We're only on the 6th chapter, and this fic already has 280 followers and marked almost 200 times as a favorite? Man, you guys are awesome! The overall response to the last chapter has been overall great too – especially the reactions to the cliff hanger. It's high time I posted this chapter, then. And if you liked me including BGMs in the story, you'll love this. Time to crank up the music! But before that, some reviews to respond to:

Artyom-Deizehn: Not that I'm aware of. Then again, I'm not that well-versed in Fate lore.

nico2411: I think we can chalk up the key thing as a way for the developers to make infiltrations into buildings easier, and leave it at that. It sure makes those chapters a heck of a lot easier than if security with keys was realistic. The Shepherds would need Gaius pretty fast if the enemies actually kept track of their keys.

Merc249: First, I admit that I've portrayed Jack in a way that makes it look like his power is skyrocketing, between no need for sleep and training in an ID/UBW hybrid. If you pay attention to how I've written the battles up to this point, however, there is a trend. Sure, Jack is OP compared to the average mook, but boss-level enemies are another story. Aside from the Silver Bokoblin (if it could even count as a boss), Jack has never been able to solo a boss. He can truly be considered OP once he pulls that off. In fact, boss-level opponents and his fellow Shepherds can easily keep up with him due to the still big gap in experience and training. I hope to showcase this in Jack's next fight. Enjoy!
Second, I was unsure where this fic would fall on the rating scale, so I just went with the safe option. The summary literally says that this fic is rated M for safety.

TheGamer: As was explained in chapter 3, no. Jack cannot trace any zanpakutō. I deliberately placed the limitation that Jack can't trace any living weapons for this very purpose, as zanpakutō are a part of the wielder's soul, and therefore alive. My reason was because zanpakutō have a whole slew of abilities on their own, and covering those abilities in-depth would take me down a DEEP rabbit hole that I have no intention of exploring in this fic. Besides, there are plenty of weapons that Jack can trace anyway.

Guest reviewer: I originally intended for Jack to trace the married blades for his fight with Lon'qu, but you made me rethink my decision. I've got something (hopefully) better in mind. Thanks for the feedback, and hope you enjoy.

A fan: Heh heh heh heh heh… You, my friend, have yet to solve even half the riddle. To be fair, though, all the puzzle pieces haven't been revealed in the fic yet. Keep at it. You might find the answer somewhere in the future – not that I'll tell anyone when a crucial part of the riddle is revealed! XD

Anonymous reviewer: Yeah, I think it's somewhere along those lines. Fighting Lon'qu at the point where you'd meet him would be life-threatening for anyone except for Frederick and maybe Chrom, so I suspect the game developers had him sit the tournament out for the sake of making the chapter easier. Besides, "Marth" can already be considered a difficult opponent, since Parallell Falchion has the same base power as a Silver sword and the masked sword fighter is an agile boss.

Redripper666: Oh, yeah? Then feast your eyes on this!

Not emiya: Nope. I've already decided that Jack won't make any guns in this fic. This is mainly so that his traced weapons still follow the theme of the era of Awakening. And I admit that I use the term "follow" loosely, considering the kinds of weapons he can trace. Anyway, no guns.

Copyright disclaimer: I only own the plot of this fic. For a full copyright disclaimer, please read chapter 1.

Never mock a lady with her parasol. – Maribelle


Chapter 6: Everything you khan do, I khan do better! Allies and enemies enter the stage!

*Brrzz!*

The sparking mana in my hands coalesces into bright orbs of turquoise light. As I clench my fists, the orbs morph into the weapons that I want to use against my Feroxi opponent. This one's for you, Roxas!

The light disperses into particles, finally revealing my weapons of choice. In my right hand is the pitch-black keyblade Oblivion. In my left is the pure-white Oathkeeper.

The arena falls silent as everyone stares at me in shock. Lon'qu is the one to finally break the silence.

"Keys?! You throw away your sword, only to fight me with giant keys? You're either the strangest warrior I've ever met or simply no warrior at all."

I smirk as I point Oathkeeper at the perplexed Myrmidon and make a come-hither motion with the white keyblade.

"Save that judgement for after our fight. Trust me, these weapons are unlike anything you've faced before."

Lon'qu nods. "If you insist." The Myrmidon narrows his eyes and gets in a ready stance. "Impress me."

I twirl the keyblades and get into a stance of my own, with Oathkeeper in front held sideways and Oblivion held over my head pointed forward. My smirk turns into a grin. "Ready when you are. Let's dance!"

BGM: Ushiwaka's dance, Ōkami music

Julius looks between us before he raises his right hand. "Both warriors are ready!" The hand is brought down in a chopping motion. "Begin!"

Lon'qu and I rush each other and meet in the middle of the platform.

"Hyaa!"

*Clang!*

Sparks fly from where our weapons clash. Our eyes lock briefly before we separate. I take the initiative and swing Oathkeeper right. Lon'qu parries the blow and retaliates with a diagonal slash that I block with Oblivion. With our weapons locked together again, I try another swing with Oathkeeper, but Lon'qu quickly breaks our weapon lock and takes a step back before rushing in for a stab. I redirect the stab to the side with Oathkeeper and swing Oblivion diagonally, but Lon'qu ducks beneath the swing and brings his Killing Edge into a low sweep against my legs. I jump before spinning vertically in the air.

"Rrah!"

*Crack!*

I bring both keyblades down, only to hit the floor, as Lon'qu used the momentum of his missed swing to roll out of the way.

We retake our stances, this time with more caution, now that we have an idea of what the other is capable of. Man, Lon'qu's fast!

The Myrmidon takes the initiative this time and charges me. I can tell that he's experienced, since I can't tell where his next swing will come from. So I draw my right arm back and throw Oblivion at him. Lon'qu ducks to the side, losing the momentum from his charge in the process. I take the opening and rush in on him with Oathkeeper in full swing. Our weapons clash numerous times where we stand, but Lon'qu's quickly gaining ground. His eyes widen as he breaks off and dodges to the left, right as Oblivion is about to hit him in the back.

I catch the black keyblade and click my tongue. Did he dodge my Strike raid out of instinct?

We both tense before rushing forward and once again meeting in the middle of the arena.

*Clang! Clang, cling, clang!*

Our weapons clash over and over. One thing becomes abundantly clear to me as the fight goes on; having more weapons doesn't make you a better fighter. Lon'qu keeps up with both of my keyblades with his lone Killing Edge, proving once again how experienced and skilled he is at sword fighting. We occasionally manage to score a glancing hit on each other, but nothing that shifts the tide of the fight in favor of one of us. Neither of us back down, and neither gain any ground.

All of that changes when Lon'qu takes a step back and brings down his Killing Edge hard.

*K-krish!*

The strike has enough power to shatter my keyblades. I manage to step back in time to dodge the rest of the swing, but I'm weaponless now. Cr-p! Need a new weapon!

I clap my hands together and Trace another weapon.

"Oh no, you don't!"

Lon'qu's having none of that, however. I'm forced to abandon my attempt as he goes all-in on the offensive. Unlike the last fight where I blocked a Myrmidon's sword by catching it between my elbow and knee, Lon'qu swings his sword too fast for me to perform the same move. My only option is to try dodging to the best of my abilities.

Keyword: "try". The guy has no problem keeping up with me. Despite my best efforts, the Killing Edge clips me time and again. They're only minor wounds, but with the speed that Lon'qu inflicts them, it's only a matter of time before the damage piles up and I'm unable to fight back.

It's at this moment that I notice that I've been backed to the edge of the platform. If I fall off, Lon'qu wins by ring-out. On the other hand, a single swing from that Killing Edge can end my life, considering who's wielding it. The Feroxi Myrmidon changes his stance, probably to deal the finishing blow.

"How well can you die?"

I can't lose! Not now, when we've come this far! That only leaves one option; stand my ground. I get in a stance of my own and get ready for Lon'qu's attack.

The Myrmidon rushes in with his Killing Edge raised over his head for a merciless overhead swing. Focus… Focus…!

*Clap!* "Not well enough!" I retort.

Lon'qu's eyes widen in shock as I manage to catch his sword in a blade grasp, stopping the edge a scant few centimeters from my face. I grit my teeth as I desperately push back against my opponent. While Lon'qu has the clear advantage in speed, skill and experience, I have a slight advantage in raw strength (Thank you, Frederick! Thank you, thank you, thank you!). It also helped that I applied Telekinesis on the blade as Lon'qu brought it down, thus slowing the swing enough to make grasping the blade easier. With me pushing back on two fronts, I slowly manage to gain ground against Lon'qu. With a cry of effort, I redirect the Killing Edge to the left, unbalancing the Myrmidon in the process. I quickly deliver a kick to his side that sends him skidding back. That gives me some precious breathing room and the opening I need to Trace a new weapon properly. So I once again clap my hands together and form the weapon I need.

"Trace…on!"

I pull both hands aside, making the mana-based light stretch into a longer form. As I grasp the length, the light disperses to reveal my new weapon. Since I can't beat Lon'qu in a straight-up sword fight, I'll try a polearm instead. And not just any old polearm. The weapon I traced is the signature weapon of the evil king Ganon; the Trident!

AN: Yes, really. That's what the weapon is called according to the Zelda wiki. It would sound a lot more awesome if it was called, say, the "Trident of Power", but the only alternative name I found was "trident of demons", and that's only in one game.

I twirl the skull-motived trident a few times before settling in a stance. Time for round two!

Lon'qu looks at my new weapon surprised before recomposing himself. We both rush each other. Just as we're about to clash, however, I pole-vault over the Myrmidon and land behind him for a stab. Lon'qu reacts quickly and parries my blow while turning around. I spin with the momentum added and swing the Trident horizontally. Lon'qu barely manages to block and is then forced on the defensive as I begin twirling my weapon and attacking from several different directions. It's not enough, however, as the Myrmidon still manages to sneak in a hit or two between my attacks.

This isn't working! Alright, if melee combat alone won't work, then it's time for some ranged attacks.

I break off from our clash and jump back as far as I'm allowed. Before Lon'qu can close the distance, I've already channeled enough mana through the Trident for my plan to work.

Sparks fly from the prongs on the Trident as the mana I channeled through the shaft is converted into lightning magic. I swing the polearm, sending the ball of lightning straight at Lon'qu. The Myrmidon tries to block, but gets a nasty surprise as the spell continues unhindered and hits him square in the chest. Sorry, Lon'qu, but you'll need a sacred sword by Hyrulean standards to deflect this kind of magic, let alone block it.

Before my opponent has a chance to recover, I rush in and renew my assault with both melee attacks and magic mixed together. Lon'qu has a harder time to keep up after getting caught flat footed from my lightning spell. That gives me just the edge I need to finally overwhelm him.

