I find myself grinding my teeth in complete frustration as Alfonse stared down the two generals of Hel. I just wanted to get the fight over with so I could milk the information out of them myself. You could cut the tension in the air with a flimsy plastic butter knife. It then occurred to me that I still had my silver dagger with me so perhaps I could just sneak on past them and slice through that tension myself?
"Don't even think about it, Summoner." Líf growled.
"I don't even know what you are talking about." I said dismissively.
"That knife you carry with you. You were going to try to pull a surprise attack on us. You ended up telegraphing your attack like an amateur. Your skills still need work. It would have ended with you dead on the ground with your entrails spilling out." Líf muttered grouchily.
"Geez you really are no fun. You could have at least left out the part about you disemboweling me. It was kind of unnecessary. I get it you want me dead. I don't need to know all the gory details, ya know?"
"This is serious, Summoner. I will kill you and it won't matter how I do it."
I shrugged. "I find that hard to believe, since you've had plenty of opportunities to kill me. Especially all those times you have probably spied on us. I'm not a simpleton, you know. I find it unlikely that Hel wouldn't place a few spies around to follow us, so it stands to reason that she would use her generals to gather that information under the veil of darkness. Your only real attempt at killing me specifically was thwarted by two of your descendants. So until you prove to me otherwise, I will stick with my guns."
"Your schemes won't work on me. You're full of yourself if you think that toying with me will garner the results that you wish to gain."
"And what do you think I'm scheming? Hopefully nothing of the kicking puppies variety..."
"You are trying to get Thrasir and I to rush into battle."
"And why would I want that? Wouldn't it be better for me to try to prevent you two from rushing me down in cold blood? I'm probably stating the obvious but I'm not well versed in combat. So why would I invite two of Hel's generals to come in to slaughter me?" I asked lamely.
"So you are stalling for time?" Thrasir asked.
"Perhaps I am or perhaps I am trying to goad you into fighting the Heroes I have summoned. Orrrrrr… alternatively, I could be awaiting reinforcements~ Which ever you decide could very well change the tide of battle in your favor. If you choose wrongly, the battle will be decisively in my favor." I said mischievously.
"Enough of this!" Thrasir then pulled out Ifinger, also known as the tome with an unfortunate name. Niles would have a field day he ever saw it. Thrasir began to draw power out from Ifinger, resulting in it coalescing into a large ball of green glowing ball of energy and a torrent of wind sharp enough to cut through skin, danced in her bony hands. Perfect. They fell for my trap card. Now, I can put down one piece of the exodia down.
I dodged the attack that Thrasir launched straight at me. I do hate fighting, but the satisfaction of a well made scheme coming into fruition made me feel oddly giddy on the inside. Part of me wished to toy with them forever or until I got bored of them. I hated that part of myself because it made me no better than Veronica who got her entertainment from toying with the Heroes that she had conscripted into her army.
Still, these two had a good grasp of tactics as opposed to the countless undead soldiers who lacked their own mental faculties that the Order has been fighting up until now and I craved a mental challenge that could only be fulfilled through tactics. My tactics are still vastly overshadowed by the other tacticians I have met and done battle against. I still have so much to learn and any chance to test my skills against an opponent of equal or greater skill is something I look forward to.
I gave my signal to Eír and within seconds, Eir launched Lyfjaberg right at Thrasir. Now the fight begins in earnest. Now I must end this as quickly as I can and apply the pressure early on. More importantly, for this to work exactly as planned, I need to maintain the momentum that I gained from goading Thrasir into launching the first attack.
"Kiran, what are you planning?" Al looked at me with confusion.
"Well I can't say everything out loud but I would like you to turn your attention to that area over there." I pointed at an odd looking spot on the battlefield. It had some magic circle bullshit on it and stuff.
"Could that be…?" Alfonse asked
"I think that is how they get their reinforcements in quickly. You think you can spawn camp that and destroy anything that tries to come through there?"
"I'm not sure what you mean by spawn camping, but I am more than capable enough to fight the undead. Just be careful if you are leaving without me... I do worry about you."
"I will come back at a later point. I suspect that there are more of these around the area, so I am going to get the others to secure them."
"Understood. I will do as you wish."
"Thanks. You are a real sweetheart!" I teased, before leaving him to capture the spawn point.
"Watch out!" Sharena warned me.
