chastened me. "Even I need to sleep sometimes…" He reached out his hand to touch my face, while sitting on the edge of my bed. Though, my 'bed' was nothing more than a mattress with a sheet.

The room we were in was probably worse. It was littered with mattresses and sheets like mine, each one dirty and hardly giving any comfort. Each mattress was only meant to fit one person, and yet somehow there were always two people on one bed, if not three people. The room was wide but dark. I couldn't see the corners in the room; I don't think I even wanted to. I hated to admit it, but I feared rats…

But as long as my eyes were focused on my brother, none of this mattered. He was the one who helped me through times like these. Despite all the stress he was under, he always appeared calm. He always found it in his heart to be my big brother and protect me, while managing to sustain himself. Other times his concern seemed trivial. Why should he have been worrying about my sleep, when in an hour he would fight against the champion of Slates?

"I slept some," I lied, hoping he would buy it. I did not need to add another worry into his mind…

My brother's brown eyes stared into mine, as if to trying to find the truth. After some time he shook his head slowly, his brown hair waving slightly. "Jenna, with your fever… you need to rest. Stay here and sleep. You don't have to-"

"Don't say it," I interrupted, and shook my head violently. Immediately I regretted the action as I suddenly felt even more dizzy and light-headed. "I wouldn't miss seeing you fight. I have to be there…"

"I'll win… Jenna, I've come this far. I promise I won't loose… so, you don't have to worry," Felix vowed. His eyes never left mine and I was captivated by his gaze. He was so calm, but I had been so worried I didn't sleep. "I'm sorry, but I have to get ready now. You've still got a little time left, so why don't you nap?"

Before I had time to protest Felix was already off our bed, heading towards the equipment room. I watched his azure cloak flow behind him, his step confident and straightforward. Around him, people who had lost hope watched Felix's determination. It seemed to rub off on them, and after Felix was gone, they began to buzz with conversation.

Two down, one to go. The Xerian Ogres and Krags had already left our planets. Only the Slates remained.

I ignored Felix's suggestion of sleep and instead tried to get off my bed. I forced myself forward, propelling my body until I stood on my feet. Immediately my fever fought back, and I could feel the haze try to suck me down. I almost lost my balance, but my pride kept me from falling. A cold draft suddenly swept the dingy room, and I crossed my arms and shivered. I blinked for a few seconds stupidly, until the idea came to me to take the sheet with me. My hand reached for the sheet and it was pulled out from the mattress. I wrapped it around my body and began to take halting steps forward.

I half walked, half staggered to where I had seen Felix disappear. There was no way he could just expect me to leave him by himself. Not when such a tremendous battle was about to occur. I had to be there and support him. My fever wasn't that bad.

As I made my way towards the end of the room, I passed many people. Some of them were Adepts, some of them were not. Each one huddled in their own sheets, trying to gain warmth and comfort in the mattress. I passed by one old woman. She was sitting on her mattress, and a very young boy (I assumed it was her grandchild) lay in a small heap. His knees were curled up near his stomach, and his body shook violently with shivers. I stopped midway in my travel to look at him.

"Why's no sheet?" I said, my voice cracking. For me there was no point in using 'proper' English at the moment; my throat hurt whenever I spoke.

"Stolen," the woman replied, her voice low. Her eyes did not meet mine. I squinted and tried to see her better but failed.

Stolen? Had we really fallen on such hard times that a mere sheet had been stolen? The boy so obviously needed it. What kind of fiend would dare take it? I glanced around the room, checking to see if I could find the extra sheet, or someone willing to share theirs. No one met my gaze, but I could still hear the voices speak about Felix.

Reluctantly I unwound the sheet around the body. I handed it to the woman, before continuing to where Felix had gone. I tried not to look around me. It would only bring despair to see our poverty. If the woman ever thanked me, I don't remember.

At last I reached the end of the room. It seemed as though it had taken far too much time and energy to merely reach one destination. I dragged myself through the steel doors and found myself in a corridor. There were two passageways: one that lead up, and another that headed down. The top passage led to the surface of land, so I took the bottom one.

I passed many different doors, and in my fever haze the corridor stretched out eternally before me. I was always walking, but I never got further. Yet despite my feelings, I finally came to one door that read: ARMOR. I entered the room, praying it would not be as depressing as my living quarters.

Felix was in that room; thank goodness! If he was in some other room I don't know what I would have done. There was also another man with Felix. The man was short and overweight; I wondered how anyone could possibly be fat during the poverty we faced. His beard was cleaned and his clothes were well kept. Was it possible that there was a strange amount of aristocracy still in our world? Regardless, the man had the uniform of an officer, and more than just a simple private. Guessing by his many badges, he was probably a general or something of the sort.