A high horizontal swing gets blocked, which I follow up with bending my knees while keeping the spin to sweep his legs. Lon'qu jumps, which is exactly what I want. I'm still spinning, allowing me to rise and turn all that momentum into a single powerful stab. Sure, Lon'qu can block a blow as telegraphed as that and could've easily stopped the blow – if he was still on the ground! With him airborne, he lacks the foothold to stop my attack completely. Instead, he's knocked back from the force and falls on his back. I'm already after him with the Trident spinning over my head. Lon'qu barely has time to regain his bearings as I bring down the Trident full force!

*Crrack!*

BGM ends

Lon'qu looks into my eyes in shock for a few seconds before slowly turning his head to the left. All he can see is the skull between the shaft and the prongs of the Trident that I stabbed into the ground a hair's breadth from his head.

"Yield."

Lon'qu looks back up at me, as if what I said was a foreign concept.

"I said: yield!"

Lon'qu's look of shock slowly gives way to a scowl and grit teeth.

"I… I yield…" he grinds out.


You defeated Lon'qu! You gain 1 400 EXP!

Due to continuous strenuous activity, STR increases by 1!
Due to prolonged exhausting activity, VIT increases by 3!
Due to plenty of quick maneuvering, DEX increases by 3!

A new skill has been created due to a special action! You gained "Keyblade mastery!"


Julius raises his arm into the air. "Lon'qu has forfeited the match! The winner is Jack of Ylisse!"

The arena is filled with roars of applause over our match. I get off my opponent and dismiss the Traced Trident with a sigh before heading back to my friends below the platform.

"Why?"

I turn around to see Lon'qu staring at me intensely.

"Hm? Did you say something?" I ask.

"Why did you spare my life?" the Myrmidon asks as he sheaths his Killing Edge calmly. Calmly on the surface, that is. I can tell he's upset.

I shrug. "We had a good fight. Honestly, it could've gone either way. I wouldn't mind a rematch sometime in the future." I'm honest here. That fight got my blood pumping. Aside from training and that fight against the Bokoblins, this is the first time I really got to put my Gamer related abilities to use – and it was awesome!

Lon'qu looks at me in surprise before scowling. "Do you treat all your enemies the same way?"

"Correction: you're my opponent, not my enemy." I reply. "You're someone I can respect, Lon'qu. I can tell that you've spent a lot of time honing your skills. Killing off someone like that because we're on opposing sides in a tournament is nowhere near good enough reason for me."

"And if I were your enemy?" the Myrmidon asks challengingly.

I respond by applying some pressure on his shoulders with Telekinesis and talking in a cold voice. "Then we wouldn't even have this conversation. That final blow would've gone right through your skull. Make no mistake. I occasionally enjoy a good fight, but I show no mercy against my enemies."

With those words, I descend back the stairs.

I barely make it down to the bottom before Lissa gets in my face.

"Holy crow, Jack! What WAS that?!"

"Oh, you mean the part where I conjured those weapons?" I reply with fake innocence.

"I had no idea such a thing was even possible!" Robin adds as she joins the conversation. "You should've told me!"

I scratch the back of my head. "Well, the thing is, I only recently discovered that I can do this. I think it was somewhere between arriving in Ylisstol and setting off for Ferox."

Frederick frowns at my answer. "Oh? That's quite the convenient excuse. Perhaps you could tell us more?"

"I'm telling the truth here, Frederick!" I shout back. Okay, maybe I'm leaving out a lot of important parts, but since I got this ability on the night before we set out, I'm technically telling the truth.

"How does it work, anyway?" Robin asks curiously. "I've never seen anything like it."

I put my knuckle against my chin in a thinking pose. Looks like I need another cover story. Let's see… "Well… I'm not entirely sure how it works myself, but it seems to be connected to how my mana works."

"Like what?" Lissa asks.

"For some reason, channeling mana becomes easier to me if I imagine shaping it into something."

The ylisseans raise an eyebrow each.

"Well, remember when I mastered snow-walking so easily on our way to the Longfort? Miriel instructed me to channel my mana through my feet and make it flat and thin. The first thing I thought of was a disc, so I gave it a try. Shaping the mana was easy – the tricky part was getting the amount of mana right."

"That explains how you made those weapons appear, but how did you even come up with the design?" Robin asks after some thinking.

"See, this is where my mana starts acting weird, and it's tied to when I used to read fairytales back when I was a child. The books I read had some crazy stories. The giant keys? Those were from a story about a young boy fighting creatures from the darkness wielding a giant key with magical properties."

"Sounds like a weird story to me." Lissa comments. "I mean, who fights using a key, no matter how big it is?"

I roll my eyes. "Weird doesn't even begin to describe that fairytale. Heck, there were adults in my home village who loved to read that story too, and no matter how many times they read it, they couldn't figure out even half the stuff going on."

"So, what does that have to do with you conjuring giant keys in that battle earlier?" Chrom asks.

"Well, that's where my mana gets even weirder." I answer the prince. "See, I after I figured out I can make weapons out of mana, I tried experimenting a little. When I tried some of the weapons that I read about in the stories, I accidentally discovered that I can use the same abilities as the original wielder while I hold the weapon. You saw me throw the black key like a Hand Axe, right? That's one of the many skills that the young boy learned during his journey in fighting the dark creatures."

"Hold on…" Robin interjects. "You mean to tell us…that you discovered a way to make some of your childhood fantasies real by channeling your mana in a way that no one's ever heard of?!"

I shrug. "More or less. Like I said, I still don't understand all of it."

The Tactician grabs me by the collar and looks ready to shake me like a ragdoll. "Jack, do you have any idea what tactical applications that ability has?!"

"Er… Care to share? I don't think I can cover all of them…" That might've been among the stupidest things I could say in this situation. Go me…

"You can effectively make any weapon you need, in any situation you might need it! You can become the most versatile warrior the world has ever seen!"

"Uh…wow…" I comment in faux surprise. I knew I had the potential already. Just need to play along.

"Wow? WOW?! That's all you have to say?!" Robin shouts in my face.

Any further shouting is interrupted as Julius calls the next fighters to the middle of the arena. From our side, this means it's Robin's turn. The Tactician throws me a glance that basically demands that we talk more about this when her fight is over before ascending the platform.

Her opponent is a confident looking Mage. After making sure that both fighters are ready, Julius signals the start of the battle.

Robin's opponent immediately springs into action by drawing an Elthunder tome from his robes and letting the arcane electricity fly. Robin, on the other hand, shows the results of training under Frederick's inhumane regimen, dodging lightning bolts left and right while returning fire with her own Thunder spells. While the opposing Mage is skilled in spellcasting, Robin shows that she can not only keep up with him there, but surpass him in every other area.

Thanks to her increased speed, Robin weaves in between Elthunder spells while gradually forcing open a hole in her opponent's defenses. A well-aimed Thunder spell slams into the Mage's chest, making him twitch in pain as the lightning wreaks havoc on his nerves. Robin capitalizes on the opening and rushes in with her Iron Sword drawn.

*Shing!*

The sword makes a clean cut from shoulder to hip. The Mage falls on his back.

"I… I yield…" he wheezes out between harried breaths.

Julius raises his arm. "Winner: Robin of Ylisse!" The audience erupts into cheers. "Now can SOMEONE get him to the infirmary before he bleeds out?!"

Robin's opponent is carried out of the arena by a couple of Fighters while Robin walks back down to us.

"Nice fight." I comment when she gets back to our group.

Robin nods. "Thanks. Now, about your ability to make weapons out of mana…"

I shrug. "I think I've told you everything I know about that ability." I look at my hand and let some Tracing mana spark in the palm. "Still… As useful as it is, I still need to train in using it before it's ready for a real battle."

"Really?" Lissa interjects. "But you won using it. And you were amazing too!"

I chuckle. "Thanks, Lissa. But I realized a few things during my match. First, the weapons I make are pretty brittle. If I don't figure out how to make them more durable, they won't do me any good in a fight. Second, I need to be faster in shaping them. My opponent could attack faster than I could shape the weapons. If I'm weaponless, I'll be in trouble."

"You know… Now that I think about it, why do you use an ordinary sword when you can just make one from thin air?" the princess asks while finally handing me back my Bronze Sword.

"I have a few reasons." I answer while refastening my sword. "The first is that I can surprise my opponent. If I carry this sword with me, they'll assume that's the only weapon I use. That means I can catch them off-guard when I make a different weapon – if I can wield it properly, that is. The second is that I need mana to make weapons. If I run out of mana mid-battle, I'm practically defenseless."

A look of understanding dawns on Lissa's face. "Oh. Didn't think about that."

Robin nods. "Surprising your opponent is one of the applications I thought of. If your enemy doesn't know what weapon you'll use, or when you'll use it, you can gain an advantage by keeping them guessing all the time."

The next fighters are called to the middle of the arena. For us, it's Frederick's turn. His opponent is a General who raises a mighty war cry that has the crowd go wild. Apparently, he wants to make up for his side losing the first two battles. As Frederick gets into position, the General brandishes his Silver Axe with bravado, all while the west side keeps cheering him on.

Frederick smiles – and pulls out the Hammer that I gave him during our battle at the Longfort. His opponent doesn't look so confident anymore.

*WHAM!*

Everyone in the arena winces upon seeing what Frederick did with that swing. The General is embedded to the waist in the stone wall surrounding the battle area. Judging by the twitching legs, it looks like he's still alive. Some arena staff tries to pull him out of the stone, but progress is slow.

Julius finally remembers that he's still the proctor and weakly raises his hand.

"Winner… Frederick of Ylisse…"

By the Black knight's blessed armor, did you really have to hit the poor guy so hard, Frederick? That was overkill!

Frederick descends back down the arena, calm as can be.

"Mission accomplished, milord." the Great Knight tells Chrom while bowing to him. The blue-haired prince just nods dumbly and commends Frederick for his good work.

Thankfully, there's a few minutes of recess before the next battle, since everyone still needs time to wind down after Frederick went One Punch Man on his opponent. A Priest among the staff eventually reports that the General in question is alive, but out of commission for the next few weeks.

Julius finally calls the next fighters to the platform. That means it's Lissa's turn. Her opponent, a Soldier, nervously walks up to the platform (not that I blame him after what went down a few minutes ago). When he sees Lissa, however, his demeanor changes instantly. The nervousness is replaced with confidence – arrogance, even.

"Heh! Here I thought I'd have to fight some monster like the big guy before you, and they send up you instead? A delicate little girl?"

Lissa freezes up before narrowing her eyes at her opponent. "What…did you call me…?"

Her opponent sneers and takes a threatening step forward. "You heard me, little girl. Go back and sip your tea in that fancy castle of yours before you break a fingernail."

Chrom sighs and facepalms. "He's done it now."

Frederick nods in agreement. "The poor fool… I almost pity him."

Julius looks between the fighters before calling the start of the match. The Soldier looks ready to tear Lissa apart. Lissa stands slightly slumped over, making her hair cover the top of her face. Wait… Are her eyes glowing behind her bangs?