I dodged another attack from Thrasir, but I did not escape unscathed. I had several cuts on my arms, legs, and a few on my cheeks that oozed blood. Had I not reacted sooner, I would have been severely wounded. I still haven't figured out how wind magic manages to inflict wounds in this way. Tornadoes and hurricanes were powerful enough to knock you off your feet and kill you but I have never seen wind sharp enough to cut through skin until I saw Nino use her elwind tome. I will just have to chalk it off as magic being magic for now.
"You're bleeding are you alright?" Sharena asked.
"I'm not seriously hurt, so I'm ok for now. Anyway, I am going to need your help with a special project. I'm going to need you to distract Líf."
"What? Why? Isn't Thrasir the one attacking us right now? Shouldn't we defeat her first?"
"I am going to have someone else deal with her. I'm more worried about Líf. He seems to be biding his time and forming a plan. I need you to keep him busy so he won't have time to do anything but fight us. Just be careful. He is stronger than you, so you will need to avoid getting hit"
"Of course! I'll distract him for you. Anything for my sister!" She grinned wryly.
I suppressed the urge to groan at her. I'm not even married to Al and she is already calling me sister… well I didn't mind it that much since she was practically like my sister anyway, but it made me feel awkward and embarrassed. Plus this was the battlefield and she chooses to tease me now? I'm in over my head at this rate!
Sharena bid me farewell for the time being, while I watched as Eir came back to attack Thrasir once again. The minutes went by quickly as I directed the flow of battle with near ease. In fact, it was almost too easy. I knew something was amiss but I had to keep up the pressure on the two generals. I couldn't lose focus. One misstep and this entire battle would fall apar-
A scream. Sharena's scream, in fact. It was shrill and ear piercing… it took all of my willpower not to immediately run after her. I needed to remain cool and collected even with all of the stress and pressure I was under already from trying to conduct my strategy. I sent Mercedes and Ranulf her way in a bid to save her while remaining in control of the ebb and flow of the battle. I didn't know it just yet, but it was already slipping through my fingers like the sands of Waikiki beach on a warm summer day. But unlike Waikiki, the sounds of the waves crashing and the people talking and were not present. Only the clashing of steel and the sounds of agony and suffering were to be found here on the battlefield.
In sending Ranulf and Mercedes away from their posts, I opened us up to further attack. I desperately tried to reorganize the plan and adapt to the shift in the power dynamics. Before I knew it, the Order was on the defensive end of the fight. Panic started to creep in me.
"You are already too late Summoner. I'll admit that I almost didn't expect you to be able to nearly best us this time but now… Your life draws to an end. You failed and Princess Sharena is dead. She died because she believed in your abilities unquestioningly." Líf said appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Sökkvabekker was already drenched in blood… Sharena's blood.
"You… you monster! I don't care if you are Prince Alfonse's ancestor… I am not going to surrender to the likes of you!" I pulled out my dagger and pointed it at him.
"Your stance is sloppy and you are being reckless. You can't plan your way out of this one, Summoner"
"I will not let her die and I won't surrender. I don't even know why you even bother critiquing my stance if your end goal is to kill me and the Order of Heroes."
Líf blushed while he glared at my dagger. "How I kill my enemies is of no concern to you, Summoner. You should be more worried about protecting yourself and your foolish allies!"
I raised an eyebrow at him "Like you've got room to talk! You may think of us as being foolish, but this is the battlefield! You might want to take a good look at it before you start trying to lecture me."
"Summoner, you are not in a position to be making threats. You are completely outmatched. You can't bluff with-"
Líf's mini speech was interrupted as he temporarily vanished from sight, Alfonse's blade just barely missing him. I took this opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
"I can and I will! Now is the time Chrom!"
Charging from seemingly nowhere, Chrom valiantly galloped over to Sharena's location. He quickly jumped off his horse and carried Sharena over to his horse and gently lifted her up onto the horse before mounting his steed once more. He then made a mad dash back to me.
"Alfonse, would you kindly do me the honor of intercepting Líf's attack on Chrom? He'll be showing up any minute now." I feigned looking at a nonexistent wristwatch to further illustrate the serious time crunch we were currently under.
"Got it! I'll open the way for Chrom to deliver us Sharena safely. I pray to Askr that she is still with us."
