Speedy update. It was much easier writing this chapter. I could've probably done it in my sleep! Hope you readers like it.
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.
The Weak shall Fight the Strong
"Watch where you're aiming!" Lissa had ducked behind Donnel in order to avoid a spell that I accidently shot in her direction.
I bowed apologetically to her, "Sorry, sorry!"
I couldn't quite believe what was happening. I was firing off bolts of lightning! Me; a spell caster! To think that each word in the book was merely spelt backwards. It would've been easier to notice had the lettering not been written in such a fancy form of cursive. It took me almost half of Robin's match to understand two words!
Still, I'm starting to understand the form of the lettering now. I can almost tell a t from an f now.
Although it doesn't seem like it's quite as simple as just reading off a few words. The real problem comes from the spell itself. I had momentarily thought about stepping in Lissa and Donnel's direction and the energy shot right off my arm straight towards them.
Looking back at my thunder tome, I noticed the line I read off was now completely gone from the page. Where ink previously stained the page it was now completely devoid. It was as though nobody ever wrote there in the first place.
That explains why Robin's tome is so empty. There's very few sentences on each page in this thing.
I went back to read a second sentence from the book. I stumbled on a few of the words, but managed to get through it. The sentence looked something like: !rednuht, snialp eht ssorca yruf eniht hsaelnu dna evoba seiks eht morf nwod hsarc
Each word was arranged backwards with the sentence beginning at the end. After rearranging it would say: Crash down from the skies above and unleash thine fury across the plains, thunder!
Reading the words off in my head, the text on the page began to shine. Shortly after, electricity started to spark all across the book. I was used to this after seeing it the first time. It's the next parts that were tricky. Focusing as hard as I could, I tried to make the electricity move towards my open palm.
It followed my course and ran down along my arm. It stung a bit as I was shocked repeatedly. My arm twitched from the electricity and some of the nerve cells in my arm fell numb because of the new energy. Slowly the spell's energy collected at the palm of my hand. It was a new record for sure. Of course, I've only cast two spells and the last one discharged towards Lissa. Still, I was ecstatic!
As I marveled at what I managed to accomplish the gate into our waiting area opened. The sudden noise caused me to shift in how I was standing to see the gate. I looked to see who was entering in and briefly took my eyes off the spell I had conjured in my open palm. When I had done so, the electricity I focused so hard on collecting into my hand darted towards the gate.
Crap! I didn't mean to-
"Watch out!" I cried out at the last second as the person entering into out waiting area stumbled past the spell I shot at them.
"I guess you don't need me after all," the person said as they entered into our area after dusting themselves off first.
For a moment I was too caught up in order to notice that it was Robin entering back into our area. He had white bandages wrapped around his side that seemed to have had some blood on them.
I take it he was cut during the fight. Still can't believe he beat Lon'qu. I thought we would have to have Lissa accidently stumble into the ring.
Lissa pursed her lips as she eyed Robin entering, "You could've come to me and I would've healed you."
Robin chuckled as he sat down on one of the benches, "They wouldn't let me leave until they did this. Still, you can help speed along the process. Come. Sfit."
He patted the bench with one of his hands as he clutched where his wound was with the other.
Lissa did as Robin suggested and grabbed her staff to sit on the bench with him. When she sat down, there was a long, sloppy sounding, fart that resonated through our waiting room. The little princess blushed profusely when all eyes were drawn towards her.
"Um, Lissa?" I had started to question the girl but she waved her hands frantically in the air to stop me.
"It wasn't me! Honest! I would never-!" She was trying her utmost to defend herself but stopped midway when she noticed Robin silently laughing to himself.
"Wow, I didn't expect you to be such a flatulent princess, Lissa. What's the matter? Had too many beans last night?" Robin's face was turning red from how hard he wanted to laugh. His face was cracking as he tried to hold it in for as long as he could. Eventually, he did crack and started to full on chuckle.
I couldn't tell on whether or not Lissa was still embarrassed or incredibly pissed now with how red she was getting. The answer was given to me though. She went directly behind the hysterical tactician and grabbed both of his ears.
She started to pull on both of his ears incredibly hard, "Don't do that ever again!"
"Ow, ow! Ok, I'm sorry! Please, stop! Ow!" Robin struggled against the girl behind him but it didn't seem like he was getting the upper hand anytime soon.
As the two of them wrestled, I eyed the spot Lissa sat down on.
A legitimate whoopee cushion… Didn't think those would be around.
I looked back at Lissa and Robin whom were still fighting. Lissa had put Robin into a headlock and was giving him a noogie. Honestly I couldn't call it a fight. It was more like a beating and it was obvious who was getting it.
