It is with great sorrow that I inform you all that the original Author's note for this chapter was lost due to a catastrophic editing error. Though nothing of value was really lost, save to state that thanks remain owed to reader WordBirdNerd for catching an error I made so that I could fix a minor plothole.


Chapter 2: The Right Company

I wake up feeling very lightheaded. I'm also very much not in the street anymore. There's a wooden ceiling above me, and from the light shining across the walls, it looks to be near sundown.

I sit up wearily once I've judged that I'm not going to throw up or pass out again or something. I'm in a simple room with several other beds. There's nobody else here though. Just a bottle with a note on the table, and my clothes, which are sitting in a chair.

"...I can't understand a word of this." Guess the written language is different, even if we're all speaking English. I toss the note aside and grab the bottle, pulling the stopper from the top and taking a sniff. "Oof. That's medicine all right." Unfortunately the bottle doesn't have any measurements marked on it, so I have no way of knowing how much to take. Best to hold off for now. I sigh, hauling myself up and looking myself over. "Huh. I'm in my briefs. Feel bad for whatever poor motherfuckers had to see me in this state." My leg looks fine for the most part, though there's a nice scar where I got my leg slashed. Lissa clearly did her job right.

I glance over at the chair and get my stuff together. The pants seem to be donated, which isn't all that surprising considering what happened to my leg. A bit tight, but not uncomfortably so. The rest of the clothes are my usual attire. Black jacket, grey sweater, green t-shirt. My favorite clothes for when I need to leave the house. Or not leave the house. They're my favorite clothes for the days I can't get away with lounging in my pyjamas all day.

I feel a lot better once I'm dressed. Well, a little better at least. I find myself cringing when I consider that Lissa probably had to examine me while undressed…

Fuck, she may be a healer but she's also a princess. That is not something she should have had to look at… I do not have an attractive body.

"Okay stop." I slap my cheeks a few times to snap myself out of it. "Not the time for this shit. Now is the time for figuring out what happened after I almost died." I pause, and look back at the table. "Also for figuring out how much of that shit I'm supposed to take." It's probably a vulnerary, which means by game logic I drink a third of the bottle, but I'm not taking game logic for granted any time soon.

I re-cork the bottle, and it seems sealed well enough that I figure I can get away with just sticking it in the pocket of my jacket and head for the door. My shoes are lying at the foot of the bed, and I squeeze my feet into them eagerly, before frowning as I realize they untied them when they removed them.

"I understand entirely but do not approve in any way, shape, or form." I grumble, sitting down to tie them up properly. I've never liked the hassle of constantly fighting with shoelaces, so I always just tie any pair of shoes I have once and then break them until I can slip my feet in and out.

I look back at the window. Yeah, the sun's definitely going down. The Shepherds will probably be making camp and hunting for bear right about now. It sucks I passed out before I could convince them to let me in, but maybe if I'm lucky I can catch up to them in Ylisstol and talk to them there.

Well, I'm certainly not leaving tonight. Besides, it sounds like they're throwing a party downstairs, and I haven't eaten since breakfast.

I find my way to the stairs and ease myself down, still feeling stiff after getting my shit kicked in earlier. The tavern at the entrance to this place seems to be bustling; no doubt full of people drinking away the stress of nearly dying today.

I emerge from the stairwell and freeze as everyone's eyes turn to me. The Shepherds included.

"Look who's up and about!" A voice calls from the back, and the room fills with cheers.

I'm surrounded by people immediately, and have to do my best not to look uncomfortable with the attention.

"Let me buy you a drink, lad!"

"You're the hero of the hour!"

"You must be some kind of crazy taking them on alone like that!" Can't argue there.

"All right, all right!" Chrom cuts through the crowd easily. "Let's give the poor man room to breathe!" He places a hand on my shoulder and firmly guides me to his table. "Let's get you something to eat friend, you've more than earned it!"

"Thank you kindly." I let myself relax as the crowd returns to their tables. "Not big on crowds."

"I could tell." Chrom chuckles as he reaches the table. "Now then, Lissa told me you know who we are, but let's do introductions anyways. I'm Chrom, and these are my Shepherds. My sister Lissa," the girl in question is helping herself to dinner, but she gives me a big wave all the same. "Our guardian, Frederick." He gestures to the knight.

