As I predicted, this chapter was completed on Monday.
So I'm going to respond to some reviews at the end of this chapter since I want to and because I can. Warning you now if you don't care about reading my responses or if you're looking for them.
That's about all I'll be saying now. Enjoy this here chapter.
Italics will be character's thoughts and /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ will indicate a scene change.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem nor do I own anything else I may reference. I only own my OCs.
Helpful Training
The walk back to the capitol of Ylisse, Ylisstol, wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. We had decided to continue in the march in the middle of the night after everyone, except for Lissa, agreed on it. I might've been complaining alongside Lissa if it weren't for the fact that I oddly didn't feel all that tired. I couldn't explain why I felt this way, but I definitely didn't need to go back to sleep. Perhaps it's because I had just gone to sleep in the real world?
Either way, we made it to the capitol a couple of hours after the break of dawn surprisingly. We made it past the town's entrance and wandered into the streets of the town.
Let me first say that Ylisstol is far larger than Southtown and that was having its impact on both me and Robin. We were both looking back and forth as we past countless people on the street. The buildings and small little market stands were abundant as well. It was almost impossible to not see one on any street. There was also a surprising amount of people in carriages being wheeled by horses. More than likely they were traveling merchants or maybe even just plain travelers. That still didn't change the fact that this town was bustling.
"So many," I started to say in wonder as Robin finished my sentence also in wonder with, "people."
Lissa giggled at Robin and my reactions to the number of citizens wandering around us.
Auden then looked to me in confusion and said, "I can understand the amnesiac's reasons but you, Vince? Have you never been to the capitol?"
This threw me off guard slightly as I realized just what I was doing.
Crap. I really screwed myself now! How do I explain this?! Bullshit? Yeah, that sounds good enough.
"I've never really been here, no," I said while I sheepishly rubbed my head.
"Then where are you from?" Auden continued to ask.
A better question is where I can be from. Well, in some of the maps there are sometimes little villages in them. I guess I could be from one of those abundant nameless villages. Here's to hopefully not having to bullshit a village name.
"Ah… A real small village a bit to the north of here," I said in an attempt of lying once again.
"Huh, what about your parents? Aren't they going to be worried about you joining a bunch of soldiers?" Lissa asked in concern.
This caught me slightly off guard because of the fact that my parents aren't actually in this world. This caused me to respond in confusion with, "Parents?"
Auden gave me a strange look before I recovered with, "Oh, yeah. They won't mind. I disappear from the village a lot and they don't worry about me anymore."
Auden and a few others in the group looked at me with strange looks until they shrugged my answer off and returned to walking normally.
Can we stop now? I don't like playing ask me twenty questions that I have to lie in order to answer.
"It would seem the capitol did not face the mayhem we did, thank the gods. There also appears to be no signs of the quake. It might have only occurred in the forest," Frederick said while leading the way through the streets on his horse.
Yeah, it would have kind of sucked to find this place in ruins for some odd reason.
"Look!" One of the villagers shouted while pointing further down the street, "The exalt is coming to see us!"
The villagers around us that heard this then ran down in the direction towards their ruler with wide smiles.
These guys get pretty happy about being looked at, don't they?
As the villagers ran down the streets, I was able to spot past them their exalt, Emmeryn, walking in the streets ahead of us. She was surrounded by what would appear to be her own guard which included priests, cavalry, and Pegasus knights by the look of it. It wasn't a very large guard but it was present nonetheless.
I guess a looming war would cause need for some protection.
Emmeryn walked among the commoners with a smile that could heal one's wounds if they had any. As she would pass the commoners she would wave and smile to as many of them as she could. Every citizen seemed to be perfectly content with her actions even if they were missed.
Her stature of elegance definitely added to the number of reasons why people look up to her. It certainly did prove why she was such a loved ruler.
"So the exalt is your guy's ruler?" Robin asked the group.
"Yes, her name is Lady Emmeryn," Frederick answered while stopping the group's march to allow Emmeryn to deal with the citizens uninterrupted.
"And according to Auden she's Chrom's sister which would make her Lissa's as well," Robin said as he analyzed the situation.
"That's right! She's an amazing sister at that," Lissa stated energetically.
"Then… that would make you and Chrom…!" Robin shouted as he realized what this all meant. He was cut off, however, by Frederick finishing his sentence for him, "Prince and princess of this realm, yes."
"How do you remember Chrom's name and none of this?" Frederick asked with a hint of paranoia.
"But I thought you guys were "shepherds"," Robin said in confusion.
"As we are… we just happen to have a lot of sheep to herd," Chrom stated while laughing slightly.
"P-Prince Chrom, please forgive my ignorance! Had I know I would've-" Robin started to almost grovel before he was stopped by Chrom.
"Just Chrom will do. Formalities don't work too well with me," Chrom said with a smile as he stopped Robin.
Robin then started to recover as he said, "My apologies, Prin- I mean, Chrom…"
"Prince and princess… I suppose that makes sense. It certainly proves why Frederick deals with all the constant teasing," Robin said with a small smirk as he looked at the great knight in front of him.
Frederick let out an audible sigh as he stated, "Yes, the things I sacrifice for the betterment of our realm."
The group laughed slightly at Frederick's misery but quickly died down as we returned to watching Emmeryn walking through the city.
I can't help it. Nobody else is asking it so I guess I will.
"I don't mean to give in to paranoia, but is it exactly safe for her to be walking around the capitol like this?" I asked the group.
"The exalt is a symbol of peace—Ylisse's most prized excellence. Long ago, at the dawn of our age, the fell dragon tried to destroy the world. The first exalt, however, joined forces with the divine dragon and laid the beast low. Lady Emmeryn helps remind us all of the peace we fought for back then," Frederick answered without hesitation.
After finally wading through the mob of citizens, Emmeryn was heading off to a rather intimidatingly sized castle with her guard in tow.
"It looks like Emm is heading back to the castle. Would you like to meet her?" Chrom asked his tactician Robin.
"Me? No, no. I couldn't possibly head into a royal castle," Robin said as he waved off Chrom's generous offer.
"I'd think differently. As the tactician of the Shepherds, you'll have to head into a lot more castles than just this. Best to get used to it early." Chrom stated with a smile.
"Uh… If that's the case, then sure! I'll come with!" Robin stated happily.