Líf reappeared again in an attempt to stop Chrom from delivering Sharena to us like I predicted. It made me wonder… did Líf intentionally not land a killing blow on her? He did seem hesitant to fight me and Sharena. He doesn't have the same killing intent that he does with Al or Anna. While he rarely targeted Anna, whenever he crossed blades with her, he clearly did not hesitate to strike. It's as if his attempts at killing Sharena and me are very halfhearted. Something about that seemed… off. Everything about Líf felt off to me. I still couldn't put my finger on it but I had a feeling that his hesitancy towards killing me was a huge piece of the mystery pie.
Chrom gently placed Sharena close to me so that I might be able to watch over her while the battle trudged onward. We were in a stalemate though the battle is looking to go in favor of Hel's generals.
"You made a good call Kiran. Princess Sharena would've died if you didn't send for all of us." Chrom said solemnly. Alfonse had assigned Chrom to watch over me and Sharena while he 'sorted things out' with Líf.
"It's true that if I hadn't sent You, Mercedes and Ranulf she would've died but… it was my poor judgement that unnecessarily put her in danger. I made a miscalculation and she nearly paid for it with her life. When this is over… I will need time to reflect on my mistakes."
Chrom shook his head "You and Robin are way too much alike. You both beat yourselves up unnecessarily over things outside of your control. Sharena knew what she was doing was extremely risky but she trusts you and your tactics. We all do. We just need to tread more carefully for now."
"It was my overzealousness that got her nearly killed. She is practically like a sister to me and I would hate to be the one responsible for her death. I just… I was so close… and Al… I think he is very angry at me. I can just feel it. I really don't know what to do Chrom."
"I can't say that he is not angry, but I don't think he will stay that way. At least, not at you. I think he is more angry at Líf and Thrasir. Either way, you have done everything that you could. I'm really not the best person to give out advice but I've done my fair share of fighting recklessly and you are far from that. You pay attention to all the details and carefully make your decisions from that. I think that you lead us well. "
"Don't be silly. Alfonse does most of the fighting and the leading. I just make suggestions on what to do and summon heroes. I have a long way to go before I can be the best tactician in Askr, of that I am most certain."
"You really do take after Robin…" Chrom muttered
"Well, he tutored me quite extensively in tactics. I merely tweak his playbook to better suit my needs. The way he thinks… is intriguing to me. There are plenty of heroes who could've easily tutored me on the subject, but his style resonates with me."
"In that case, I don't think we've got too much to fear. All you need is a push in the right direction and a bit more training with your blade."
"Blegh. Don't remind me. I already got lectured by the glowy dead boi over there for the same reason. I don't give a rat's ass if he is supposedly related to Al, it's still weird for him to be giving me advice even if it is in a backhanded manner. That's like the equivalent of Grima showing up to insult you, but he also low key gives you all the tips and pointers on how to reassemble the Fire Emblem and shove the Falchion up his ass!"
"Maybe he just doesn't want to kill you that easily?" Chrom grimaced. Mostly because of the fact that I mentioned Grima and not because I was using foul language. Chrom was never the type to care about that sort of thing so I felt more comfortable with letting a few curse words slip through my lips.
"That is one possibility. I just can't help but have a sneaking suspicion that our buddy 'ol pal Líf is not exactly who he says he is. I just don't know what he is… who he is… Heck, I don't even know why he is! I'm missing one last major piece of the puzzle and when we find it… it'll be game changing."
Anna then appeared before us using Nóatún's power. "Líf and Thrasir are retreating. We need to follow them before they get away! You think you can lift Sharena back onto Chrom's horse?"
"I don't see an issue with it. We've got to show those dastards that cannot get away with hurting our friends!" Chrom said while he moved to pick Sharena up.
"I agree with Chrom. If they weren't already dead, I would have them pay with their own blood. Let's hurry!"
We nearly managed to catch up to them but they went through what appeared to be a gate to another realm. By the time we went through the gate, we had lost sight of them.
"Damn it! They got away again!" I growled.
"We'll catch up to them eventually, Kiran. I'm just as angry as you are at them." Al frowned.
"Are you upset with me for sending Sharena out to square off with Líf?" I asked quietly
"I… if I am to be perfectly honest… I am. I don't know what you were thinking."
"Sharena is more than capable as a fighter. I thought her skills would be enough to distract Líf long enough for me to form a proper strategy to take him down. Sharena is also our only lancer which gave her a weapon advantage over Líf. I just… miscalculated. There really is no good excuse for it"
"It is true that I am upset that you made her fight in a fight that she was not evenly matched in and that you were overextending yourself… I am more concerned about the whereabouts of Líf and Thrasir. They are the cause of her suffering, not you."