"Authorized personal only!" The man scowled at me. I scowled right back. Let him try to make me leave.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize this room was only for 'our champion' and fat people only," I replied, my fever haze beginning to dissipate as anger took its place.

"Why you!" The man growled, and took a threatening step forward.

A sudden burst of coughs seized me, and I did nothing to try and stop myself from sputtering over the general. The man put his hand up to cover his face, but put it down dejectedly when I had finished coughing. He made a face of obvious disgust, before wiping his now went hand on the side of his pants.

"Jenna!" Felix finally interrupted, and glared at me disapprovingly. "Why aren't you sleeping?" I was happy that he wasn't criticizing me for my rude behavior to the man.

"I'm here to support you, Felix. You can't seriously expect me to just lay down with everything that's happening!"

"You know this girl?" The general cast a side glance at Felix. I could tell the man was not happy about my presence.

"Yes," Felix nodded his head. "She's my sister. Jenna, this is Colonel Amarillo." My apologies; he was not a general but a colonel. I had trouble telling the difference.

"Nice to meet you," I replied, all of my sarcasm and anger gone. The man just stared at me incredulously.

"Please allow her to stay with me, at least until the fight," Felix addressed the Colonel.

"…Alright," Amarillo mumbled after a few seconds. "But she better not get in the way."

For the next thirty minutes, I watched Felix outfit himself with armor. He chose simple leather pants, a tunic, and gloves. A scabbard was equipped to his back, and in Felix's hand he held a long sword that had been forged by heaven itself. We called it Sol Blade because it seemed as though only the fires on Sol (that's our sun) could have forged it. When Felix was ready, he began to exit through the door I had come through, but Amarillo stopped him.

"Aren't you going to wear something… more… er…" The Colonel glared at the leather Felix had chosen.

"But if I'm fighting a Slate," Felix argued, "I'll have to depend on speed, not power. A Slate's blow would kill me whether I was wearing steel or leather. And unless mythril isn't a legend, I suggest you let me go as I am."

The Colonel hesitated for a second before nodding his head, as if to dismiss Felix. I followed my brother as he walked back where I had originally traveled, until we reached the split passageway where the surface was located. It had been a long time since I had felt sunlight on my face, and I was happy that it was not raining. But my joy was immediately cut short as I was jostled by numerous people, who forced me away from Felix.

Each person shouted out encouragement, telling Felix he would win no matter what, all that sort of thing. I tried to get closer but I wasn't strong enough to push my way through the crowd. Felix ignored the crowd and began to walk towards the arena, which wasn't far from where we were standing.

The arena was nothing special; a pit dug in the earth with brick walls to prevent escape. My brother managed to fend off the crowd and reached the arena's entrance. He was about to simply jump over the edge when I suddenly felt my worry and fear increase tenfold.

"Felix!" I called out, hoping he would hear me. Miraculously he did, and stopped to turn his head toward me. The crowd was still packed around him, yet I could see Felix's face. "Be careful," I warned.

"Hey," Felix replied, and I could hear the laughter in his voice even from where I stood. "This is me we're talking about, remember? Don't worry." Then Felix hopped over the edge, and I could see him walk towards the arena entrance. Only when I saw the Slate in front of him did I realize that the crowds of 'people' on the opposite side of the spectator arena were really Slates.

I gulped nervously and found a seat on the withered grass. The seats (they were nothing more than lawn chairs, really) for us Weyard humans were packed. I didn't dare find a different spot, for I was afraid the battle would start.

While waiting for our all or nothing battle, I had little else to do but size up my brother's opponent. The first thing I noticed was that she was in her humanized form, instead of a hulking dragon. The second thing I realized that she was a she; I guess I really shouldn't have been surprised. I was female myself and believed women were just as strong as men. But getting other people to believe that was another thing. The other thing I noticed was how her hair was pink and her eyes red. This gave the Slate a very demonic appearance. And yet at the same time, in her human form, the Slate was only half the size of my brother Felix. Maybe size didn't matter to Slates… but wouldn't it be harder to topple someone… larger?

"Who is she?" I said out loud, maybe hoping that someone would answer.

"Karst, champion of the Slates," the person behind me whispered in my ear.

Before we could chitchat more (or before I could even see the person behind me), the bell to begin battle rang. Felix raised his sword warily, expecting Karst to change into her original form. Yet Karst did no such thing.

Instead the humanized Slate shrieked something; I believe she said "Rising Dragon!" A red flame erupted under Felix's feet. The dragon-like fume carried him high, before blasting into sparks. I winced, but wondered if I should perhaps be thankful. Why Karst chose to use red fire instead of white was beyond me. White fire was much more painful than red. Only weak Slates that could not breathe white fire used red.