Oh… Oh, s-it… He's screwed.

The Soldier charges forward with his Steel Lance poised. "Your loss, Little Miss Delicate!"

*Whack!*

Faster than anyone can blink, Lissa brings down her staff right in his face.

"I…" *Whack!*

"am…" *Whack!*

"not…" *Whack!*

"DELICATE!"

*Whack, whack, whack, whack!*

I thought Clerics are supposed to be unable to attack! What the heck, Lissa!

It doesn't stop with the young princess using her staff as a weapon, either. After a dozen whacks, Lissa tosses her staff aside and starts to manhandle her poor opponent barehanded. Let's just say, the vast amount of medical knowledge that Clerics/Priests are known for can have some…interesting applications.

"Ow, ow, ow! No, not there!"

Very…interesting applications.

"It's not supposed to bend that way!"

"Well, now it does!"

The less said about what Lissa's doing right now, the better.

"Mercy! I yield! I yiiieeeld!"

Lissa's opponent is carried to the infirmary under sobs and shouts of pain as people look at his brutalized form in horror. Lissa herself descends the platform without a care in the world.

"Phew… I might've pulled a pinky muscle."

Robin and I look at the princess in a mix of awe and horror. I slowly sidle up to Chrom and whisper a question that I pray goes unheard by our Cleric.

"Is that…normal?"

Chrom shakes his head and whispers back. "No, but I remember Lissa doing something similar once to a recruit who called her delicate one time too many. Since then, everyone's careful in how often we call her that."

I gulp at the implications. "Duly noted."

After another few minutes for everyone to digest that fact that, yes, a Cleric just destroyed a Soldier in single-combat, Julius calls for the next (and hopefully, final) battle.

Chrom ascends the platform with resolute steps, only to stop in shock upon seeing "Marth" on the other side.

"Before we begin, there's one thing I want to tell you." Chrom says as the two sword wielders reach the middle of the platform. "Lissa owes you her life, and for that you have my gratitude. But within these walls, I represent the East-Khan and the interests of Ylisse. I can't promise to stay my blade, but I vow not to shame you."

"Heh, never expected such youthful arrogance." "Marth" scoffs. "We shall see who shames who!"

Julius looks between the opponents before raising his arm. "Fighters ready? Begin!"

Chrom draws Falchion and gets in a ready stance. To his, and every other Shepherd's shock, "Marth" draws the exact same sword.

"Where did you get that?" Chrom asks bewildered. He only gets silence in return. The prince shakes his head in denial. "There's no way…"

Deciding to leave those thoughts aside, the captain of the Shepherds charges his mysterious opponent with a battle cry and executes a vicious jump slash.

*Clang!*

BGM: Red like roses part 2, RWBY OST

The divine swords clash in a shower of sparks. "Marth" blocks the swing with visible effort, but stops it nonetheless. The sword fighters break off and clash numerous times on the platform, Chrom with brutal swings and unyielding defense, "Marth" with agility and precise maneuvers.

"Tell me, who taught you to fight like that?" Chrom asks between clashes.

"My father!" the masked sword fighter answers before executing the exact same jump slash that Chrom performed not even a minute ago. Chrom dodges at the last second, surprised that his opponent used the same move.

"How is this possible?!" I hear Frederick exclaim to my right. The Great Knight looks like he's having a minor crisis. "There should only be one Falchion in the entire world, and yet this young man wields the very same blade!"

"You sure?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Beyond the shadow of a doubt!" the knight answers back. "Everyone in the halidom knows this for a fact!"

"And yet, there are two of those swords…" Robin muses. "Could it be that Chrom's opponent simply wields a sword that resembles Falchion?"

Frederick shakes his head. "That is equally impossible. I myself have tended to the blade numerous times and know every single detail of it. And I can tell with absolute certainty that the masked man wields Falchion – a second one."

While Frederick's busy trying to piece together the puzzle before him, I have my own things to think about. "Marth's" movements seem a bit odd. The masked sword wielder crouches a lot and moves around the arena really fast. Too fast, considering the nature of those movements. Almost as if…

What the heck?! That's no ordinary crouching, that's a wavedash! I see it now! "Marth" crouches as if preparing to jump, only to transition into pushing in a different direction instead, and uses the momentum from rising from the crouch to move really fast!

There's something else that seems fishy with "Marth's" movements. Every time the masked sword wielder lands, "Marth" starts moving again much faster than when Chrom lands from a jump. No matter the motion before landing, "Marth" acts out of a jump almost immediately.

No…way. That's no ordinary landing technique, that's an L-cancel! Chrom's opponent behaves like a character from Super Smash Bros Melee! Is it possible "Marth" is a Gamer like me?

A quick Observe indicates the negative. The skills are there, but nothing Gamer related. What is up with this sword fighter?!

With movement tech like that, "Marth" quickly forces Chrom on the defensive. But what Chrom lacks in technique (which he really doesn't, his opponent is just that much more skilled), he makes up for with superior strength and enough speed to keep up. Guess he has Frederick and his unforgiving training exercises to thank for that. And, more importantly, he's adapting to "Marth's" movements. Chrom not only responds faster to the strange movements of his opponent, he's starting to intercept them.

Just as "Marth" lunges for a stab, Chrom sidesteps the move and counters with a horizontal slash that "Marth" narrowly avoids by bending backwards and dodging by a hair's breadth. As the masked sword fighter comes back up, Chrom unleashes a relentless barrage that ends with the two locking their blades.

*Clang!*

"You're good, I'll give you that." Chrom comments during the power struggle.

"I have no need for your praise!" "Marth" fires back through gritted teeth.

"Fine!" The blade lock breaks up and the fighters retake their stances.

Chrom finally takes the initiative and goes on the offensive. Now that he's used to "Marth's" movements, he's starting to punch holes in his opponent's defenses and is slowly gaining ground. And to further shift things into Chrom's favor, "Marth" is slowing down. Looks like using all that movement tech is very tiring.

Chrom swings his sword in a horizontal arc that "Marth" jumps over before landing behind him. At that moment, the masked sword fighter lunges for another stab that Chrom parries while pivoting. Chrom rushes into the opening with a stab of his own that "Marth" barely blocks. The force behind the blow leaves the masked sword fighter unbalanced, allowing Chrom to keep slashing at his opponent. Right, left, overhead, sidestep, stab, bait, diagonal, pivot, backhand, crouch! A rising slash from Chrom breaks open "Marth's" guard and leaves the mysterious warrior wide open.

"Marth" tries to back off with a wavedash, but Chrom reads the move and takes one more step into the perfect range.

"Have another!" *Shing!*

The slash hits "Marth" from shoulder to hip. The masked warrior drops Parallel Falchion and lands on the back panting.

"Impressive…if not surprising…" "Marth utters before forfeiting the match.

Julius raises his arm. "Winner: Chrom of Ylisse!"

BGM ends

The arena is drowned in cheers once more over the spectacular sword fight. Julius calls for silence again.

"All fighters representing the west have been defeated! With a result of five to zero, Khan Flavia of the east is the victor of this tournament! Let us celebrate our new khan!"

The crowd chants Flavia's name as she ascends the platform and stands proudly for everyone to see.


"Well fought! You have my respect." Flavia congratulates us after everything has settled down. "And, perhaps more to the point, you have your alliance. I will provide Ylisse with the soldiers she needs."

"Truly? Thank you, East-Khan." Chrom replies smiling.

"I should thank you!" Flavia replies back laughing. "It feels like ages since I've held full power. Come, my new friends! Tonight, we celebrate!"

With that, the newly crowned khan runs off to Naga-knows-where, probably to organize a feast. A feast sounds nice right about now, after all that trudging through snow, fighting and dragging my body through the hell that is Frederick's fanatical fitness hour.


Quest alert:
Main quest: East meets west
After a spectacular series of fights, you've managed to conquer the tournament of the khans with a landslide victory! As per the agreement, Flavia has forged an alliance with Ylisse, giving the halidom the military power it needs for the battles to come. Time to return to Ylisstol to share the good news with Emmeryn!
Objective: Win the tournament of the khans.
All objectives cleared!
Rewards:
Your standing with Ylisse has increased! You gain 4 000 EXP! You gain 4 000 gold!
Bonus objective: Defeat Lon'qu without killing him.
All bonus objectives cleared!
Bonus rewards:
Your relationship with Lon'qu has improved greatly! You gain 1 000 EXP! You gain 1 000 gold!

You have leveled up!


We're approached by Basilio, who shakes his head at Flavia.

"Bah! Any excuse for a party and Flavia jumps on it…"

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Chrom asks.

"I'm the West-Khan you so rudely removed from power! You're handy with a sword, boy. I thought for sure I'd picked the stronger man."

"What do you know about him?"

"You mean "Marth"? Bah! He's just some sellsword with delusions of grandeur. All I know is that he turned up one eve and knocked my old champion flat." Basilio starts to grin at the memory. "It was love at first sight, and I'm generally too old for such things! Baha!"

I can't help but think how Chrom will take that comment by the time he learns "Marth's" true identity. Won't that make for an interesting conversation…

"Anyway, he's gone now. Up and fled the moment the tournament ended."

"He's so dark and mysterious…" Lissa sighs. Are those…hearts floating off her body?

"Sounds like Marth's got at least one fan…" Robin comments idly.

"Well, I mean, come on… He IS sort of dreamy, isn't he?"

"And YOU'RE sort of dreaming!" Chrom retorts scowling.

"Yowch! Lighten up, Big Brother. I was just kidding."

Overprotective already, Chrom? Yikes. I feel bad for the poor guy who wants to date Lucina in the future.

"Milord? Milady? If this fascinating discussion is over, we'd best return home." Frederick interjects. "The exalt will want this news of our new alliance immediately."

Chrom nods in agreement. "Right you are, Frederick."

Basilio raises his hand. "Hold, boy. Before you go, I have a little present for you."

Enter Lon'qu! The guy glances at me briefly before focusing on Chrom.

"I suppose you don't need any introduction, but I'll give one anyway." the bald khan explains. "This is Lon'qu, my previous champion. Not much for talking, mind you, but you've already seen his skill with a sword."

Basilio then turns to me. "So, whad'ya think, little man? You're the one who fought Lon'qu, if I remember correctly. Those were some impressive moves back there, by the way. First time I see someone fight with weapons they conjured out of mana."

That comment alone shows how experienced Basilio is, as he immediately caught on to how I made my weapons appear.

I nod in agreement. "He's a powerful sword wielder, for sure. Had I let up even the slightest, I may not even be alive right now. And…thanks for the compliment, I suppose. Though I still need to practice conjuring weapons. Lon'qu showed me that I'm too slow and the weapons are too brittle."