"You are way too forgiving Al, but you are right. There is also another problem. I'm sure you have already noticed it, right?"
"I have. We are back in Askr, but something seems off. It feels… dead."
"Then… maybe we are in an alternate Askr? It's a good possibility." I said as my eyes scanned the area. We were in a vast field of wildflowers. While the plant life seemed alive, it was as if everything was eternally frozen in time.
"Sharena would love to see this. Askr Daisies are her favorite flowers. They are only found in the plains and fields of Askr… did you know that?"
"No I didn't know that. I always knew that Sharena liked making flower crowns out of them, but I didn't know they only grew in Askr. What about you? Do you have a fondness for a particular flower?"
Not particularly but… I suppose if I were to pick one I would pick the Dragon flowers. They are very striking in color and they are said to grant anyone who comes across them with strength. It's fascinating to me because there's so little known about their effects"
"I will have to make a mental note of that, then. My favorite is the Oriental Lily. It's a flower from my world. I'm not sure if there are any lilies in Zenith though."
"I do believe that there are lilies in our world but they are not native to Askr."
"If I asked you nicely… do you think I could get some lily seeds to grow them in the garden?" I asked my wonderful and amazing boyfriend while fluttering my eyelashes at him.
"I don't see why not. There is one condition, however."
"Name your price, Al."
"On the eve of the winter festival… I want you to help me with Sharena's presents."
"That's all? Of course I'll be part of the Envoy with you!" I beamed.
"Truly? You would do that with me? Sharena still believes that the Envoy is real and that they'll give her anything she asks for if she's been good for the whole year… we will have to get her a lot of presents."
"It's really no issue. After everything that has happened to her this year, it couldn't hurt to spoil her just a little bit. Back home, I had a similar tradition where a man named Santa Claus is supposed to give gifts to good boys and girls. He is more of a legend told by parents to kids to get them to behave. In reality, it's the parents that put the gifts under the tree. Unfortunately for me, I found out the truth very early on because my brother thought it would be funny if he told me. Kaiden was kind of a jerk when he was much younger." I said while scrunching up my nose.
"It's really fascinating that both our worlds share similar traditions like that. It really means a lot to me that Sharena stays happy. I've already lost Father, so the only family I've got left is Mother and Sharena. I just want them to stay alive and be happy. If giving Sharena a mountain of presents on the eve of the winter festival will achieve that… then it is worth it."
"I think that's very sweet of you. You're always so kind and thoughtful… it's one of the reasons I fell in love with you. It's also the reason I think you'd be a great king and an amazing… er um... nevermind." I was very close to saying he'd be a good father in the future. The thought made me feel flustered and nervous. I was far from ready to become a mother, much less a wife. However, the idea of having his children sometime in the future… it didn't seem all that bad to me. I dare not speak of this out loud when we have only recently become an item.
"Er… may I ask what you were going to say?" Alfonse asked politely. I could tell that he was enjoying the attention. His smile told me as much.
"...Fine. I swear... if you keep smiling at me like that, I feel like I will just melt away into a puddle of goop! Promise you won't laugh at me?"
"Of course I wouldn't. You have my word."
"I was going to say that I think… that you would make a good father one day. It's kinda silly to think about when we are still in the middle of a war and I would probably make for a terrible mother with my workaholic tendencies but…"
"K-Kiran I think you would do fine as you are… I've always wanted my own children but we have plenty of time before we have to worry about it. Besides you have a terrible habit of selling yourself short. I would never laugh at you for wanting a family of your own." He then pulled me into a warm embrace. I could feel my face practically burning up like crazy.
"Zenith to the love birds! Sharena is waking up… and we also found something. I'm not sure if I like what I saw. It just feels like something is very wrong" Anna said as she rushed over to us.
"Then let's check on her. I may have to summon another healer for all of the injuries we've been getting lately. I fear that Mercedes might become unable to keep up soon."
"That may be true but I know how summoning is affecting you. We must be careful" Alfonse furrowed his brows.
"Let's just take things one step at a time. First we check on Sharena, then we investigate what Anna found, then we'll make a decision on whether or not we should attempt another summoning. Sound good?" I asked.
"Yes, you're right. Our first priority is my sister."