"Great! Then let's go!" I said as I tried to lead the group back into a march towards the castle.
The back of my shirt was then grabbed by somebody as they pulled me back and lifted me slightly off the ground. When I turned to see who had done such a thing, I met eyes with Frederick whom was still seated up on his horse.
"H-Hey! What's the deal, Frederick?" I asked feeling slightly annoyed.
"Sorry, Vincent, but you actually can't come with," Chrom answered for Frederick.
What?!
"Why can't I go?!" I asked while trying to get out of Frederick's hold on my shirt.
"Well, Auden actually requested that you head to the Shepherds HQ and get started training right away. He said something about you being in desperate need of some helpful pointers," Chrom said as he recalled his conversation Auden had with him.
I then directed my attention to the beard man himself and, sure enough, he was standing there with a wide grin while he shrugged his shoulders.
"S-So what does that mean?!" I asked while Frederick let me go.
"Well, Sully will take you, Virion, and Auden back to our HQ. Don't worry. I've already informed her of who would be perfect as your training partner," Chrom answered before heading off to the castle with the others.
The rest of us meant to head to the Shepherds HQ were left behind. We stood around in the middle of the street until Sully and her horse started to walk away as she said, "Well, you lot want to stand around or are you going to start moving your asses and follow me?"
Virion was unsurprisingly fast in following Sully as he said from behind her, "I'd follow you to the ends of the world, Sully!"
While me and Auden went to catch up with the two, I glared daggers at Auden and asked, "Helpful pointers… really?"
Auden laughed in amusement as he rhetorically asked, "What's the matter? Rather get some pointers from an enemy's spear?"
Regrettably, I understood what he was getting at. I'd rather be trained to live than be left to try and survive.
I stopped my glaring and replied, "Duly noted."
Our group of now four continued through the streets of Ylisstol as we were led by Sully. We soon enough passed the palace in our march. We didn't stop there, however, as we continued past the castle and exited out the city.
"Uh… We're still heading to the headquarters?" I asked in slight worry of where we were really going.
"Of course we are ya idiot! I know the way!" Sully shouted back to me.
"A-Alright!" I yelled in a reply.
Do not make Sully angry. Do not make her angry. Please don't make her angry.
I calmed myself as I decided to ask another more sensible question, "So… Where is it then?"
"It's right down there. Don't your eyes work?" Sully asked while she pointed in our destination.
I raised my hands over my eyes to try and keep the sun out of them while I looked for the building. There was indeed a building at the bottom of the hill we were currently walking down. It looked a bit larger than I had been expecting. Also, it didn't exactly scream being a building for a war party to me.
"That's it? What is that? A manse or something?" I asked in confusion of the size of the building that seemed to get larger as we got closer.
Sully smirked at my questions as she asked, "Bit too big for a village boy like you?"
"N-No! Not at all! It's just… odd?... for a building that big to be your guy's headquarters I think. That's all," I answered the smiling Sully.
Sully laughed in amusement as she replied, "That's why we picked it!"
"Huh?" I said in confusion.
We had almost reached the bottom of the hill and thus were closer to the headquarters.
"Chrom wouldn't settle for any less when picking a building for our headquarters. He wanted to plan for the future of the Shepherds which he saw as a big one. Thus, we got a big building," Sully explained while she smirked.
I guess if you think about it, it makes sense kind of in the end. The Shepherds do become a pretty big deal. It makes sense that they would need a big headquarters for their huge future.
"So why are you guys based outside the capitol? Wouldn't it make more sense to be inside the capitol?" I continued to ask questions.
Sully, however, didn't seem to mind them that much as she continued to wear a smirk.
"Would you want to keep a war party that constantly breaks stuff in their own barracks inside a city?" Sully rhetorically asked.
"I guess you have a point," I stated.
At the end of my questions, we made it to the bottom of the hill outside the capitol. Our march ended shortly at the front doors to the Shepherd's headquarters.
"You guys wait here. I'm just going to swing around back real quick," Sully told us before trotting around towards the back of the manse on her horse.
Oddly enough, it looked like there was some stables back the way she went.
I guess the building has a no horse policy.
Sully returned shortly with no horse and invited us inside the headquarters. Our group headed inside without hesitation.
The inside of the building was… different?... than what I had expected.
The very first room we entered wasn't quite what one would call organized. Crates and barrels lined some of the walls while bags of various other supplies were thrown about carelessly. Some crates were even moved around to provide for seats I think? I say this because there appeared to be a man sitting on one of the random crates right now. He looked like he was asleep while sitting up. He had some crazy blonde hair tied back and wore no shirt at all. He seemed to be a muscular individual; which probably assisted him in holding the large axe he had lying next to the crate he was sleeping on. Also, he had on large leather guards on both of his legs and one of his arms. Perhaps the one on his arm could be used as a partial shield?
That guy had to be the oaf Vaike.
Back to describing the room, there was candles laid about to provide for some kind of lighting. Also, lying around on the floor were various books. The overall appearance this HQ gives off to me is that it could be organized but it doesn't appear to be.
"Finally," a new voice shouted from the other side of the room.
Our group looked to the source of the voice and was met by a young woman with blonde hair that held bows in it. Her clothing appeared to be definitely something a noble of this time period would be seen wearing. Pink and white seemed to be the general color scheme while she wore high heel boots I believe. She carried a parasol closed in one of her hands as she walked towards us in an elegant manner.
She stopped in her elegant walk as she asked, "Sully, where is Lissa? She has been gone for far too long!"
"Hello to you too, Maribelle," Sully replied with a grin.
"Hello?! Hello does not inform me of Lissa's whereabouts!" Maribelle yelled in worry.
"Jeez… you don't have to yell in my ear," Sully said while cleaning out her ear with one of her fingers. She flicked off something she got out and answered, "The girl went to the castle. She'll be back later. Right now," She motioned to Auden, Virion, and me, "we have some new recruits."
"Meet Auden, Virion and, Vincenet." Sully said while pointing to each one of us in turn.
"Yes, yes. It is beautiful to see more ruffians. Look, don't bother me and I won't bother you. Call me when my dear Lissa has returned," Maribelle stated before walking up some stairs.
"The girl can be a stickler, but she really does have a heart even if it doesn't look like it," Sully explained after Maribelle went up to the second floor.