"My hero." I say with a grin. "I'd be dead if not for you."

"Pleased to be of service." Frederick replies with a curt nod. He seems to still be determining what to make of me.

"And last but not least, our newest recruit, as of today. This is Robin, an able tactician, swordsman, and spell caster." The tactician looks just like his default male setting from the game, white hair and all.

"You made my job a lot easier today!" Robin lifts a mug of beer in salute.

"You flatter me." I wave dismissively. "If anything my wounded ass must have been a liability."

"You were no trouble at all." Chrom replies. "If nothing else it was a good way to keep Lissa away from the fighting. She likes to hover, even when it isn't safe." Oh cool, so I gave her something to babysit. That's nice.

"Tactless." Lissa elbows Chrom angrily, before mercifully changing the subject. "Hey, you take that medicine I left for you?"

I jump on the topic eagerly, if only to take my attention away from the looks Frederick and Robin are giving to a very confused Chrom. "Oh right, I wanted to ask about that. I'm not from around here, so I couldn't actually read the note?"

"Oh really?" Lissa goes pink. "I guess I should have thought about that, drat! I worked up an appetite healing everyone, so I was in a rush to eat. It's not an exact thing, but typically a third of the bottle will do for most injuries." Huh. Game logic prevails this time. I pull the bottle out of my pocket, eye it carefully, and take a swig. A third of a bottle is basically a mouthful for me. Well, even if I'm off Lissa said it wasn't exact.

The tonic warms my gut and clears the fog out of my head almost immediately. "Damn, that's potent stuff!" I exclaim, looking at the bottle in wonder. "This magic or something?"

"Not magic, just a mix of herbs meant to help stimulate blood production in the body and act as a general pick-me-up." Lissa grins. "It's great as a follow-up after I've treated somebody. My magic closes wounds, but it can't put the blood back in."

"Cool." The innkeeper sets a plate of chicken, bread, and vegetables in front of me, and I turn aside to give him a quick thank-you before digging in. "I remember having a bit of a problem with that before I passed out. Damn this is good." I'd eat anything after the day I've had, so a well-seasoned chicken breast is downright luxurious. And the bread is filled with seeds and grains that blow anything I've had out of the water.

"Yeah, it was pretty close." Lissa's smile strains. "When we saw that guy hit you we thought you were dead."

"Surprised I lived at all, honestly." I shrug as I load a fork with carrot and potato. "Considering that's the first fight I've ever been in I think I came out pretty well."

"What!?" Lissa and Robin gape, and even Frederick looks taken aback. "You beat three trained soldiers single-handedly in your first ever fight?"

"I guess?" I stop and think on it. Fuck, yeah I guess I did alright, huh? Still… "The first one wasn't really a fight though. I just jumped off a roof and landed on him. And then got really, really fucking lucky with the other two. I made a lot of really dumb decisions back there, honestly."

Robin frowns as he thinks on it. "Perhaps seeing their friend killed made them act rashly? You do have a large stature, broad shoulders, and a loud voice. I could hear you yelling from the town entrance. Intimidation probably played a huge part in that victory. Inadvertent psychological warfare!" He pulls a book, quill, and inkpot from his bag in the blink of an eye and starts scribbling notes.

"What he said." I point at him with a shrug.

"Looks like you're rather tactless too, huh Robin?" Lissa deadpans across the table.

"Ah, let him do his thing." I reply with a chuckle. "If he can make use of it in the future then I'm not going to make a fuss."

"Much obliged. For what it's worth, I do genuinely find your results today impressive." Robin nods as he works. "By the way, could I get your name please, for my notes?"

"My… oh shit!" I slap my head angrily as the realization hits me. "I totally forgot to introduce myself! Sorry about that! You can call me Ben!"

"Nice to meet you, Ben!" Lissa replies cheerfully.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Frederick nods.

"I've got it." Robin nods as he scratches away at his book.

"So, where are you from, Ben?" Chrom glances nervously towards Lissa, as though worried he might say something to upset her again. "The townspeople say they've never seen you around here before, and your clothing is like nothing I've ever seen."