We rushed over to Sherena, who was sitting up on her but was still clearly in pain. Mercedes was diligently using her healing staff to lessen the Askran Princess' pain.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! This really hurts… that jerk is going to get what's coming to him." Sharena winced while covering her lower stomach with her hand.
"I'm sorry, Sherena. I really shouldn't have put you up against someone who was stronger and more practiced with a blade. It wasn't fair of me and I really shouldn't have been as overextended with my reach. I will take full responsibility for any-"
"Oh shush! I told you didnt I? I'll support you all the way and it made me a little happy that you would trust me with that sort of task. Most people tend to write me off even with my lance skills. So don't beat yourself up too much ok?"
"You're way too forgiving Sharena. I do have a hard time believing that people would write you off like that though. I've seen you shish kabob multiple soldiers in one go once. All with a smile, I might add. It's painfully clear to me that you are good at what you do. With a bit more refinement and strength training, I would say that you are just as talented as the other lancers in the Order."
"Geez, you make it seem like I enjoyed killing those soldiers like that. I was just glad that I was still alive. The adrenaline rush just does weird things to me I guess."
"Gods… you both need to be more careful. I can't afford to lose either of you here. How are your wounds Sharena?" Alfonse asked
"Mercedes patched me up really good and she managed to mend some of the damage done to my clothes but I still need a bit more time. It still hurts, so I have to take it a little easier for now."
"Did you happen to see what Anna found earlier? She said she found something really creepy."
"I did see two huge piles of flowers over in the distance. I just don't understand how we got back home…" Sharena squinted.
"Al and I believe this is an alternate Askr that resides within Hel's realm. Everything just seems to be a bit… still here."
"That's honestly... much more creepier than those flowers we found. Some of them were my favorite flowers so it's still kind of creepy, but a dead Askr… now that gives me the shivers."
"Anna… can you take us to those flowers?" Alfonse asked quietly. His face was paler than a sheet.
Anna marched us over to the "discovery" and it became pretty apparent to me who the flowers were for and what their purpose was. I approached a large pile of lilies. Not just any lilies, but white oriental lilies. The other pile was equally as big, but covered in daisies. I suddenly felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was clear as day… I was standing at my own gravesite.
"I've only told Al just a few moments ago that these were my favorite. I've never told anyone else. At least until just now anyway. This is… They are..." I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence.
"Memorials. To you and Sharena" Al said as he instinctively grasped the handle of his blade.
"I think I'm going to feel a little sick. I just hope I don't find one for me. This is already too much for me" Anna's looked like she was about to puke.
"This has to be… no… but it only makes sense if it is…" I muttered.
"Then you've already figured out who left it there?" Alfonse asked me knowingly.
"Líf... I think I now understand why he seemed off to me. He looks exactly like you, talks just like you, acts like you… he is you, Al. That's why he's failed to kill me and Sharena multiple times already. That's why these flowers are here. Because Líf… or Alfonse put them here. I died in this world along with Sharena. The other you must've suffered so much… Hel…She is responsible for all of this. I will kill her… and I will enjoy every moment of it"
A/N:For the record I am definately not ded. Im just slowly writing this whenever I can. This may be the last chapter you'll see for a while as Ive gone through all of my pre-written chapters. I like to write in bulk and then release chapters out semi regularly. Im still figuring out how to balance my newfound worklife with my fanfiction writing.Ngl, this chapter was another one that I was looking forward to. I had a couple of ideas on how I was going to approach the revealing of the memorials. He first idea was for Kiran to not mention her favorite flowers and than have her reveal it to everyone while Alfonse has a near heartattack and the other idea was the one I eventually decided to go with in this chapter. I figured it would be a nice way to have them make the "Lif is an Alfonse Alt" connection.Im glad you all got my Awakening reference though from the last chapter. Alfonse is unfourtunately the punching bag of this arc I guess. Honestly, with each new chapter they release in FEH I've become convinced that while Al is clearly in charge of everything more or less, he is pretty much whipped. Anna and Sharena practically dunked on him for asking Peony how old she is. Which oddly slightly mirrors something I'm currently writing.Also... as for how Líf got lillies from Kiran's world... Im thinking that he somehow managed to sneak into Earth a few times before eventually deciding to grab some seeds from them so he can mass produce them in large quantities to put on his Kiran's grave. The idea of Lif trying to buy them from a florist on Earth is kinda funny in it's own way.