The West-Khan let's out a loud laugh. "Ha! That's Lon'qu for ya! I'd say he's at least as good with a sword as Marth." Basilio scratches his head. "To be honest, I can't figure out how Marth bested him so quickly."

Lissa looks at the Myrmidon curiously. "Marth beat him? But he looks so big and strong…"

The princess walks closer to get a better look at Lon'qu, only for the guy to step back with a tense expression. "Away, woman!"

Lissa reacts like someone slapped her in the face. "Hey! Wh-what did I say?!"

Basilio lets out another laugh. "Ba ha ha! Let's just say that ladies tend to put Lon'qu on edge. Nonetheless, he is capable. Perhaps he even has the makings of a khan. Consider him West Ferox's contribution to the Ylissean cause."

"You're certain about this?" Chrom asks.

Basilio replies with a shooing motion. "Yes, yes. He's your man now."

Then the prince turns to the Myrmidon. "And Lon'qu? You have no objections?"

"He gives orders. I stab people. I think our roles are clear." Lon'qu replies. Then he turns to me. "Besides, I still need to settle the score with you."

I point at myself. "Me? We have a score to settle?"

Lon'qu nods. "You spared me when you could've easily ended my life. I will not let that stand. I will surpass you, and when I do, we will have that rematch you offered."

I smile at Lon'qu. "To be fair, I'd say you're the better swordsman between the two of us. I think I could learn a lot about swordplay from you."

"Yet you won our match." the Myrmidon counters. "Just like you claim that you can learn a lot from me, I can learn fighting against many different weapons from you."

I grin as I stretch out my hand to Lon'qu. "Then I guess this makes us rivals, as well as partners."

Lon'qu smiles as he takes my hand and shakes it. "Rivals…as well as partners. I like the sound of that."


Your relationship with Lon'qu has advanced! Your relationship with Lon'qu is now "Trusted".

Your relationship with Lon'qu has gained a new aspect! You and Lon'qu are now "Rivals"!

Quest alert:
Main quest: Feroxi alliance
It took a lot of work and fighting, but the alliance with Regna Ferox is officially formed! The halidom and its exalt can rest easier, knowing that they're backed up by a powerful ally, should Plegia try any funny business.
Objectives: Clear the quest "The Shepherds make their debut". Clear the quest "Warrior realm". Clear the quest "East meets west".
All objectives cleared!
Rewards:
Your relationship with Robin has improved! Your relationship with Chrom has improved! Your standing with Ylisse has improved greatly! Your standing with Regna Ferox has improved! You gain 4 000 EXP! You gain 4000 gold!

Your relationship with Chrom is now "Trusted"!


As much as we want to return to Ylisstol, however, it's already grown dark. So we decide to stay the night and set off first thing in the morning instead. That's actually pretty sweet, or else we'd miss the celebration party Flavia's throwing.

And if there's one thing I've just discovered, it's that feroxi party wild. The food and drinks are just the appetizers on the party that Flavia arranged on a moment's notice. There's arm wrestling, dancing, the occasional game of chicken using knives, you name it. And it only gets wilder the more these guys drink. I'm among the few who decide to skip anything alcoholic. I did give their mead a try, but that stuff tastes nasty! No sir, it's a fresh cup of milk for me. At least everybody's having fun, even Lon'qu. Sure, he tries to look stoic, but I can tell that he enjoys that knife game (Probably because he can show off his awesome skills with a knife. What did the game call him again? Oh yeah. The deftest potato peeler.).

"This is certainly different from any feast I have had the fortune to be invited to in the past." I hear Virion say.

I turn to the left to see the Archer approach the table where I sit with a tankard in hand.

"Same here." I answer and take another bite from the ribs on my plate. Yeah, Flavia's men managed to get a small pack of boars in time for the party, and these guys know how to cook boar over an open fire!

"From what I could gather from the locals in the building, it would seem festivities of this nature are commonplace in the capital." Me and Virion turn to see Miriel sitting at the table with some potato stew.

I raise an eyebrow at her observation. "Really? Throwing parties like these seem to take a lot of preparation, not to mention all the food and drinks that need to be arranged."

The Mage adjusts her glasses. "Indeed. It would seem the East-Khan has a habit of emptying the storages quite often. The people living in and around the capital are always hard at work to make sure the storages are stocked, should she arrange any sort of feast."

It's at this moment that Virion and I notice a chair seemingly move on its own.

"Goodness! Is this place haunted?!" the Archer exclaims.

Miriel shakes her head. "That would be Kellam. I wondered where he headed off to."

I run an Observe on the space.


Chair, Miscellaneous, Very common


Why do I only get the chair? Weird…

"Why are you squinting at me like that, Jack?" the chair asks me.

"I'm trying to find an ally of mine, but I'm having little su- Whoa! Kellam, where'd you come from?!"

"I just sat down on this chair." the Knight responds. Man, still can't get a read on this guy! "Your fight in that tournament was incredible, Jack. I had no idea you could fight like that."

Virion nods smiling. "Indeed, that battle was worthy to be sung by the bards for generations to come. My friend, where did you learn to fight like that, let alone with a pair of keys, of all things?"

I absentmindedly scratch my cheek. "My mana channels really easy when I imagine giving it a shape. That, and I accidentally discovered that I can mimic the skills of the original wielder when I conjure weapons like the ones you saw. That's…the simple explanation."

Did Miriel's glasses just flash at the edges? "How fascinating. Were I not completely occupied with studying Kellam's ability to vanish from everyone's awareness, I would have studied your ability to conjure these strange weapons."

Phew… I feel like I just escaped being strapped to a metal table and dissected- I think I've watched way too many movies that involve human experimentation.

Aside from the odd conversation at the table, the evening is mostly spent partying either peacefully or all-out.


Being the inhuman early bird that he is, Frederick wakes us up at the crack of dawn. While some of us had the forethought to turn in early for the evening, there are some of us who drag themselves up like we've become part of the Risen, including Vaike and, surprisingly, Miriel and Kellam. Turns out Miriel got so engrossed in her research that she ended up pulling an all-nighter. That meant poor Kellam was pulled along for the ride.

Our trip back to Ylisstol was thankfully uneventful and boring. With all the action we've been through during this mission, normal traveling almost feels like vacation. No paranoid barbarian soldiers, no murderous zombies, no bandits getting any funny ideas.

Upon returning to the capital, Chrom and Lissa immediately head for the throne room to notify Emmeryn about the new alliance.

As for the rest of us, we head for the barracks to get some rest. Those with mounts take their animal partners to the stables. Sumia in particular looks excited about introducing her pegasus to her new home.

As for me…

*Thwack! Thwack, thwack!*

I only had a few minutes of winding down before Lon'qu challenged me to a spar. The guy travels light, so he only needed little time to get settled into his new room.

*Thwack, thwack! Smack!* "Ow!"

It's one thing fighting the guy with two keyblades in hand. It's another to fight him armed with nothing but a practice sword.

*Whack, smack!* "Gueh!"

Long story short, he's kicking my ass, and he doesn't even use his legs for it!

Lon'qu scowls at me. "Your form is very different compared to when we fought the first time. Don't tell me you're holding back."

I rub my left side where the Myrmidon just put my latest bruise. Man, that stings!

"Truth be told, what I pulled back in the arena had quite a bit of magic involved. I'm trying to learn how to fight without having to rely on it."

Lon'qu nods in understanding. "I see. You believe relying on it too much will turn it into a crutch."

"Exactly. Still, this means I have a lot of training ahead of me if I want to catch up to you in terms of swordsmanship."

"Indeed. At the same time, you've yet to fight me with any other training weapon other than a practice sword."

I roll my eyes at that comment. "Oh, come on! We just got back! We'll have time to practice other weapon forms."

"Very well." Lon'qu replies. Then he gets back in his stance. "Ready for another round?"

Sigh. I know this practice is important for the both of us, but getting smacked around by this guy sucks!

Before we can continue our spar, however, Chrom storms into the training area, and he does not look happy.

"Chrom? What's the matter?" I ask the angry prince.

"Maribelle's been taken prisoner by the Mad King of Plegia!" Chrom snarls. "We're heading out to meet the dastard to find out what he wants. Honestly, I would want nothing more than to stick a sword in his gut and be done with it all, but Emmeryn wants me to stay my hand, so I will."

I narrow my eyes upon hearing Gangrel's name.

Gangrel… The reigning king of Plegia and the reason why the people of Ylisse have been plagued by bandit raids lately. Not to mention the jerk allows the Grimleal to run free within his own borders. I don't care if he has some sort of noble or altruistic goal for waging war against Ylisse, I agree with Chrom on the whole "stick a sword in his gut" thing.

"I'm going with you, Chrom." I tell the prince. "I've heard rumors about this "Mad King". And if they contain so much as a shred of truth, you can't trust him any further than a child can throw a boulder."

Chrom nods at my response. "Thank you, Jack. I was actually about to ask you and Lon'qu if you two wanted to join me as I travel with Emm and Lissa to meet Gangrel." Chrom turns to Lon'qu. "So, how about it, Lon'qu? Will you join us?"

"Point me towards an enemy, and I will cut him down." the Myrmidon replies. "Just don't expect me to act as your bodyguard."

Chrom nods. "Good enough for me."


Quest alert:
Main quest: The exalt and the king
Maribelle's been taken prisoner after Plegian bandits raided a village on her home soil! And then Gangrel has the audacity to claim she's the guilty one. As much as you'd like to send the Mad King to an early grave, Emmeryn is determined to solve the situation peacefully. Though, knowing Gangrel, there will be a lot of bloodshed and a declaration of war before this political mess is cleaned up. Protect the exalt at all costs!
Objectives: Defeat all Plegian soldiers. Don't let Emmeryn die.
Rewards: Increased standing with Ylisse, 5 000 EXP, 5 000 gold
Bonus objectives: ?
Bonus rewards: ?, ?, Greatly increased standing with Ylisse, 2 000 EXP, 2 000 gold
Failure: The death of the exalt will lead the halidom on a path to obliteration as the armies of Plegia destroy everything in their path in a crusade for vengeance.


If there was any doubt that this mission is urgent, it's shattered to pieces by the fact that Emmeryn has us setting out immediately – even as it starts to get dark. It's a good thing I always carry excess stuff in my inventory and Lon'qu travels light, as we're both ready to go in a matter of minutes.

We're waiting in the courtyard when the other Shepherds approach us. They don't just look determined – they look ready for war. It is only now that it sinks in for me how tightly knit the Shepherds are as a group, despite them not necessarily having gone through any support convos. If you mess with one Shepherd, you mess with all of them. Finally, Chrom approaches us with Emmeryn and Phila in tow.

"Well then? Is everyone ready to go?" the prince asks us. "It's a long march through the western mountains to the Plegian border."

Everyone present gives nods in affirmative. That's when we hear frantic footsteps of someone running in our direction.