Felix hit the ground, but he quickly picked himself up. I couldn't hear what he said, but I recognized his Clay Spire attack. Stalactites formed over Karst's head and hit her hard. The Slate shrieked, and then finally decided to change into her red dragon form. Now the battle would truly start. Karst breathed a white hot stream of fire, but Felix managed to jump out of the way. He raised his sword and shouted so loud that even the people in the back seats of the arena could hear his words clearly. "Grand Gaia!"

The entire world shook. More than half of the arena, where Karst stood, began to disintegrate. There was an unearthly shriek from Karst, before the dragon fell, rock and all, to the ground. Everyone was silent when the ground finally stopped shaking. All that remained where Karst had stood was a great hole. Most likely the arena would collapse after a day or two without the ground's added support.

A minute went by; no, two minutes went by. Nothing happened. Nothing stirred. The people of Weyard raised their voices to wild screams of joy. But I did not, for our victory still did not seem real. Without warning I leapt off of my feet and ran to the edge of the arena. "Felix!" I cried out, and suddenly realized how much I longed to be happy. My body relaxed and a smile began to play across my face. The stress of the past few years was gone.

Felix tore his gaze away from the great hole to look at me. He, too, was smiling; and I could see the relief through his movements and eyes. His Sol Blade dropped to the ground.

The battle for Weyard was over, or so we thought.

Without any sound or warning, Karst erupted from the hole Felix had created. The Slate catapulted herself into Felix's body. My smile, along with the crowd's cheers, vanished at our foe's sudden reappearance. My hand reached to cover my mouth in horror, and yet my eyes could not stop staring at the scene. Karst had rammed Felix into the arena's brick wall. Yet the Slate did not stop there and withdraw. She just pushed harder into Felix… and my brother's form struggled. But what could he do? He had already dropped the Sol Blade. The dragon pushed harder into Felix, and then he stopped moving. Karst finally withdrew, and my brother slid down from the wall. He landed in a slumped position, still unmoving.

"Felix!" I screamed, ruining the awful silence. Our dream had become a nightmare. My voice encouraged my foes. The spectator Slates began to cheer; no, they began to laugh. Laugh at our pitifulness. Laugh at what had once been our glimmer of hope. Laugh at our pathetic existence and our world.

The people around me began to panic. They began to edge away from the arena, before going in a full-fledged run. Yet I could not tear myself from the arena. I stood staring at what had once been my brother. He had had tough times, right? He should get up. He could not just die, and leave me here all alone… Not with all of Weyard depending on him!

The Slates were unpleased with the humans' behavior. The spectator Slates turned into their dragon forms, and flew to where the mobs of humans were. The terrible dragons began to lash out at the people. Screams erupted; everything was chaos. Slates began to grab (and sometimes even accidentally kill) humans. They wanted us of Weyard to be their slaves.

I was not in the mob of people. Most had run away, or tried to run away, but I could not tear myself from the arena. Suddenly I wanted to see my brother; at least check to see if he was alive. I hoisted myself over the rail and jumped to the dirt ground. As soon as my feet hit the dirt, I began to run towards Felix. It was a miracle, really; that no Slate saw and tried to capture me.

I reached my brother and fell to my knees. His body was a bloody mess, and his leather tunic had become completely red. His hands were somewhat clean, so I grasped one with both of my hands, as if to prevent him from leaving this world. My eyes met the ones that had once seen me. By another miracle, his face was intact. Even his hair only had traces of singe. He looked so peaceful and calm.

"You… are you okay?" I whispered. I knew it was a stupid question, but I could still at least hope…

Hey, this is me we're talking about, remember?

"Felix!" I cried out, trying to will him to live. My eyes clouded in tears. "Please, wake up!" My voice cracked.

Even I need to sleep sometimes.

"Felix…" My hand released his. "Felix…" I put my head and arms around his body, not caring that his blood got on me. "Please… don't leave me all alone." My tears began in true full force this time. My body shook and I clutched at my brother's body.

I probably could have stayed there forever, if a rough hand had not pulled me away. I tore my gaze from Felix to see who had touched me. It was a humanized Slate. His eyes were red and cold. He began to drag me away from Felix. I tried to struggle but he was strong. I shifted my gaze to my brother again. "Felix…" I called. "Help… Felix?"

Don't worry.

"Felix!" I screamed. The Slate kept pulling me. I was so far I could not see my brother. My last hope had been smothered. My sobs continued, and I became lost within myself; lost in despair.

A/N: Mm… don't have much to say. I respond to reviewers in the next chapter.

Acknowledgments: Camelot and Nintendo own Golden Sun and all related characters. And Razorsoft and Sega own Death Duel and the Xerian Ogres, Krags, and Slates. I know it's weird that Death Duel helped inspire me to write this story but it's true.