"Oh you're finally back-"A new voice broke through the air until it was drowned out by a loud clattering noise.
A short distance in front of us was a woman sprawled out on the ground. She had gotten a face full of the stone that was this building's floor.
"Is she hurt?" I asked in concern.
"Don't worry about her," Sully explained while walking over to the girl on the floor. She grabbed the woman by one of her arms and jerked her up.
"Ow. Ow. Ow," the girl yelped while being pulled to her feet.
"You have to be more careful, Sumia. Try and watch where you're going next time," Sully said to the girl while dusting her off.
"Thank you, Sully. I'll try… It's just… these darn boots!" Sumia exclaimed while kicking her shoes into the floor beneath her.
She then seemed to have somehow injured herself as she yelped in pain and gripped onto her foot while she hopped around in a comical way.
Sully laughed quietly at Sumia's clumsiness and decided it would be best to stop the girl before she injured herself some more.
Sully grabbed Sumia and kept her from bouncing around anymore. She then said, "You should just stay still."
"R-Right… That would be best, wouldn't it?" Sumia asked as she gave Sully a smile while she let go of her foot and stood normally.
"Well, before anything else crazy happens why don't you meet the new guys?" Sully asked Sumia while she presented Auden, Virion, and me.
Auden was watching the situation with amusement while Virion was fixing his hair to make himself look more presentable. I, on the other hand, was standing awkwardly in the middle of the two without any idea on what I should be doing.
"O-Oh, we have new recruits?" Sumia asked.
"That's what I said. Did you hit your head too hard or something?" Sully asked Sumia while she checked her head.
Sumia nervously shook her head back and forth to stop Sully's examination. As Sully stopped she gave a smile and waved to us new recruits. She then said, "My name's Sumia. It'll be nice to have new faces around the building."
Oddly, her smile seemed to almost calm me. In a way, I feel like it did that to everyone. Her smile just felt warm. As if, it was the epitome of warming smiles. A smile that was one hundred percent genuine.
Even though Sumia seemed to have a calming aura, it didn't stop Virion from trying to put the moves on her.
"The name's Virion, my darling. I do look forward to seeing you around as well," Virion stated as he bowed to Sumia.
This action seemed to weird Sumia out as she didn't quite know what to do. Before Virion could try anything else, Sully shot him a death glare that froze him in place.
"My name's Auden, little girl. I'll try to keep this place from stinking like old man," Auden said before he busted into laughter from what I believe was a joke he made. A joke he made about himself? I have no idea. I've realized that Auden is too strange to understand by this point. It's best not to question his ways.
Nonetheless, Sumia found Auden's joke, or maybe him, to be amusing enough to giggle too. She stopped her giggles and faced me. Seemingly, she was awaiting a response.
"A-Ah, right… me… Well, my name's Vincent and I hope to provide some kind of assistance," I said as I nervously rubbed my head.
Sumia clapped her hands together and exclaimed, "Excellent! I'm glad that we have so many new people joining us!"
Sumia then walked away with a smile on her face as she headed for the same stairs that Maribelle went up. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned to face Sully. She said, "I'm going to go and rest for a little Sully."
"No problem, Sumia. I'm sure you and the others have had it hard while the others and I have been gone," Sully replied.
Sumia gave another warming smile before she turned to head up the stairs again. Before she could get up the first step, however, she tripped and fell face first onto them. Every surrounding person was about to rush to assist her before she managed to recover on her own stating, "I-I'm fine! It's just… the step… it was a bit higher than I thought!"
She got up as she laughed it off as one big joke before she hurried up the rest of them in a flash.
"The girl's a bit clumsy, but she has a heart of gold. I'm sure you'll find yourselves warming up to her real quick," Sully explained as she walked further into the room.
Sully was walking straight for the man who was still asleep on one of the crates in the room. He had slept through all of the commotion that had been going on in the room.
If that wasn't Vaike, I'd shoot myself for being wrong.
"Vaike!" Sully shouted into Vaike's ear while he slept.
Called it.
This startled the blonde axe wielder as he feel backwards off of his crate and onto the ground. He then shot up while grabbing his axe shouting, "What's going on?! Is the Vaike being attacked?!"
Auden and I laughed at Vaike's reactions which caused him to go out of battle mode as he wondered aloud, "Are people laughing at the Vaike?"
"You're not under attack you moron. We've got new recruits," Sully said while bopping Vaike on the head with her fist.
Sully went through the effort of introducing us three new recruits again to the previously sleeping Vaike who seemed ecstatic.
He's probably so happy because he has more people to fight.
"We've got more recruits, huh? Alright, listen up cause I'm only gonna say this once! I'm Teach and you'll all be fighting me three on one right now!" Vaike shouted as he got in a battle ready stance with his axe.
Called it again! I'm two for two!
Sully had to bop Vaike on the head once again to calm him down as she explained, "You're not fighting them all. Actually, you only get to fight one."
"What?! Why does the Vaike only get one! Don't be underestimating my power!" Vaike said as he pounded his chest with his fist.
"You get one because you're going to train him!" Sully shouted angrily in Vaike's ear giving the man slight shell shock.
"You're training Vincent, alright? Take him out back and tell Stahl to stop lazing around. He's a knight for cryin' out loud," Sully ordered before heading up the same stairs Maribelle went up a bit ago.
W-Wait. Vaike. Is. Training. Me. Why. The. Fuck. Is. Vaike training me?!
Come on! Seriously?! Not even Robin or something!? He apparently knows how to use a sword even though he lacks any memories! Plus the guy's got G- Ok they don't know that but he still is a better partner than Vaike!
"Alright , Vince, you heard the lady. Ol' Teach here is going to train you into next week!" Vaike exclaimed enthusiastically as he went towards a door out the back of the building.
This is what I'm being trained by…
"You coming or what? Ol' Teach can't do this all day!" Vaike said as he waited for me at the door.
"Yeah, I'm coming, Teach." I replied in disappointment as I walked slowly to head out with Vaike.
We went out the door and proceeded past the stables. Our walk continued until we reached a large area of flat land with a single tree in the middle of it. Underneath the tree looked to be a figure, but I couldn't discern who it was.
There was also a small shed and a small well to the left of us just before the large flat land that Vaike immediately went towards. He unlocked the door to the shed and opened it. He then grabbed a couple of things before locking the door again.