Ah yes. The million dollar question. I could make something up, but there's so many ways for that to go wrong it's barely worth thinking about. Better to just be straightforward about it. "I'm from a country called Canada."

The others look at each other in confusion. Robin is the first one to break the silence. "Okay, it makes sense that I'd be confused, but none of you have heard of it either?"

"Be weird if they did know it." I shrug. "I'm… pretty sure it's on the other side of the Outrealm Gate."

The silence amongst the group is deafening, even as the other patrons revel around us. "Still clueless!" Robin raises a hand. "What are you talking about?"

"Uhh…" I pause. "Okay, my world has some stories about this place, but it's not exactly detailed on that subject. I just know the gate connects to places separated from here by more than distance."

"And you're sure you came through that gate?" Frederick's tone reeks of skepticism. "There's no chance that you're simply confused?"

"You guys said it yourself: my clothing is clearly not from around here. Hell, I'm pretty sure this jacket has materials in it that don't even exist in this world." I look down at my jacket and wonder to myself when plastic was invented. Well after the time Fire Emblem is based on at any rate.

"And there's no chance your home is overseas?"

"Definitely not. They've got the world completely mapped where I come from. They have literally looked at the planet from space to figure out what everything looks like. No way they missed this entire continent." I can't help but grin at the incredulous looks everyone is giving me. "Yeah, we figured out a lot of crazy shit where I come from."

"Space, as in, higher than even a Griffin can fly? That could be brilliant for battlefield surveillance!" Robin grins as he starts scribbling notes down again. "Flying mounts are hardly discreet, and draw enemy fire easily, but if you could find a way to watch from above their range it could give you a huge advantage. Though one would have to come up with a way to compensate for cloud cover…" He carries on muttering to himself as his quill flies across the paper. This dude is intense when he's plotting, holy shit.

"Uh huh, you know what I'm just going to ignore him for now." I look back to the others. "Anyways, my world is a lot more scientifically advanced than this one, but we also don't have magic. Like, at all. Spells, dragons, and Pegasus are strictly the stuff of fairy tales."

"Your world doesn't have Pegasus?" Lissa looks horrified.

"Fraid not." I shrug. "Our world has a lot of things yours doesn't of course, but we had to invent most of it ourselves."

"Anything you'd be willing to share?" Chrom's curiosity is written all over his face.

"Uhh… maybe?" I think it over. "I'm not sure how far Ylissean science has come in comparison to my home world. And I'm also not sure what we have that you guys can't do better with magic. I'm also not a scientist, so I don't have an expert opinion to give you. So yeah, it would take a lot of research to even determine what could be useful. But I'm willing to give it a shot, at least."

"A great many conditions to overcome." Frederick stares levelly at me. "Sounds like a lot of false hope to me."

"And if I didn't have concerns to give you'd say it sounded too convenient." I roll my eyes.

"Ooh, Frederick, he's got you figured out!" Lissa giggles. Chrom hides a grin behind his mug.

"My point is that he is giving a great many excuses so soon after making his claim."

"The point of presenting these obstacles now is to make it clear that I am not giving you false promises." I glare at him "I will not claim an ability to offer something if I cannot offer it. That would be completely fucking stupid."

"You don't need to concern yourself with proving your worth." Chrom cuts in firmly. "You have the potential to make the lives of Ylisseans better. That is all I care about, that and your own well-being. I would not ask you to perform miracles for me, Ben. But I would at least, ask that you try."

"Try to perform a miracle huh?" I grin teasingly at him, "My, my, this prince is a demanding one."

Chrom blinks at that, playing back the conversation in his head. When he realizes how his request sounded he makes a rather comical show of backtracking. "Oh! No, I didn't mean to imply- I would be thrilled by anything you could do, I don't want to ask the impossible of you!"

"It's cool, man." I shrug, "I know what you meant. Just screwing with you a little."

"Hold on!" Robin raises a hand again as he sets his book aside. "I think I must have tuned out at the wrong moment. What's this about Chrom being a prince?"

Lissa bursts into laughter at the bewildered look on his face, and even Frederick cracks a grin. "Uhh, surprise!" Chrom throws his arms wide. "I was hoping to keep that a secret for longer, honestly."