"Captain! I'm all packed! When do we leave?!"

Hey, it's Ricken! The little guy's all geared up and looks ready for action.

Chrom looks at the young Mage in surprise. "Ricken? How did you…" The prince shakes his head. "Go back inside. You're not old enough for this mission."

Ricken recoils in shock before steeling himself. "But, Captain! You know my skill with magic! You know I can handle myself!"

"I'd feel safer with your magic here, protecting the garrison." Chrom replies. Then he turns to the rest of us. "All right? We're off then." He casts one final glance to Ricken. "Be good."

Judging by what I remember from the game, the little guy won't take that lying down. Ricken may be young, but he's got balls that put steel to shame. Our band leaves the castle and Ricken behind in silence. The march to the meeting point with Gangrel is about two days long, so our convoy is stocked with plenty of supplies for the journey ahead.


Timeskip: Two days later

Our trip was thankfully uneventful, allowing us to reach the mountainous western border with little difficulty. The most action we had was each of us taking turns for night watch for the two nights that we camped. Of course, I took the opportunity to train my skills inside my UBW in preparation for the coming battles. Hopefully I can spar with Lon'qu now without the guy making me look like a total novice.

It's early morning of the third day of our trip. We'll reach the agreed meeting point soon. If memory serves, the conversation between Emmeryn and Gangrel will basically consist of Emmeryn trying to be diplomatic while Gangrel insists on being an absolute jerk. If only there was a way to free Maribelle before Gangrel uses her as a bargaining chip…

Wait, who am I kidding? Of course there should be a way! And I have the perfect excuse to try pulling it off!

"Hey, Chrom?" I call out to the prince.

Chrom's been pretty tense during our whole journey (in fact, everyone has, with the lack of action and worrying about Maribelle) and turns to me with a scowl that may or may not be intentional.

"Yes, Jack? What is it?"

I take a peek at the mountainside before addressing him. "I don't like where this is going. Sure, it sounds reasonable for King Gangrel to suggest that we meet at the border between Ylisse and Plegia, but those mountain cliffs look like the perfect spot for preparing an ambush. This whole meeting reeks of treachery."

Emmeryn jumps into our conversation with a stern look. "Jack, while I appreciate you being vigilant, I do not approve of you speaking ill of King Gangrel."

I shake my head (and resist the urge to kneel). "I'm serious, Your Grace. I don't trust the Mad King one bit. Think about it. How much of a head start do you suppose he's had on us in preparation of this meeting? He's the one who demanded it, meaning he could've set out before he sent the message, for all we know. Heck, he's allowed bandits from his own country to cross this very border and pillage the towns and villages of Ylisse. And now this whole mess with Maribelle… I'm not entirely sure what he's after, but I doubt it's anything good. If nothing else, scouting ahead can put the rest of us at ease that we'll actually have a somewhat peaceful meeting."

Emmeryn looks hesitant from my reasoning, especially since both Frederick and Phila agree with it.

"All right, go ahead, Jack." Chrom eventually speaks up. "Just, be careful. Climbing these mountains is no easy task."

I nod to the prince. "Thanks, Chrom. I will."

With that, I run ahead of the group. Just as I'm out of sight, I activate Reinforcement so I can jump up the mountain. Traditional climbing? Ain't nobody got time for that!

I continuously scan my surroundings with Mind's eye as I parkour my way along the mountainside. There are a few trails that look reasonably traversable. What catches my eye on these trails is that I spot signs of someone passing through here recently. Broken twigs? Check. A disturbed trail of leaves? Check. Small indentations where the ground looks soft? Check. Yep, there's definitely someone ahead of me. I slow down my approach a little and stick to higher ground.

It's not long before I spot the one who made the tracks. I knew it; Ricken. The little guy didn't just disobey Chrom, he managed to catch up to us during our journey and even got ahead by the time we reached the mountains. By Naga's melodic voice, the kid's stamina must be crazy! It's only reasonable that the little Mage is resting against a cliff.

I sneak around and above his resting place before I drop down right beside him.

*Thump!* "Yo."

I barely manage to cover Ricken's mouth before he screams in fright.

"Shh! It's me!"

Ricken stops struggling before looking up at my face. He finally relaxes, meaning it's safe for me to remove my hand.

"Phew… Hey, aren't you the new guy who joined us a while ago? Lissa told me about you." Ricken eventually asks.

I nod. "That's me. Name's Jack." I reach out my hand. "Nice to meetcha."

Ricken accepts the handshake. "I'm Ricken. I'm a member of the Shepherds."

"So I figured from when you and Chrom talked back at the castle." I reply with a nod. "So, what's a lone Shepherd like yourself doing smack middle in the mountains all by yourself?"

Ricken looks at me with a scowl.

"Those Plegian jerks attacked Themis and took Maribelle prisoner! They've attacked us before, but they crossed the line this time. I'm saving Maribelle from those creeps, and if the Captain doesn't approve of me joining the mission, I'll do it myself!"

"Uh huh…" I reply with a deadpan expression. "And how exactly did you plan to pull that off by your lonesome? Unless you've noticed, we're in the middle of the freakin' western mountain range. How are you even supposed to find anyone here, let alone Maribelle specifically?"

Ricken grins. "Oh, that's easy! I already know where she is."

"Say what?"

Ricken faces the foliage growing on the mountainside and gives a sharp whistle. The bushes and small trees rustle before squirrels start to pop out. And then more of them. Again. And again. Dude, there's, like, a hundred squirrels around us right now – minimum!

"What the heck?" I mutter as I look around at all the gathered critters.

"I asked the squirrels around the mountains and nearby forests to help me search for Maribelle a few hours ago. They've told me that they've found her, so I'm just following their lead." Ricken explains.

I look at the little Mage incredulously. "You can talk to squirrels?"

Ricken shrugs. "It's more like I'm just good with animals. I've been particularly good friends with the squirrels for years now."

I raise an eyebrow. "That's neat and all, but what does that have to do with finding Maribelle?"

"Everything." Ricken replies. "Did you know squirrels are real gossip mongers? They hang out almost everywhere where there's trees – forests, gardens, even the occasional town. And they're really good listeners. If something's going on, they'll know in a matter of minutes. They can find out about almost anything faster than most spies."

My second eyebrow joins the first one. "Really?"

Ricken nods proudly. "Yep. And since I'm their friend, they're more than happy to share with me what they learn – provided I have some nuts for them."

"So it's a give-and-take sort of deal…" I muse. Huh… If what Ricken says is true, these little critters have a massive spy network that spans Naga-knows-how-far. If we can take advantage of that, Ylisse could be the most well-informed nation on the continent. Except there's a massive flaw in this idea.

"How do you even understand what they're saying?" I ask Ricken. "Don't tell me you can speak Squirrel."

Ricken rubs the bottom of his nose proudly. "Well, kind off. I don't understand every word, but I get the gist of what they say."

The young Mage gets up from his resting position and starts walking.

"Come on! Maribelle's this way."

I decide to follow Ricken, for a lack of better options. Judging by his determined expression, I doubt I could talk him out of this insane plan.

With some guidance of the squirrels, we soon spot an outcropping with what looks like soldiers dressed as bandits – and Maribelle, tied up and lying on the ground.

Let's see what Observe can tell me.


Plegian soldier Lvl 14 Class: Fighter
A soldier of Plegia's standing army. Due to the bloody war that raged between Plegia and Ylisse prior to Emmeryn coming into power, a deep-seated hatred for everything connected to the halidom has grown within the hearts of these people. Some try to let go of the past, but others cry out for vengeance to this very day. Naturally, the latter are the most loyal to the reigning king, Gangrel.


So, there are some plegians who want peace, just like Emmeryn? I suppose Tharja and Henry are two of them, which I find quite ironic, since they're both Dark Mages.

"Well, there's Maribelle…" Ricken muses. "Now, how do we rescue her? There's three of those soldiers. I could take on one of them, but I don't know if you can handle the two others."

I put my hand on my chin. "I could, but if they have allies nearby, the battle noise could alert them. We'd be outnumbered in the blink of an eye if we tried attacking head-on."

"So what should we do?"

I smirk as an idea starts to blossom in my head. "I have a plan…"


POV change: General

Lieutenant Fighs sighs while looking out over the mountainous landscape and then back at his two subordinates. His Majesty gave strict orders to guard the Themesean noble that they captured during their latest "raid". For what, no one was really told. Well, orders are orders.

His musings are cut short as he hears two voices from a cliff higher up the mountains.

"Hey, Ricken! What do you call a plegian with half a brain?!"

"What?"

"Gifted!"

The soldiers turn to see two ylisseans laughing at their own joke. Much to Fighs's shame, his subordinates get riled up and chase the two ylisseans, who duck behind the cliff and out of sight.

As the two soldiers vanish from his field of vision, the lieutenant sighs again. Honestly… This is why he hates commanding fresh recruits. Always think they're at the top of the world because they cleared one aptitude test and determined to remind absolutely everyone about that.

If the other officers back home catch wind of this, he'll never hear the end of it. Oh, who was he kidding? Of course they'll catch wind of it! The Plegian military has more gossip mongering than any manor filled to the brim with female nobility.

Sigh…

On the flip side, he might hear something interesting about the others in turn. At this point, Captain Vasto and his men are bound to have returned from their latest exercise. That means the man will hit the nearest bar and hit on the nearest barmaid – only to get violently rejected and hit in the face, with a red hand print to tell the story. You would think he'd get the hint after the fifth rejection, but Vasto still thinks he's the gods' gift to women everywhere. As if… The average knave has more luck with Lady Aversa than that buffoon has with even the most desperate harlot in Plegia.

Well, the recruits are back, and they were only gone for a few minutes. Seems like they wizened up quickly enough. One of them seems a bit shorter than he remembers, though…

Bah! He'll bother trying to remember the recruits if they can achieve something worthwhile. They're back at their posts, at least. Good. Maybe this won't be as embarrassing as he feared.

One of the recruits – the taller one – seems oddly fidgety.

The lieutenant sighs again.

"Oh, what is it now?" Fighs asks exasperated. "I can tell you're dying to tell me something, so you may as well spit it out so we can be done with it."

The recruit fidgets a bit more before turning to his superior.

"Well, sir, it's just, one of those Ylissean dogs said something strange before we cut the two of them down."

Fighs rolls his eyes. Do these morons really have to concern themselves with every little thing they come across? Pathetic. Well, might as well get this idiocy over with.

"Oh?" the lieutenant drawls. "And what, pray tell, did he say?"

The recruit clears his throat. "He said, and I quote: "What do you call a plegian with a whole brain?""

Fighs is about to chew out the recruit for bringing up such a ridiculous matter when pain erupts from his back. As he turns his head, he spots the shorter of the recruits, who removes his helmet to reveal…the shorter of the two ylisseans from before! The boy stabbed him in the back with a lance!