Vaike returned to me with two western styled wooden swords in both of his hands. He extended one to me with a grin. I took the wooden sword from his hand and gave a few swings.
At least this should be easy. I'd hope.
Vaike then held onto his wooden sword while he let it rest on his shoulder. He grinned to me while he motioned for me to follow him.
We proceeded further into the middle of the flat land until we were at the tree. I was then finally able to fully see who was lying on the tree. It was a man in cavalry style armor similar to Sully's except his had a green streaks to it instead of red. He had messy black hair and had a bronze sword along with a small shield next to him.
That had to be Stahl.
Stahl slept carelessly under the tree as Vaike and I neared him.
Vaike then called out, "Yo, Stahl!"
This reached Stahl's ears as he cracked open an eye before he fully awoke. He sat up when we reached the tree he was under and stretched. He let out an audible yawn before asking, "Vaike… What's going on?"
"It's time to clear out, Stahl! Teach here is about to cause some chaos and doesn't want to see you getting hurt!" Vaike answered while smirking.
"Oh you're going to use the training field? I guess I fell asleep out here, huh?" Stahl asked while gathering his gear and standing up.
Both Vaike and I nodded in affirmation to his questions.
"Oh well. I was starting to get a little hungry anyways. Hey, who's the new guy?" Stahl asked Vaike.
"I'm Vincent. I'm a new recruit for the Shepherds," I answered while extending my hand to Stahl.
It's not that I find Stahl to be a great character despite his lack of actual use in the game. Ok, it is that.
Stahl smiled as he took my hand and responded, "Nice to meet you, Vincent. My name's Stahl."
We released each other's hands from our short handshake and then Stahl started to walk away from me and Vaike.
"Field's all yours guys," Stahl said as he walked towards the Shepherd's HQ.
With Stahl having left the field, Vaike got ready to fight me with his wooden sword as he asked, "Are ya ready for the Vaike?"
I gripped my wooden sword with both of my hands in contrast to Vaike's one handed style and answered, "It's now or never I suppose."
Vaike didn't wait for a single second as he came bolting towards me screaming like a mad man. I'll be frank, this caught me way off guard. Quite honestly, I didn't think he would get that into the training.
Vaike neared the startled me and smacked my left arm with his sword in a quick swipe. He stood victorious as I rubbed the surely now bruised left arm I had.
"One point for the Vaike! Score: 1-0!" Vaike shouted proudly.
How is this guy going to help train me?!
"Redo! I want a redo!" I shouted while getting ready with my sword again.
"The reigning champ, Teach, is being challenged once again? He accepts your challenge!' Vaike replied before he readied himself as well.
Ok, the guy's going to try and throw you off again. Just have to ignore his crazed yells.
As predicted, Vaike came at me while screaming like a maniac again. He got to me and swung his sword at me. While I wasn't exactly accustomed to the constant noise he was making, I wasn't caught off guard by it this time.
I brought up my own sword to block his attack and was surprisingly successful. However, he didn't let up in his attacks or his screams. It was as though a battle against both my body and mind were being waged.
He continued in his swings, this time aiming for my head which was unguarded. While I could feel myself becoming disoriented from his voice, I managed to duck under his attack.
My first instinct was to go for an attack on Vaike while I was below his guard.
I've got you now! I'll hit you while I'm down here! You'll never block this!
Before I even had a chance to ready my sword in an attack, however, Vaike did the unthinkable. When I ducked to dodge his attack, he stopped in his swing and brought up his arm in front of his chest. He then brought up his other arm effectively crossing it over his sword wielding arm. Both of his arms crossed to make an x across his chest and he lowered himself down to my level. His arm with the leather guard was on top of his other arm to provide some kind of shielding I'd assume.
What in the hell is this crazy guy doing!?
He then charged into me with his body and knocked me onto my back. Then he uncrossed his arms and stabbed his sword into my gut before I had a chance to recover. The resulting blow knocked the wind out of me and left me gasping for air for the next few seconds.
Meanwhile, Vaike exclaimed joyfully, "The Vaike continues in his spree! Score: 2-0!"
Seriously… this is… my trainer?
I managed to regain my breath as I stood up. At this point I was almost brimming with anger. I held onto my gut while I held my wooden sword in my other hand and asked him in slight frustration, "What was that?!"
"That was me winning! You might want to get used to it. It's a pretty common thing around here for me to win!" Vaike said while he spun his wooden sword around in circles.
"No, that was dirty! That was downright cheap to body check me like that!" I shouted in anger.
"Dirty? You think bandits give a crap about that? I sure don't," Vaike said as he got slightly serious for once.
His response slightly calmed me as I could understand what he was getting at. It still didn't fully calm me though. For him to pull out all the stops against a newbie like me is ridiculous. It's like playing in a kid's baseball game as an adult and pitching speed balls to the little kids. It's downright unfair and won't help them improve in the slightest.
Still, I should've known Vaike wouldn't hold back. If I remember correctly, the guy doesn't even know the meaning of "fighting safe".
I'll just have to watch out for any dirty tricks he might pull.
"You giving up?" Vaike asked.
"No, we're just getting started," I said as I readied my sword once again.
"Good cause the Vaike still needs to break a sweat before he can call it a day," Vaike replied as he too readied himself.
The two of us stood in the middle of the field for a few seconds before Vaike came charging for me. This time he didn't scream my ears out. Perhaps he screamed his voice out?
Either way he came in to attack me. He swung his sword for me to which I parried with my own. I went for a swing on him that was aimed for his head. My sword was coming up in an arc to my right towards his head. Before my sword could connect, however, he ducked under my swing and popped his head back up after my swing past.
Vaike then went for another swing against my body before I could recover from my swing. His sword was coming towards me from my left so I decided to side step to my right where my body was already partially heading. I, however, met resistance in the form of Vaike's foot as he had stuck it out to trip me. He succeeded as I tripped over his foot and fell flat on my stomach.
I tried to flip myself over and protect myself on the ground before he could attack me, but when I flipped onto my back I saw that Vaike already had his sword pointed at me. He could've hit me by now, but decided not to.
He looked at me with disappointment as he pulled his sword away from pointing at me. He then started to walk away without uttering word.
I shouted to him, "Where are you heading?!"