"My bad." I shrug. "Didn't think you were hiding it. You've got that birthmark thing clearly visible."

"Well it's not that we're hiding it." Chrom's grin turns mischievous. "But imagine the look on his face if he found out once we were in the capital!"

I chuckle at that. Maybe I shouldn't have spilled the beans. I don't think telling Robin early will screw with anything, but man it would have been funny to wait. If memory serves he doesn't learn that tidbit of info in-game until he's already seen the Exalt.

"So how is it that you recognize the Brand of the Exalt?" The moment of levity breaks as Frederick turns back to me in full interrogation mode.

I give him a look to show how not impressed I am with him. "I said we had stories about this place. Like fairy tales. There are tales about prince Chrom, fighter of bandits and slayer of dragons, and his band of shepherds protecting the people of Ylisse. I have little doubt it's exaggerated of course, most stories are." Plus, if all goes as it should it will be Robin who slays the dragon.

"I should hope so!" Chrom looks intensely uncomfortable with the idea of being a story character. If he had any idea how deep that rabbit hole really goes it would probably fuck him up pretty good.

Yeah, the fairy tale thing was me testing the waters. And surprise, surprise! Telling the cast of Fire Emblem that they dance like puppets for the amusement of my universe is clearly a bad idea. If they don't like being in stories they will flip the fuck out if I explain to them what a video game is. Plus I don't want them to know that I know what will happen.

Nobody wants to be the guy who knows the future. Too much responsibility, too much hassle. Too much potential to break the all too fragile human mind. Besides, I don't intend to stick around until everything is over. If I have any say in the matter I'll have found my way home by the time the war with Plegia starts.

"Ben! You alright there?" I snap out of my reverie as Lissa waves a hand in front of my face. "You were spacing out big time!"

"Sorry!" I grin ruefully. "What did I miss?"

Lissa grins "I wanted to know what the stories said about me!"

"Uhh…" I consider what to tell her. "Not much. There's a couple of stories where you heal Chrom after a big fight, and they mention that you're a princess, of course. But for the most part they're about Chrom. A few other people are mentioned by name as well, like Frederick."

"Who else makes it into these stories, then?" Chrom asks, clearly eager to see who else gets dragged into my fictional… fiction.

I hum thoughtfully, considering what names to give. Nobody who joins the Shepherds later on, that would raise too many questions. Meaning Robin is out as well, since he only joined today. "Let's see, there's Frederick the Steadfast," Frederick straightens a bit at that, "Sully the Fierce, Vaike the Wild, and… oh yeah! Kellam the Unseen!"

Chrom and Lissa laugh at that last one. Frederick looks at them in confusion. "I wasn't aware the Shepherds had a soldier by that name." Chrom blinks at that, then starts laughing even harder. Lissa looks fit to fall out of her chair.

I can't help but chuckle myself. "I see the title is appropriate!"

"Very much so!" Chrom laughs. "Honestly, the poor man has to try so hard to get any sort of attention at all. Really, this will make his day!"

"Ah, it seems my foreign knowledge is already paying dividends!" I wave my hands theatrically.

Chrom waves a server over. "I think this calls for a toast!" He announces to the table. It looks like the Shepherds get top quality service as the heroes of the day, because we have beer in front of us in mere moments.

I'm not much for drinking, but denying this would be rude, so I take up my mug with the others. Chrom raises his high as he speaks loudly, loud enough that the rest of the room stops to listen.

"A toast! To lives saved, friends made, and stories told! To our new Shepherds!" Wait what.

"TO THE SHEPHERDS!" The patrons cheer as they raise their mugs and cheer.

I drink the beer but don't actually taste it. Just as well, never been a fan of the stuff. Huh. I guess that's it. I'm in. Mission accomplished.

Did… did I just join the military? Fuck if my dad ever finds out about this he'll have a field day. Years of shutting the asshole down every time he brings it up and then I join a video game military within a single day.

"You… sure you want me for your little band?" I stare down at the table as I ask. "I'm really not much of a fighter. Today was pure luck."