Before Fighs can call out to his fellow soldiers, his gets hit in the chest. He looks down to spot the Iron Axe of the other recruit. Said recruit removes his helmet while grinning – and reveals the other ylissean!

"A disguised ylissean."

Those are the last words lieutenant Fighs hears before the ylissean in front rips the axe out and beheads him.


POV change: Jack

Well, that went smoothly. We got three Plegian soldiers and cleared the area to save Maribelle without causing too much of a ruckus.

Oh, you're wondering how we pulled the whole disguise thing off? Well, it went like this:


Flashback

Right after me and Ricken had made our Plegian joke, we ran and hid behind a corner further away and awaited the Plegian soldiers. Just like planned, two of them ran after us. Phase one, cleared.

"You ready?" I asked my partner.

Ricken picked up a stone roughly twice the size of my fist. "Ready."

It was easy to know where the Plegian soldiers were with the help of Mind's eye. Just as they were about to round the corner, I gave Ricken the signal. The Mage threw the stone as hard as he could.

*Thwack!*

Ooh… Right in the temple. Kid's got some good aim, probably from all his practice in magic. Ricken's target went down with that hit. As for my target…

Remember the Frying pan I picked up back in Southtown?

*Wham!*

I kept it.

My target went down from the blow to the face. That was both of our targets down. Phase two, cleared.

It took some effort, but we managed to strip the plegians off their gear to put it on ourselves. Ricken was about to put on the chestplate of the smaller one when he recoiled in disgust.

"Bleah! This thing stinks!"

I shrugged while putting on an arm guard. "Who knows how long it's been since these guys last bathed. Life on the field leaves precious few times to get washed."

Time to initiate phase three.

Flashback end


I'm honestly surprised our cover wasn't blown the moment the third soldier spotted Ricken. The guy is way shorter than any of the soldiers. Well, enough musing. Maribelle's right there.

The blonde Troubadour stirs awake as we prop her up and get started on the ropes.

"Uhn… Wha…? Ricken? Jack?"

Ricken brightens up upon seeing Maribelle regaining consciousness. "Maribelle! You're awake!"

Maribelle looks around before returning her attention to us. "Where are we?"

"The western mountains between Ylisse and Plegia." I answer. "Gangrel demanded he meet with the exalt after we received news of the Plegian bandits raiding a village in Themis and capturing you. By the way, he claims you're the one who crossed the border and attacked them."

Maribelle scowls at hearing my words. "That cur is lying through his teeth! I saw those wretched beasts set the whole village on fire with my own eyes! Just as I tried to intervene, they had the audacity to capture me and knock me unconscious! Those troglodytes will pay! That I promise you."

"What a coincidence. I feel exactly the same after hearing your story. With any luck, we may give Gangrel the retribution he so rightfully deserves."

The ropes eventually come off. While a bit roughed up from the kidnapping, Maribelle is more than capable of standing on her own.

"Before we leave, there is something I absolutely have to retrieve from these wretches. Hopefully it is among their supplies."

Now that's a good suggestion. Since Gangrel's been such a jerk this whole time, I may as well return the favor a bit in advance and loot whatever I can from those soldiers.

There's not much in their possession that is useful for me, but I did find a-

"Aha! Glory be, it is still in pristine condition!"

I turn back to find Maribelle holding…her parasol?

"Really?" I deadpan.

Maribelle replies by almost poking me in the face with the parasol. "Never mock a lady with her parasol." she tells me in a cold voice. "That will be my first lesson in etiquette to you."

"Uh… Shouldn't it be something along the lines of "always show proper respect to a lady"?" I ask while eyeing the white accessory.

Maribelle gives her parasol a twirl before shouldering it. "That would probably count as an advanced lesson at this point, but who am I to deny such an enthusiastic student?"

"Um, shouldn't we head back to the others?" Ricken interjects. Maribelle and I nod at his suggestion. The local squirrels are once again happy to lead the way.

"By the way, Jack, you mentioned earlier that we may give King Gangrel some form of retribution. How exactly do you plan to do that?" Maribelle asks. "Wretched as he may be, he is still a king. Any sort of offense against him without a cause of major importance could spark a war."

I look at her with a smirk. "I found something on those soldiers earlier that could be just what we need. But if I'm gonna pull this off, I'll need your help, Maribelle."

The blonde Troubadour raises an eyebrow. "Oh? Do tell."

By the time we find the rest of our group, they've already met up with Gangrel and Aversa. Let's see what Observe can tell me.


Gangrel Lvl 35 Class: Trickster
The reigning king of Plegia. His cruel personality and treacherous behavior have earned him the moniker "Mad King" among the courts of other countries. He shares the deep hatred that his people have for Ylisse and has sent numerous groups of soldiers disguised as bandits to the towns of the halidom to pillage the settlements and provoking war. While this ruthless warmongering has earned approval among the more violent part of his people, there are those who are opposed to his rule (not that they dare speak up about it).

Titles:
King of Plegia (+ 5 % CHAR)
Mad King (+ 10 % INT, - 10 % CHAR)

HP: 4 900 / 4 900
MP: 2 875 / 2 875

STR: 32
VIT: 28
DEX: 72
INT: 49.5 (45*1.1)
WIS: 20
LUCK: 26
CHAR: 29 (31*0.9*1.05)

Items:
Levin sword (equipped)


Aversa Lvl 69 Class: Dark flier
A mysterious woman of unknown origins. By using her beauty and allure, she has charmed her way into the good graces of many men in powerful positions. Despite generally possessing strength that far surpasses those that she charms, Aversa is content in playing the role of advisor. Be warned, however. Behind the alluring demeanor lurks a sinister and sadistic personality who has no qualms with killing anyone whom she no longer deems useful for her cause, hidden as it may be.

Titles:
Grimleal high priestess (+ 10 % MP)

HP: 10 050 / 10 050
MP: 7 535 / 7 535 (6 850*1.1)

STR: 71
VIT: 63
DEX: 94
INT: 136
WIS: 67
LUCK: 18
CHAR: 52

Items:
Goethia (equipped)
Killer lance


Look, I consider myself a guy with a decent moral compass and who decided to side with the good guys. I'm also a guy with a healthy (but not obsessive) appreciation for the female form. So please understand me correctly when I say this:

Evil has NEVER looked so sexy!

I mean, wow! Aversa doesn't just have the curves, she's NOT afraid to show them off with her skintight bodysuit and ridiculously deep v-neck.

Ahem! Alright, better get my mind out of the gutter before it gets buried there. That's not eye candy I'm looking at, it's a bonafide femme fatale.

"I fear I must shield my eyes! Bwa ha ha ha!" we hear Gangrel exclaim.

Do not go UBW on the evil man! Do not go UBW on the evil man! Do not go UBW on the evil man!

I really wanna go UBW on this jerk.

Just as Aversa introduces herself, the three of us make our entrance.

"I have returned, Your Grace, and I bring two of our wayward companions with me." I tell Emmeryn while giving an exaggerated bow.

Everyone looks at me in surprise. Then they look at Ricken. And lastly, everyone is shocked at seeing Maribelle with us.

"Maribelle! You're safe!" the exalt exclaims relieved.

Maribelle barely has time to greet the exalt in return before Gangrel blows his top. "What?! What in blazes are you doing here, you blonde brat?!"

Maribelle directs a cold glare towards the Mad King. "I would gladly tell you, King Gangrel. I was trying to stop a group of bandits who attacked a village in my own homelands when they took me prisoner and brought me to these mountains. Had it not been for Ricken and Jack here, who knows what those bandits could have done to me?"

This is basically the plan we came up with; Maribelle tells her side of the story, and I take over from there. Thus, it's my cue to step forward.

"It gets worse." I continue. "Those bandits were not only from Plegia, they were soldiers who both attacked that village and took Maribelle prisoner under orders from you, King Gangrel." I direct a similarly cold glare towards Gangrel myself at this point.

The Mad King scoffs. "Hmph! I know not what you're talking about, boy, but you'd better watch your tongue before I have you executed for falsely accusing royalty!"

I point my finger towards Gangrel. "Objection!"

BGM: Lying coldly, Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney investigations music

Everyone looks at me surprised at my sudden response.

"If you thought I would believe such a blatant lie, you're dead wrong, King Gangrel. Neither Maribelle nor I are throwing around baseless accusations – we're stating the truth."

"Really, now?" Gangrel replies sneering. "Then how about showing some evidence to back up your claims, hm?"

I reach into my bag to retrieve what I found on that soldier earlier.

"Take that!"

I pull out a document from it.

"These mountains not only mark the border between Ylisse and Plegia, they also act as a natural wall between the two countries. Crossing them is by no means an easy task, especially since anyone who attempts it risks getting spotted by Ylissean Pegasus Knights." I explain. "Naturally, it made me curious about why a group of Plegian bandits would go through all the trouble of crossing these mountains just to raid a single village."

I hold up the document for everyone to see. At this point, I start smirking.

"Imagine my surprise when I found this on their leader after Ricken and I managed to rescue Maribelle. It is a letter containing military orders. First, a band of soldiers in the Plegian army is to disguise themselves as bandits and attack a village in the land of Themis, burning it to the ground if they so wish. Second, the heiress of the duke of Themis is to be taken alive as prisoner and put under strict watch by the king's own guard."

Looks like Gangrel starts to sweat a little. Now for the final push.

"And don't even try to claim that this document is fake or that it was written without your knowledge! This letter both bears your signature and was sealed in wax with the crest of the royal house of Plegia."

Gangrel flinches at my words.

"You knew exactly what happened in that village in Themis because you're the one who ordered it to happen in the first place! This letter proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the responsibility of all that has happened in this incident rests solely on your shoulders. This political meeting is nothing more than a farce of a hostage negotiation! King Gangrel, everything from the attack on Themis to this very meeting was nothing more than a scheme that you orchestrated in order to make demands on the exalt!"

I point my finger at Gangrel once again, this time with enough intensity that I could swear I just cut the air with it.

BGM ends

"Demands that you have no right to make!"

Gangrel shakes with anger as he grinds his teeth together.

"To h-ll with diplomacy! If you won't give me what I want peacefully, I'll just take it by force! Soldiers! Kill the Ylissean witch queen and bring me the Fire Emblem!" the Mad King snarls.

A pair of Barbarians rush Emmeryn.

*Shing! Boom!*

"Think again!"

Too bad for them the exalt has a safety Chrom.

Emmeryn looks first at the fallen plegians appalled, then at Gangrel.

"King Gangrel, you did all of this for the sake of getting the royal treasure of Ylisse?! Your actions today could spark a war between our countries!"

"If that's what it takes for me to get the Fire Emblem, then so be it!" Gangrel answers. "I know the legend. The Fire Emblem has the power to realize the wishes of anyone who bears it. And my wish is that of every plegian; a swift and gruesome end to every ylissean alive! Then again, I'm willing to slaughter the lot of you to the last man, woman and child to get the Fire Emblem anyway, so my wish would be fulfilled no matter what I do! Bwa ha ha ha!"