Vaike stopped in his tracks as he turned to face me again. Still the look of disappointment was plastered on his face. He then replied, "I'm done here. Sorry, Vince, but I don't see any potential in you. I think you should quit trying to be a Shepherd."
W-What did he say? No, no. I know what he said, but is he serious?
"W-Why? I'm a perfectly able soldier to do this! I've survived at least two encounters before I even got here! How can you decide I have no place here?!" I asked in anger while I stood up to my feet.
"You explained it yourself. You survived those encounters," Vaike said as he pointed his wooden sword at me.
His words hit me like a wrecking ball. I was stunned. Mortified to say the least. Thinking back to those last encounters, I knew he was right. All I had been doing was surviving my previous encounters. I hadn't done a thing to provide any kind of real assistance. In fact, I had almost killed a person in one of them that I tried to help in! How did I think I could be in a war party?! No, a better question would be why I thought I could be in a war party to begin with!
I stumbled backwards from the shock of the realization and fell onto my ass. I dropped the wooden sword in my hand as I furiously grabbed a handful of grass next to me.
The sudden realization had come to me. I had thought that I could play the hero people always see in movies and video games but I was wrong. I was dead wrong. I was nothing more than a useless piece of skin that's true purpose in life was to live out an average life. An average, uneventful, mediocre life. An average life for a person that dreamed to be something more.
What… What the fuck was I thinking? What the fuck was I thinking?!
I punched the ground to my side multiple times as I felt my anger boiling. Anger that was directed solely at myself.
I hadn't the first clue on how to be a hero. It didn't matter that I fell into a game. Even if this was the real world I would've wanted to try the same idiotic thing. All that did matter was my foolish dreams of heroic deeds. Deeds that might pull me out of a normal life. I should've known that these deeds would never be possible for me though. Even if I am getting pulled into a video game.
"Is this what you want to be?" I heard Vaike ask.
His words suddenly broke me from my fit of rage and sadness as I stopped hitting the ground to look up to him. I asked him, "What are you talking about?"
"This mess you've become. Do you want to be this or something else?" Vaike asked.
I took a moment to calm myself long enough before I could look myself over. I was a raging idiot that had decided it would be best to take out his anger on the ground. A fool that decided all other options must be out the window.
I looked back to Vaike as I answered, "No… No, it isn't."
"Then what is it you want to be?" Vaike asked.
Ii took me a minute to answer him with, "I'm… I'm trying to be like you guys!"
He then took a step closer to me as he punched a fist against his chest. He exclaimed, "Then do it!"
His reply shook me almost as much as the one that put me on the ground. I asked in confusion, "B-But didn't you tell me that I couldn't?"
"That's where you failed the Vaike's strenuous training program! First rule: Never let anyone tell you what you can or can't do!"
"I… I don't quite understand," I said as I fell into more confusion.
"You can't let people go around telling you what you can do, Vince! If the Vaike did, then I would probably still be living in the streets!" Vaike said.
"Then why did you tell me in the first place?" I asked in more confusion.
"Because I'm training you that's why! Before I can teach you anything I have to build up your confidence first! Otherwise, you're no match for ol' Teach," Vaike exclaimed.
"I don't get it… I'm not confident enough so I can't beat you?" I asked still in confusion as I started to scratch my head in wonder.
Vaike started to get annoyed with all of my questions as he furiously scratched his own head before he recovered and asked calmly, "The way you fight… How well do you think you fight?"
"I think I do decent enough…" I said as I picked up the sword next to me and looked it over.
"Wrong!" I heard Vaike shout which caused me to drop the sword out of my hands.
"You aren't fighting at all! The Vaike knows fighting and you aren't doing it! Your confidence shows in your fighting. Think about how you've been fighting!" Vaike said as he pointed his wooden sword at me once again.
Well, I do a lot of blocking and I don't really charge many things. Actually, I don't charge things unless I have the flank on them. I really avoid frontal battles. I turtle it up and hope to find a break in people's attacks.
"So I need to change how I fight?" I asked.
"Exactly! You need to be more aggressive! I can tell you're an angry dude, so why not show it more? Like when I told you that you shouldn't be a Shepherd! You should've decked me in the face!" Vaike said while he shadow bowed.
I grabbed ahold of my wooden sword once again and raised myself off the ground. I held it in both my hands as I faced Vaike.
"Alright, I can do that. I kind of feel like beating the crap out of you for crushing my self-esteem just now anyways," I stated with a grin.
"What? I told you the Vaike was already done! You think the Vaike jokes?" Vaike asked with a smirk.
"Good, it only means you won't fight back while I kick your ass," I replied.
Vaike grinned as he too got ready to start a fight. He then said, "You think so huh?"
I charged for Vaike as he did the same towards me. We both started to yell at the top of our lungs as we continued in our mad charges. When I was close enough, I swung my wooden sword as he did the very same. Our swords collided and we both recoiled off each other's attacks. Vaike grinned to me and I did the same to him.
After recovering from my recoil, I swung for Vaike once again. He blocked my once again with his own sword.
He then went for a punch to my face with his right hand that I swiftly backed away from. I then returned his attack with another swing with my sword. This time I went for a downward vertical attack aimed for the top of his head. Vaike raised his wooden sword horizontally to block and was successful in his attempt as my sword bashed against his own.
I kept the pressure on him as I continued to hold my sword against his. He was unable to move his sword or else I would smack him on the top of his head. He, however, was handling the pressure perfectly fine with one hand on his sword and a smirk on his face.
He'll try something… I knew it!
As easily predicted, Vaike tried to knee me in the gut while I was focusing on my sword. I backed away to barely avoid receiving a knee to the gut as Vaike went on the offensive. He swung for my left side with his sword as I backed away from him. He was just barely out of range in his attack thanks to my backpedaling.
The attacks didn't stop there though. He came in for another swing on my right this time. This time he was aiming for my shoulder. I barely managed to parry his attack to my right which had his guard wide open.
Or at least I had thought he was open. As I went in for an attack, Vaike swung his right hand for me once again. He was dead set on punching me sooner or later. I barely managed to pull back from my attack to dodge his incoming attack.
Vaike came towards me with relentless attacks. He was putting me in the type of situation he wanted. One where I tried to block his attacks. It was the way he wanted it. I wouldn't be able to make an attack if he just kept pressure on me.