Chrom's voice becomes concerned as he answers me. "Did you not want to be? I apologize if I got ahead of myself."

"No! I mean," I look up and give a half grin. "You kinda did, but that's not what I meant. I'm just… not Shepherd material. I told you already, I've never been in a fight before today. I'm nobody in my world, just a… a lousy merchant." Don't really feel like explaining what a Walmart is right now.

"Ben…" Lissa looks ready to cry. Fuck, I really brought the mood down.

"Look, I don't want to give you the wrong impression here." I plaster a grin on my face. "I'm thrilled to be invited, I'm just not sure how qualified I am." I also have to question what the fuck I'm doing right now, considering that joining the Shepherds was the point of this endeavor in the first fucking place! I swear to Christ if I talk Chrom out of it because my self-worth is collapsing again…

"You saved lives today Ben." Chrom replies, catching my attention and cutting off my thoughts easily. His expression is suddenly firm, like he'll tolerate no arguments on the matter. "You saw people in trouble and stepped in to save them. You fought against odds that lesser men would run from, and now there are no less than six people who swear they owe you their life. They told me as much themselves. If that didn't qualify you then it would speak very poorly of my judgement."

Aww shit. I think I'm tearing up. Fucking get it under control, man up, Ben. "You honor me." I choke out.

"He speaks only the truth." Frederick replies. "I won't lie to your face and tell you I believe everything you've told us today. But I will not deny for one moment that you saved lives today. I believe you could make a fine shepherd, with some proper exercise and training."

"Frederick!" Lissa hisses, but stops as I burst out laughing. After all that flattery a bit of honesty is a relief.

"Glad to see somebody here is using their eyes." I pat my gut with a grin. "Well, if you think you can make a soldier out of this, then who am I to deny you?"

"So you'll join us then?" Chrom asks.

"I… one question first." I stop myself from getting carried away. "Is there a set duration of service? I don't want to tie myself down here." I feel guilty as I say it aloud. "I… really want to find out how to go home."

"Then consider that your duration of service!" Chrom claps me on the shoulder with a grin. "However long it takes for you to find your way home, we'll be glad to look after you."

"Well shit, I guess I'm sold." I raise a hand to Chrom. "Happy to be aboard."

"Happy to have you!" He gives me a firm handshake and turns back to the table. "I think this calls for another round!"

"Not much of a drinker personally…" I look around and grin, "But fuck it, it's a party."

Robin chuckles "Only a few hours and I'm already replaced as the new guy. Welcome to the team, rookie!"

"Hey now," I grin dangerously at him. "I'm pretty sure I'm the oldest one at the table besides maybe Frederick, here. How old are you, Frederick?"

"Twenty-eight. I'm afraid there is some distance between us."

"Twenty-six." I shrug. "Looks like you win this round."

"What? You barely look older than Chrom!" Lissa gapes.

"I hear that sort of thing a lot." I chuckle. "Always been told I look young for my age."

"Odd." Robin muses. "I have no memories to confirm this, but it feels as though it's often the exact opposite for me."

"Must be the white hair." I shrug. "You don't look particularly old besides that."

"That could be it." He frowns, "But that doesn't feel quite right."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Maybe it's because you have the soul of a centuries old evil dragon in your body. But I'll be keeping that tidbit to myself. Now, time to start asking the appropriate questions. "So, no memories, huh?"

"My earliest memory of life is waking up in a field with Chrom and Lissa standing over me. That was this morning." Robin shrugs helplessly. "I seem to have no trouble recognizing what things are, but I don't know names, places, anything at all about how I know what things I do know. It's all a blank."

"Can't imagine what that's like." I say, more to myself. What must it be like to have nothing? Not even memories…

I'm quoting Disney right now, aren't I? Focus, Ben.

I clap Robin on the shoulder. "Well, I'm sure it'll come back to you. And if not, you're with pretty decent company here."

"I think we can both be grateful for that." Robin smiles thankfully.

"You're not wrong." I smile as I look over the others, who smile back in return.

I'm in good company indeed.

More importantly, I'm in the right company. With these people, I know what's coming. And if I know what's coming I have a shot at surviving this mess.

I'll need every advantage I can get from here on out.