"You're mad!" Chrom shouts.

"Oh, you realize that only now, little princeling?" Gangrel replies mockingly. "But I'm not heartless. I'll grant you the mercy of dying now, so you won't have to see your precious halidom burn to the ground and the people slaughtered in broad daylight!"

Gangrel turns to the mountainside. "Soldiers! Kill them all!"

Where there was once open mountainside, there are now Plegian soldiers popping up almost everywhere. And to make things worse, they've got Wyvern riders cresting the tops and flying down at us at breakneck speeds.

I turn to Emmeryn and Chrom. "Called it. They totally had an ambush set up."

"Not the time, Jack!" Chrom shouts. He glances back to the other Shepherds present. "Shepherds, battle stations! Phila, protect Emm at all costs!"

BGM: The valedictory elegy, Baten Kaitos Origins music

"Yes, milord!" the Falcon Knight responds before getting Emmeryn on her pegasus and booking it out of the mountains.

A few of the plegians break off from the formation to attack me, Ricken and Maribelle. I draw my Bronze sword and get ready to fight when Maribelle steps up.

"Maribelle, what are you doing?! Get back!" I shout to her.

The Troubadour looks back at me with determined eyes. "You demonstrated your abilities for us all just a few minutes ago, Jack. Now it's my turn."

Maribelle turns back to the incoming soldiers and brandishes…her parasol?!

The first to reach her is a Myrmidon. The plegian gets ready to stab Maribelle, only to have his attack parried by the tip of the parasol. Before he can regain his balance, Maribelle steps in and knees him in the gut and knocks him out with an elbow to the back of his head.

Next up is a Barbarian who swings his axe horizontally. Maribelle jumps over the axe and delivers a spin kick to his head while balancing on the parasol where the axe swung just a moment ago. With the Barbarian stunned, Maribelle grabs him by his free arm and twists it behind him before reversing their positions. That makes the Barbarian take the Flux spell that a Dark mage intended for Maribelle.

Said Dark mage looks horrified at his fallen comrade as the dark energies of the spell wreaks havoc on him. The Dark mage grits his teeth before launching Flux spells at Maribelle at a furious pace. The Troubadour practically dances around the spells, occasionally batting one aside with the parasol or even her bare hand. Before long, Maribelle gets up close to the Dark mage and delivers a series of chops and kicks on him. The Dark mage tries a desperate retaliation by jumping back and preparing another spell, only to get stopped in his tracks as Maribelle throws her parasol into his face. The blonde rushes in, drop kicks the plegian and catches her parasol just as she lands back on the ground.

By this point, one of the Wyvern riders have reached the fight, swooping in with his axe raised high. Maribelle bends to the side and dodges the axe by a hair's breadth. As in; everything except her hair makes it out unscathed. The Troubadour watches horrified as a few cut off strands float down to the ground. She turns to the returning Wyvern rider angrily.

"Big mistake."

Just as the Wyvern rider comes in for another attack run, Maribelle jumps back and opens her parasol right in the wyvern's face. The reptile gets startled by having its field of vision completely obscured by white fabric and halts its dive, making the rider yelp as he tries to calm his mount down. Maribelle tosses her parasol up into the air and grabs the wyvern by the wing joint to swing herself up on its back. The rider looks back at her surprised. Before he can do anything else, the blonde grabs his left arm and stretches it out before delivering a hard palm thrust to the shoulder.

*Crack!*

The strike dislocates the plegian's shoulder, making him cry out in pain and lose his grip on the wyvern. The thrashing of the reptile and its vertical angle makes the rider fall off. Maribelle is already on the ground as she jumped off right after dislocating the plegian's shoulder. She gets in a stance where she rears back both arms on either side of her body. Just as the falling Wyvern rider reaches her, she strikes.

"Hah!" *Thoom!*

Maribelle delivers a vicious double palm thrust into the plegian's chest, sending him flying into the mountainside and knocking him out cold, if not outright killing him.

Right on cue, Maribelle's opened parasol comes back floating down. The blonde grasps it by the handle and shoulders it with a gentle twirl while smirking haughtily.

"Who else?"

Ricken and I look at the Troubadour with mouths open in shock. What. The actual. F-ck?! How did she defeat four trained soldiers armed with nothing but a parasol?!

I run a quick Observe on Maribelle and discover something interesting.


Parasol-fu, Lvl 38 [22.5 %], Passive
While direct combat is frowned upon by the higher end of society, any noble worth their station knows that there comes a time when it becomes inevitable. The parasol is not only an inseparable companion for any true lady, it could make for a surprisingly useful weapon in the right hands. Mix in some hand-to-hand techniques, and it works wonders on brigands trying anything funny.
Increases movement speed and attack speed by 190 % when attacking with a parasol.


Wait… Parasol-fu is a thing?!

"What a woman…" I hear Ricken say to my side. I can only nod dumbly. Who said Troubadours can't fight?

My stupor meets a swift end as I notice more plegians approaching our position. As good as Maribelle is, I doubt she can take all of them. Better intervene.

"Ricken, cover me!" I shout as I rush in to meet the incoming soldiers.

*Clang!*

My first adversary of the fight is a Barbarian.

"Die, Ylissean scum!"

I think he hates me.

"How about "no"?" I fire back and break our weapon lock. I move in before he can recover and slash him across the chest. The plegian winces as blood starts to leak from the wound, but he's very much alive. He goes in for a horizontal swing. I respond by ducking low and rise with a stab aimed at his heart.

*Shink!*

Bull's eye! The Barbarian goes still for a second before slumping over and dropping his axe.

I notice a Soldier coming on from my right. He has his lance in a reverse grip and jumps to gain extra momentum for a plunge.

*Fuom!* "Augh!"

Instead, he gets nailed in the side by an Elwind spell from Ricken. I kick the fallen Barbarian off my sword and move to engage the downed Soldier. He just manages to get up when I kick him in the face and send him back down. Before he can get his bearings back, I jump and plunge my sword into his chest. The Soldier coughs up blood and struggles to get free. Not happening! I quickly pull out my sword and aim for the heart on this guy too.

*Shink!*

Dead. Now for the next- Oh, s-it! Incoming Mercenary! Pull out the sword! Pull out the sword! Argh! Of all the times for the blasted blade to get stuck in the ground!

*Shing!* "Too slow."

Lon'qu! My man!

"Great timing, Lon'qu!" I say as I finally pull my sword out.

The Myrmidon nods. "Robin directed me here the moment the battle began."

We take our stances as we stand back to back. "Good thing she did. I need to thank her later."

"Let's get this battle over with." Lon'qu mutters disinterested. "I want to get back to training as soon as possible. Maybe we should see how many enemies each of us can defeat before the battle is over?"

I shake my head. "As much as I'd like to do that, we'd be better off staying close and keeping an eye on Maribelle and Ricken. They're not as adept in melee combat as we are." And I'm conveniently forgetting the fact that Maribelle just destroyed four plegians on her own.

Lon'qu nods in response. That's all that needs to be said before we rush the plegians trying to target our magic wielding friends.

They're honestly holding up pretty well, considering the hectic battlefield. Maribelle's done an admirable job dodging incoming attacks while healing Ricken's wounds, while Ricken blasts the plegians non-stop with wind magic to keep them at bay. Just as it looks like a Barbarian's about to break through Ricken's magic barrage, Lon'qu speeds up and intercepts the plegian with a merciless decapitation.

"You're no warrior." the Myrmidon mutters disappointed.

"Are you guys okay?" I ask Ricken and Maribelle as I catch up.

"We're doing fine for now, Jack." Ricken answers panting. "But these Plegian soldiers won't stop coming."

"Then it's a good thing Lon'qu and I are here. Let's finish this!" I reply. The others nod as we get ready to face the other incoming plegians. 3-to-1? I think we might be able to handle this.


Huff… Huuh… Okay, so maybe taking on a band of trained soldiers 3-on-1 wasn't such a bright idea after all, but we managed to take them down. Maribelle's busy healing our wounds before we get ready to try to join up with the others.

Warning! Warning! Boss-level enemy detected!

Oh, for crying out loud! We just got the situation under control!

"Look out!" Ricken shouts and tackles me to the ground. A split-second later, I notice something fly just where my head was. I get up and see the mysterious object fly back and stop in the hand of a Wyvern Rider. The object in question is a Short Axe. That means the one who threw it can only be one person.


Orton Lvl 20 Class: Wyvern Rider


I knew it.

"I won't ask for your name. Only your life!" the Plegian Wyvern Rider says before he commands his wyvern to charge.

I get in a ready position. "Ricken, cover Maribelle! If that axe heads your way, blast it out of the air best you can."

The young Mage nods before standing protectively in front of the blonde Troubadour.

"Stay alert." Lon'qu says as he walks up beside me.

"Will do."

We tense up before rushing to meet Orton head-on. Unlike the other Wyvern Riders, Orton can make his wyvern accelerate quickly, giving him better mobility in melee range than the average mook.

Lon'qu rushes in for a stab, but Orton's wyvern backs off quickly. Orton uses that opening to throw his axe at Lon'qu. The Myrmidon ducks low to dodge the axe. That's where I rush in, hoping to catch the plegian while he's weaponless. Just as I jump and try to plunge my sword into him, his wyvern spins in mid-air and smacks me with its tail.

*Whack!*

OW! That wyvern hits hard. Gotta stop rolling before- Ohs-itohs-itohs-it!

"AAAH!" Son of a b-tch! That blasted wyvern smacked me off a cliff side! The ground's getting closer! This is gonna hurt.

*Whoosh!*

"Phew! Just in time."

Oh, thank Naga we have Sumia!

"You're a life saver, Sumia." I pant relieved.

The Pegasus Knight smiles before she steels her face and directs her gaze towards where Lon'qu is currently engaging Orton.

"That wyvern of his is a real pain to fight against." I tell her.

The brunette nods. "He must have trained it extensively. They're not fighting as rider and mount; they're fighting as a team."

Lon'qu's holding up well against the guy, but adding that wyvern to the mix makes things difficult. Lon'qu can't get any decisive blow in.

"Sumia, take me above that wyvern."

Sumia looks back at me questioningly.

"You said it yourself. Those two fight as a team. If we want to beat him, we need to disrupt their teamwork."

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

"Well… I kinda thought I'll land on the wyvern's back and startle it long enough for one of the others to get a decent shot in."

Sumia's eyes widen. "Jack, that's dangerous! You could get seriously injured if you miss!"

"And our friends need our help badly right now." I counter. "I'll make sure to aim properly before taking the plunge. Just make sure to line me up above him."

Sumia thinks it over for a few seconds before she nods. "All right. Be careful, Jack."