Vaike then came at me with an horizontal swing for my head. I had found an opening. I ducked under his attack and proceeded to run under his sword arm for his flank.
I'm sure he'll try to… yup, there it is.
Vaike had made the attempt to stick his foot out to trip me but I went too far from his leg's reach for him to effectively trip me. I made it behind him and went in for the swing. He still hadn't made any attempt to move or block me. I was certain to hit him.
Just as my sword neared Vaike's shoulder, I felt an incredible amount of force strike me into the gut. When I looked down at the source, I had found that it was Vaike's wooden sword. He stabbed behind himself to hit me before I could hit him. I was only inches away too!
Vaike turned his head slightly to see if he had struck me or not and was pleased to see that he did. He then turned fully around and exclaimed triumphantly, "The Vaike wins again! Score: 3-0!"
"Damn… I was… so close too," I said in ragged breaths.
"Don't worry about it, Vince! I'm a lot to handle at first! You'll catch me eventually," Vaike said as he patted my back in reassurance.
"I don't know who… told you we were done. Cause I'm sure not," I replied as I got ready to fight again.
I'm going to change that zero on the scoreboard.
Vaike was a little surprised by my resolve to continue training but he recovered as he became excited.
"The Vaike don't mind! He can do this all day," Vaike stated with a grin as he too readied himself for the fifth time today.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Time passed by slowly as Vaike and I sparred throughout the remainder of the day. Our constant yells earned us a few yells back from a rather annoyed Mairbelle that had just about enough of our training. Nonetheless, we carried on with what would be the most brutal kind of training I had ever experienced in my life. Not that I've been trained that much to begin with.
The sun started to set below the horizon as the field Vaike and I were in changed from a bright green color to a deep orange in a matter of minutes. The previously warm atmosphere we were in soon started to drop in temperatures as night drew closer and closer.
During the middle of the training, I saw that both Chrom and even Auden had come out to check on me and Vaike. They didn't say anything, but decided to leave when they had seen enough.
Battered, bruised and completely tuckered out, I slumped down against the tree that took the middle of the open plain we trained in. Vaike came to the tree as well and slumped down on the other side of the tree. Even he was breathing raggedly like I was.
"You know… you really messed me up back there," I said in an exhausted state to the equally exhausted Vaike.
"Yeah? Good, cause that's… what the Vaike is supposed to do!" Vaike said as he laughed the whole situation off.
Realistically, I gave the muscular idiot no visible wounds at all. Quite frankly, all I managed to do was tucker the guy out. On the other hand, Vaike left me battered to no end. All across my body I felt sorer than ever before as he landed blow after blow on my body. I was certain to be seeing some bruises on my body.
Still, even though he injured me beyond imagination. I deeply appreciated it. While I can't say is methods are the best, they definitely worked. I feel much more confident in fighting than I did before. I don't feel as though I might be that much better at it, but it helped to have confidence.
"You good?" Vaike asked as he twisted his head around the tree to see me on the other side, "You're doing better, right? Ol' Teach sure has one killer training program, doesn't he?"
"Yeah," I replied with a smile, "I'm doing better. Thanks, Vaike."
"But…" I said as I managed to stand up, "I wouldn't mind kicking your ass again in the future. Have to repay you for these wounds sometime."
Vaike grinned as he also stood up. He then said, "Oh yeah! The Vaike is always up for so more competition! It's how the best get even better! The score's 15-5 so don't you forget it!"
"I think I will. Because that score's going to be 15-16 real soon," I replied with a grin.
"Ha! Keep dreaming, pal!" Vaike said energetically before walking towards the Shepherd's HQ. He stopped midway as he looked back to me and asked, "Well, don't you wanna eat somethin'?"
"Yeah, I'd like to eat! What do you take me for? A training dummy?" I asked with a smirk as I went to catch up with Vaike.
"With the way you train? Yeah, I think you just might be one!" Vaike said with a laugh as I caught up to him.
I pushed him to the side in annoyance of his answer and he returns it with a push of one of his own. His push almost caused me to fall over, but I managed to keep my balance.
"Hey, Vince, drink this," Vaike said as he pulled a small flask out of his pouch he had strapped to his side.
The flask had some kind of slightly sparkling blue liquid inside it. It was held inside the flask thanks to a cork that was secured on top of it.
"Uh… What's that?" I asked.
Vaike laughed at my question and responded, "What? Never seen a vulnerary before? Just drink it ya idiot!"
He forced the vulnerary into my hand in a flash. I was left staring at the peculiar drink in my hands as we walked.
This is a vulnerary? I hope it doesn't taste like crap.
I uncorked the flask in my hands and took a swig of the contents inside. The taste… was abdominal. I spit out the drink immediately and tried my best to get the taste out of my mouth.
"This tastes like-" I was cut off by Vaike laughing loudly and finishing my sentence with, "Crap?"
"Yeah, it tastes awful. Even I can't stand the taste! Still, you'll feel like a cleric just healed ya!" Vaike said.
I looked back at the uncorked flask as I stirred the contents of it.
The stuff tastes like ass, but if it can heal me like it does in the game then I suppose I can handle it.
I took another quick swig of the vulnerary in my hand and forced myself to swallow it. I quickly corked the flask again as I gave the rest of the vulnerary back to Vaike. He took the flask as I gagged from the horrible taste that went through my mouth for the second time.
My gagging stopped soon as I lost the horrible taste and my body started to feel oddly better. The sore feeling that had once covered most of my arms and legs had vanished. It would appear the vulnerary can at least do its job.
"Feels better right?" Vaike asked.
"Yeah, but I would never sell this thing as a beverage," I replied.
Vaike laughed in amusement as he said, "Yeah, they say not to drink the stuff anyways."
"What?! Then why the heck did you make me drink it?!" I asked in slight frustration.
"Huh?" Vaike said as he rubbed his head in confusion.
"Vaike… if that stuff isn't supposed to be consumed, why did you make me do it?" I asked him this time a little slower.
"Oh! Well, they say you're supposed to rub the stuff on your injuries cause the stuff tastes like last month's dishwater!" Vaike explained with a smirk.
"Then why did you make me drink it?!" I asked again.
"Because that's the fast way to use the stuff! Ol' Teach doesn't have time for all that rubbing so he drinks the stuff!" Vaike answered in his own frustration at my frustration.
I… will get you back for this… Just you wait… Vaike.
"Whatever," I said as I waved off his frustration, "Thanks anyways for the… magical dishwater."
"No problem, pal!" Vaike said as he patted me on the back.
Payback… It's coming…
Vaike and I got to the back entrance to the Shepherd's HQ in a few more minutes. The sun had almost completely set when we made it to the door so it was practically perfect timing.
Vaike went to open the door when suddenly somebody else came running through the door. The door slammed into Vaike as the person running through came barreling into me. I managed to stop the individual's panic run as they collided with me. The individual in such a hurry was Stahl for some odd reason.
"Stahl, what's with the hurry!? You slammed a door in the Vaike's face!" Vaike said in frustration as he rubbed his face.
"Dinner… Dinner's being cooked… It's being cooked by…" Stahl said in between ragged breaths.
"Cooked by who?" I asked wanting him to finish what he was saying.
"It's being cooked by-" Stahl tried to answer after he recovered from his panic breathing but was cut off by another voice shouting from behind him, "Stahl, where do you think you're going?!"
The voice behind Stahl turned out to be Sully's as she walked up behind the fellow knight and grabbed him by the shoulder. This caused Stahl to be slightly shocked as he stiffened in front of me.
"I spent all this time cooking and you're not about to skip out on it," Sully said as she tightened her grip on Stahl's shoulder.
"Skip? No way! I'd never skip out on dinner! Who do you think you're talking to, Sully?" Stahl rhetorically asked with a nervous smile.
"Good," Sully said as she turned her direction to me, "Come on, Vincent. I've already cooked and served dinner. You don't want to eat cold food."
"O-Of course not!" I answered in fear of what's to come.
She's a terrible cook from what I know in the games! It'll probably be as bad as the vulnerary! Or even worse!
"Vaike," Sully said as she looked over my shoulder to see Vaike trying to sneak away, "Where do you think you're heading?"
Vaike tunred around and sheepishly scratched his head as he replied, "Ol' Teach was just… going for a swim! Yeah, I need to go swimming before the day's over!"
"In what body of water would you swim in?" Sully asked as there was obviously no body of water near here.
"Uh… Well… What I meant was…" Vaike tried to answer as he looked around nervously.
"I think you meant that you were coming back for dinner," Sully answered for Vaike as she pulled Stahl back inside the Shepherd's HQ. After getting Stahl back inside, she looked back out the door and shot a piercing glare at Vaike.
"Uh… um… Yeah… that's what I meant," Vaike said in defeat as he walked slowly into the HQ.
"Well, Vincent? Are you going for a swim or are you eating?" Sully asked me.
"I'll eat. No swimming here," I answered as I walked inside.
Sully lead the way to the dining table as Stahl, Vaike, and I trailed behind.
"So… this cooking… is it bad?" I asked Stahl in slight fear.
"I would eat a lot of edible things, but the stuff sully cooks isn't one of those things. Does that give you an idea?" Stahl asked after answering my question.
"Yeah, I guess; but why would she be allowed to cook then?" I asked him.
"Well, everybody kind of forgot about who was supposed to be cooking tonight, and I guess Sully took the responsibility herself which is odd because she doesn't even like doing this anyways," Stahl explained as we neared the dining table that was kept behind a wall in the main room.
The kitchen looked to be behind a wall opposite to the dining room probably for convenience.
We entered into the dining room, and took a seat with the rest of the Shepherds. Even Miriel and Ricken were here which was odd since they weren't here earlier. Or at least they didn't appear to have been.
On the table was an assortment of bowls and spoons for each person, a few candles thrown about to provide for light, and a giant pot in the middle of the table. Each bowl already appeared to have some kind of soup inside it already before Stahl, Vaike, and I arrived.
Sully stood behind her seat as she said, "I know I normally don't cook for a good reason, but I thought I'd give this new recipe a try to see if it was any good. So everybody dig in!"
She took a seat at her announcement to the start of the meal that nobody seemed to want to partake in. Everybody stared at their meals in front of them while they played around with their spoons. Not a single person took a bite of the odd smelling and looking soup in their bowls. Not even Sully who was nervously looking at her own bowl of odd soup.
Oh ho… this should be good.
I looked over to my side to see Vaike sitting next to me as he nervously played around with his food as well. I snickered silently as I had already thought of my payback for the muscled baboon.
"Hey, Vaike," I whispered silently to Vaike to catch his attention.
"What?" He asked as he continued stirring his bowl of soup.
"Bet you I can finish this stuff before you," I said trying to egg him into a competition.
"What?! You're going to eat this stuff?!" Vaike asked in an outburst.
"Yeah, I understand if you can't. It takes guts to do," I said quietly as I put a spoonful of the soup into my mouth to help convince him I was serious.
The taste was abysmal as I found it difficult not to spit the stuff out almost immediately. My eyes even almost started to water from the over spicing of the food. I, however, held on to my plain expression as I swallowed the spoonful.
Vaike looked at me with surprise as did some of the nearby Shepherds. He then looked back and forth between his bowl and me. In a stunning moment of his resolve to beat me, he picked up his bowl with his both his hands.
Vaike then exclaimed, "The Vaike has guts! Bring it on!"
I smirked at how easily he went in for my bait and dropped my spoon onto the table. I grabbed ahold of my bowl with both of my hands and raised it off the table as well. I then exclaimed, "Alright, on three! One, two, three!"
At my signal to start, Vaike put his bowl up to his lips as I did the same. He started to chug the soup down in great quantities while I merely held the bowl of soup at my lips. In a matter of seconds, Vaike had finished and slammed his bowl onto the table. He grinned victoriously as I sat my still full bowl of odd soup onto the table and congratulated the man.
"Well, you definitely proved me wrong, Vaike. Good job," I said as I clapped for his victory.
Other Shepherds that had watched the spectacle of Vaike downing the soup were amazed. They were so amazed that they actually picked up their spoons to give it a try.
What… did I just cause?
While others at the table took their first bites of the meal, Vaike was still grinning. He hadn't changed his expression at all nor did he ever respond to my congratulating. He sat as if he had been frozen in time. The man wasn't even blinking! Suddenly, his eyes started to uncontrollably water as the other people at the table had the same effect happening to them.