Sumia has her pegasus ascend sharply, bringing us at least a few stories' worth of height above the battling duo. Need to time this perfectly… Now!

I jump off Sumia's pegasus and skydive directly towards where Orton's wyvern will be as he goes in to attack Ricken. I manage to land on the wyvern just as it's just a few paces away from the Mage.

"Surprise!" I shout as I grab hold of Orton to avoid falling off.

"Whu- How did you get on my wyvern?!" the plegian asks bewildered.

"I thought you would only ask for my life." I fire back grinning before I punch him in the face. The blow stuns him and confuses the wyvern in the process. I jump off the wyvern while pointing at Ricken.

"Let 'er rip, Ricken!"

"Don't look down on me!" the little Mage shouts at Orton while gathering a huge amount of mana in his right hand. Then Ricken fires an absolutely MASSIVE Elwind spell at the Wyvern Rider, taking both rider and mount with it and smashes both of them into the mountainside.

*Thoom!*

Not only did that result in a jarring impact, Ricken's spell had the mana so concentrated that the wind-based mana sliced the plegian in a few places and left bleeding wounds. Not that it matters. I can see his HP plummeting to zero.

"This matters not." Orton wheezes out with a smirk. "Soon war will be upon…your soil… Heh heh…"

BGM ends


Orton has been killed! You gain 300 EXP!

Ricken has leveled up!

Due to continuous strenuous activity, STR increases by 1!
Due to prolonged exhausting activity, VIT increases by 2!


Lissa frantically runs up to Maribelle in tears and embraces her.

"Maribelle! Are you hurt?!"

"Nothing I didn't return twofold, darling." the Troubadour replies with a gentle smile.

"I'm glad you're safe." Robin adds as she approaches the two healers.

Maribelle turns to the Tactician. "Who…? Oh. It's you." Then she smiles. "I must say, Robin, Lissa had every right to be impressed with your tactical prowess. The way you directed us in that battle was simply marvelous."

Robin nods a bit uncertainly. "Oh, well, thank you, Maribelle."

Maribelle shakes her head. "No need to thank me, darling. I can see now that I am in capable hands so long as you guide us in battle. Rest assured, I will support you to the best of my abilities."

Looks like Robin's relationship with Maribelle is getting a head start compared to canon. Must be thanks to the damage control I ran back when we first met the blonde.

Maribelle turns to me next. "And I owe you a great deal of thanks as well, Jack. You not only rescued me, you even put King Gangrel himself on the spot. You may be more capable than I thought."

I scratch the back of my head. "To be fair, Ricken deserves most of the credit for this one. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't even have found you."

That makes the young Mage join our conversation. "What?! No way. I just showed you the way, Jack. You handled the rest back there."

I shake my head. "Ricken, I can't stress this enough. You finding the path to Maribelle made everything I did afterwards possible in the first place. And not only that, you managed to overtake us, climb the mountains and find the way on your own. You may be small, but you're one heck of a Shepherd. Glad to have you on the team." I accentuate my point with a wink and a grin as I stretch out my fist to Ricken. Ricken catches on and returns the fist bump with a matching grin.

Our little group soon rejoins Chrom and the others. Looks like Phila deemed it safe to return with Emmeryn after the dust had settled. Gangrel and Aversa had retreated from the battlefield sometime during the fight, so none of us have any idea where they went.

Emmeryn looks troubled.

"All of this bloodshed and suffering for our people… Just for the Fire Emblem." the exalt muses sadly.

"The Mad King will be rallying his forces, if they have not mobilized already." Fredrick interjects. "I suggest we make haste back to Ylisstol and discuss our strategy."

Emmeryn steels her expression. "Of course, Frederick. It seems war is upon us. We must protect the Ylissean people at all costs."


Quest alert:
Main quest: The exalt and the king
Your first run-in with the Mad King of Plegia ended pretty much as expected. Good thing Maribelle made it out of that mess alive. With your business at the Border pass finished, you can finally head back home. It's high time you prepare for a lot of gruesome battles in the future, as the kiddy gloves are officiall off. This is no longer just a game – this is war.
Objectives: Defeat all Plegian soldiers. Don't let Emmeryn die.
All objectives cleared!
Rewards:
Your standing with Ylisse has improved! You gain 5 000 EXP! You gain 5 000 gold!
Bonus objectives: Team up with Ricken and rescue Maribelle before Gangrel demands the Fire Emblem in exchange for her.
Bonus rewards: Your relationship with Maribelle has improved! Your relationship with Ricken has improved! Your standing with Ylisse has improved greatly! You gain 2 000 EXP! You gain 2 000 gold!


To be continued


Preview of the next chapter

*"Marth's" mask get sliced in half, revealing her true face.*

Chrom: Wait, you're…a woman?

"Marth": Took you long enough to figure out.

*Assassins run through the halls of castle Ylisstol*

Frederick: Milord, we're being invaded! They seem to be headed for Her Grace!

Chrom: Gods! Not again! We have to protect her!

Emmeryn: No, Chrom! Save yourself!

Chrom: You've been there for us in the past, Emm. I refuse to abandon you in your hour of need!

Gaius: Well said, Blue. Looks like I'll switch employers tonight, then. Murder's not my cup of chocolate.

Next time on Gamer Emblem Awakening:

Exalts die when they are killed! Treachery at every step!

"Marth": I will change history for the better, no matter what.

Jack: Maybe I should've asked Chrono if I could borrow the Epoch, then. Sure makes time travel easy.


Omake: Jack vs Lon'qu, version 2 (or: Sexy jutsu, Fire Emblem style)

The sparking mana forms orbs in Jack's hands that are mashed together. As the mana disperses in particles of light, they reveal the form of a Hammer. Lon'qu raises an eyebrow at the odd choice.

"I can tell wielding that weapon is difficult for you. Why in the world would you conjure a weapon like that?"

Jack grins as he places the Hammer mallet first on the arena floor.

"Because I'll use it like this! Mimicry!"

*Poof!*

The smoke generated from excess mana soon disperses to reveal that Jack transformed into…Camilla!

The transformed Traveler strikes a pose while leaning against the Hammer and winks at Lon'qu.

"Hello, handsome ~ "

Lon'qu freezes up at the sight of the provocative female. At that moment, Jack dispels the transformation and rushes in with the Hammer.

*Wham!*

A viscous blow sends the Myrmidon flying out of the arena, resulting in a ring-out.

"Winner: Jack of Ylisse."

Jack descends the platform with a proud grin over the easy victory.

"Not bad, huh?" he asks his fellow ylisseans upon meeting up with them. He's met with silence. "Uh…guys?"

Jack suddenly feels bloodlust directed at him – and notices Lissa directing an empty, threatening look his way.

"Lissa? What's going on?"

Lissa responds by pulling out a giant war axe from…somewhere.

"Help!"

"Get back here, you pig!"

Chrom, Frederick and Robin watch with deadpan expressions as the young Cleric chases Jack around the arena while swinging an axe much too big for her size like it's a stick.

"He brought this upon himself." Chrom comments while rubbing his temples.

"Indeed." Frederick replies with a nod. The Great Knight leans closer to whisper in Chrom's ear. "Though I must say, that was a fine demonstration of the female form, milord."

Chrom nods sagely. "That it was, Frederick. That it was."


New skills:

Keyblade mastery, Lvl 1 [0.0 %], Passive
Press Δ to win! The keyblade is a weapon shrouded in mystery and legend. Some believe it to be the crucial piece to unlock ultimate power. Some believe it to be the most retarded looking weapon ever. Some say it's an instrument of light, others an instrument of darkness. The only thing everyone agrees on is that the keyblade grants its wielder a plethora of abilities, both physical and magical. The keyblade may lack a sharp edge, but a master of this weapon can cleave even the strongest of obstacles with a single clean cut. It's also a universally handy tool whenever a lock or seal is involved.
Passively increases damage dealt by magic of any element by 5 %. Increases attack speed and movement speed by 5 % when attacking with a keyblade. This skill does not stack with "Sword mastery".


Jack's encyclopedic corner

Myrmidon, Class
A unit who has dedicated themselves completely to mastering the sword. These warriors are known for their swift movements and peerless skill at swordplay. On the other hand, their emphasis on dodging often comes at the expense on resilience. Frequently associated with edgelords.
Sword related skills gain 10 % more experience. Increases attack power and attack speed by 10 % when attacking with a sword or dagger of any kind. Attack power from other weapons decreases by 10 %. Damage taken from physical attacks is increased by 5 %.

Oblivion, Keyblade, Base power: 77, Unique
A black keyblade said to have been forged within a soul who found its way back into the light after wandering the darkness for a long time. If you focus, you can still feel traces of that very darkness pulsing within. Drawing upon that darkness empowers its wielder, be it physically or magically. Take heed, though. Those who wander the darkness soon find themselves walking down a path of destruction and loneliness with little or no way to turn back.
Passively increases attack power by 15 % and damage dealt by magic by 5 % for any element except for light.

Parasol, Accessory, Uncommon
A versatile and fashionable implement for any woman with class. Opening it provides cover for many kinds of weather, ranging from blistering sunlight to pouring rain. Its low weight makes it easy to carry, but unsuited for windy days. Handle with care.

Heal, Staff, Common
A staff used by novice healers. The crystal mounted on top helps the bearer focus their mana when performing healing spells, increasing the damage restored whenever such magic is used. The design of the crystal is kept simple for the sake of being easy to use, so healing grave wounds is difficult when using this staff.
Increases HP restored by 5 % when using a healing spell. Available skills when held: Heal.


I admit, I admit. I'm bending the rules of what Jack can Trace. See, as far as I know, keyblades are sentient, but not alive. Hence, I made it possible for Jack to Trace them. The question here is whether "sentient" counts as "alive". To that, I say "no". When I say "sentient", it's in the sense that something can make a conscious decision without any external influence, which falls in line with how the Kingdom Key chose Sora in the first Kingdom Hearts game. To my knowledge, however, keyblades don't have personalities, which I mark as a criteria for a weapon to be alive. It's for this reason that Jack can't trace any zanpakutō, since these swords have personality to spare. Heck, Ichigo himself eventually learns and explicitly states that zanpakutō are alive. So, to summarize, I think it's well within Jack's abilities to Trace keyblades.

Heh, I'm breaking the game big time with both Lissa and Maribelle. While I'm letting these ladies smack their enemies around for comedic effect, it's also because I like them as characters to the point that I really want them to have some badass moments.

Jack went Ace Attorney on Gangrel. As you may be able to tell, Gangrel rubs me the wrong way. Which means Gangrel rubs Jack the wrong way. Which means Jack plans to screw the Mad King over, should the opportunity present itself. I am not apologizing. XD

BTW, take a good look on Aversa's level. I put her there for a very specific reason. Double entendre!

With that, I'm done for now. Please rate and review.

VipeR out.