Vaike then stood up in a burst of energy as he exclaimed, "Water!"
The other foolish Shepherds that also ate some of the strange soup also sprang up from their chairs shouting the same thing. After they ran from the room trying to find the closest source of water, only Sully, Miriel, and I remained.
Sully sighed inwardly as she said, "And I almost thought I made something good."
Miriel responded to Sully's depression with, "There's always next time. Just try not to use too much capsicum in the next endeavor."
"Capi… What?" Sully asked in confusion.
"Chili peppers. You used far too much of them," Miriel stated as she exited the room herself.
"Well," Sully said as she stood up from her chair, "I'm done with this whole cooking business anyways. Just thought I'd give it another try."
She then started to pick up the remaining dishes as she looked to me and asked, "Gonna just sit there and watch a lady do all the work?"
"No, not at all!" I said as I went to assist her with the cleaning of the table.
Sully and I cleaned the dishes for the night as the other members drank from a nearby well they had nearby their HQ. None of them were exactly pleased with the ordeal quite like Vaike was. He came to me after I had finished dish duty with Sully gloating about how he beat me. I wasn't quite sure I had actually got any payback on him at all.
Despite this, the Shepherds all retired to their beds as I did as well. They had given me a room on the second floor of their HQ which was apparently where everyone's rooms were. They weren't all that large, but it's the thought that counts. The beds actually weren't all that bad. Not that it takes much for me to fall asleep anyways.
Although I did have a good idea on what would happen if I did fall asleep. I'd wake back up in my bed in the real world and I'd be faced with another little movie on my 3ds. With how things are going, I'm definitely going to need to figure out what exactly is going on.
Why is this happening? How is it happening? Is it only happening to me? Have I simply just gone bonkers? These are the questions I wanted answered as soon as possible before I find myself unable to get out of this rabbit's hole. At least, I hope there's a way out.
There's the end of the chapter if you couldn't tell.
So I'd like to apologize for some of the beginning dialogue first off. As some may notice I did stick fairly close to some of it and Frederick's explanation of the exalt is a clear rip. I simply couldn't think of a lot of stuff for that scene in particular. Hopefully, this doesn't upset you guys too much. I'll try and fix it if it does.
Onto the training, as some may notice; sword fighting isn't exactly common knowledge to me. I don't have much knowledge on the subject but I am researching it as of the previous chapter. I'm not trying to make this fic have really realistic and detailed sword fighting but I'd like to maybe slowly upgrade to that if possible. Or maybe just improve in general. An example of my learnings through my research; you actually aren't supposed to just sit around and block! Something that Vincent has also just learned! Apparently, you are supposed to be constantly moving and be aggressive. I'll try to improve in this department as things move along. No promises though. I may just fail ultimately.
As I said I would, I'm going to be responding to some reviews now. I'm not responding to them all, but ones that I feel like I should respond to. Thanks for your reviews!
o realisticFantasy o: I don't mind your musing at all. In fact, I quite enjoy it because it's beneficial to me. Like your thoughts on Vincent training in the real world. I'll admit I hadn't thought of this mostly because of how I'm thinking of the future of this fic. It's still a good thought and I might have to take this idea into account for future chapters! Thanks!
WordBirdNerd: Funnily enough, I finished this chapter once you left your reviews so that's some perfect timing. I'm going to do these in parts so you, and I suppose others, can see what I'm responding to.
Chapter 1 response: For my honest answer to the honest question: I do not. The opening ended up mentioning cheesy self inserts because I had actually written multiple openings to that first chapter. One of which was in fact Vince starting to play Fire Emblem before he found himself in the game. I scrapped the idea for being too cheesy and because I had kind of done the same thing in my other fic. The thought of it still, however, leaked into my writing and I decided to leave it in. I'll admit it was pretty weird but it's merely the way I operate I suppose as you've probably already noticed. As for the no weapon situation with Auden, I had actually forgotten about this entirely until I found myself already writing the fight to whihc I merely went with it. Maybe I'll go back and add that in at some point. Finally for the fight with Auden and bandits, as I pointed out above; sword fighting isn't my forte. Hopefully, I can improve on this.
Chapter 2 response: Glad to know I'm not the only one that understands bears aren't crazy. To my knowledge, I believe polar bears are the only ones to be aggressive and even they have reason to be which is mostly out of hunger. The real world/game world can be a bit tedious I'll admit and I'm glad I managed to get through with having it show that Vince is feeling freaked out by it. I like to say it's a bit rewarding to read that. As for his reaction in the end to it, since it is essentially a SI I'll say that this would be my honest to God reaction. I wouldn't go trying to show it to somebody mostly because if it didn't show what I saw I'd look insane and feel more insane. I will say, however, that testing will surely happen in the coming chapters as could be derived from the end of this one. Plus, I must've written it to blandly but the game did in fact go back to being normal after showing the dream in the form of a game. Maybe I need to go back and add more detail to that to make it understandable. As for the mercenary thing, I did mean definitely and it was in regards to Auden.
Chapter 3 response: I didn't know that seeing on how I've never awoken to being carried. Thanks for the info though. For the fatal injuries, I will say that when Auden is attacking them these would be normal attacks that would obviously get a reaction from a normal person. Something that could probably even end a fight with a regular person. Perhaps I'll go back and clarify this. Also, a chop into the neck to one of the Risen was dealt by Vince. The Risen merely shrugged this attack off, however, and went back to fighting. I feel as though this reaffirms his reasoning for killing blows like ones to vital organs. As for Sully's armor, yes I did want to go for a different look. Simply put it, I dislike the crap out of both her and Stahl's armor. Their armor schemes are so similar and yet the only real difference between the two is their colors. Oh, she's the red knight while he's the green. It almost makes them feel generic. It's honestly lame in my opinion when you have that and then you have Frederick wearing some pretty killer armor. Even Kellam's is pretty good looking even though it only has orange streaks going through it. If I can come up with a better description for their armor. I'll go back and add it in. Until then, they're merely following Kellam's style of coloring with their old style of armor.
Thanks for those reviews, WordBirdNerd! They may have been lengthy responses and I apologize for my big mouth but I liked responding to your reviews anyways! They're definitely helpful and I hope you leave some more.
This goes for everyone too. I'd like to see those reviews if you have any. Leave one and I'll definitely be grateful!