I chuckled to myself as the two of them continued in the brawl before finally settling down because of Frederick.
"Now, give a warm welcome for tonight's entertainment!" an entourage of people had entered into the arena with almost all of them carrying some sort of musical instrument. The crowd gave a moderate response to the band entering. It was obvious the land of warrior's citizens enjoy watching fights a lot more.
Of course, I was thinking that until a woman with pink hair shyly walked in front of the large band. The crowd went mad with applause for her causing the woman to shrink back for a moment before finally moving ahead again.
I recognized the girl. Even if she was a fair distance away, I could still make out what she looked like. It was Olivia indefinitely. She had long pink hair tied back into a ponytail while she also had two braided strands of hair hanging in the front. Her arms and legs looked like they were covered by some kind of black veil. All across her outfit she wore golden accessories ranging from armbands to wristbands with a ring that had a few spikes along it and a cloth that attached both rings on her wrists. The rest of what she was wearing looked to be white and she had a headband on her head of course.
It still surprised me to see that she was wearing the same outfit she was in the game. It didn't look cold proof then and it still doesn't look cold proof now. I can't imagine how she manages to handle the cold weather around here. A small breeze sends shivers across my body around here.
Still, she looked like a dancer I suppose. That's what she does so I guess an outfit is meant to match.
Olivia looked extremely nervous. She kept looking around herself while she held both of her hands in front of her slowly turning red face.
So I guess she must feel normal…
Suddenly the band kicked themselves into gear. I couldn't recognize the song they were playing at first, but eventually it started to sound familiar. Normally I can't be bothered to remember most songs but this time it stuck out to me. It stuck out because it was so closely related to the world I was currently in. It had to be the title theme for Fire Emblem Awakening.
Slowly but surely, Olivia started in her dance to the music. It was oddly majestic even to a guy that doesn't care about dancing like me. Watching her dance made me feel energized and happy. I had to keep watching and so did everyone else.
Is this what a dancer can do?
Olivia danced through a few songs that all used to be a part of the game. Her face increased in redness as she continued through her dances. Someone might've mistaken her for a tomato if she was in a garden.
Eventually the show ended and Olivia respectfully waited for everyone to end in their applause for her. As soon as it ended, however, she made off as fast as her feet would carry her.
Donnel whistled from beside me and threw his hands behind his head, "Wow, never did think I'd be able to watch somethin' like that! Dern sure was entertainin'!"
"Yeah, I'm feeling way more energized. How about you, Vaike? Uh… Vaike?" I scanned the waiting area slowly to find Vaike. He was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did he go!?" I didn't like not seeing Vaike in the area. His match was up next and he could potentially just forfeit it if he isn't here.
All of a sudden, there was loud snoring. The noise was coming from behind a couple of large boxes. Everyone looked at them and I approached them. Looking over it, I found where Vaike was. He was asleep of all things.
"Wake up!" I shouted into his ear causing his eyes to shoot open. He immediately grabbed a stick next to him and was waving it around.
"Huh?! What's going on?! Wait, this isn't my axe," Vaike eyed the stick in his hands strangely.
Taking over Sully's job, I smacked his head causing him to grab it from the pain.
"Hey, what's the deal?!" Vaike glared at me after dropping the stick he picked up.
"Now, let's get back to the fights! Next up is Vaike on the East Khan's team and Auden on the West Khan's team!" the gates into the arena opened slowly as they have done multiple other times before.
"That's the deal! You have a fight," I pointed out into the arena expecting him to simply charge out happily.
Instead he scratched his head, "I have to fight? Who? Why? When?"
I ignored his forgetfulness. Opting to skip past explaining to him, I grabbed his axe and shoved it into his hands before shoving him out the gate. I kicked him in the back to give him one final big push out into the arena.
"Hey, wait a second!" Vaike turned around to argue, but the gate closed in between me and him.
I pointed sternly towards the announcer in the middle that was waiting for Vaike to arrive.
Vaike grumbled a few words under his breath that I couldn't make out before making his way towards the center of the arena. Although, I didn't really care to know what he was saying.
I gazed past the upset Vaike and noticed the beard man himself standing already in the center of the battlefield.
Auden's on the other side, huh? Wonder how this will go…
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
While Auden waited patiently near the announcer with his arms crossed, Vaike grumbled the whole way there. Eventually Vaike made it to the center.
"Alright, the rules are as follows: Do not make any attempts at your opponent's-" the announcer was going over the rules when Vaike hit the end of his axe into the poor man's gut knocking the air out of him.
"Ouch! What is the matter with you?!" the announcer gripped his gut and didn't look pleased about the abuse.
"It's a fight! We fight! Come on already," Vaike beckoned for the announcer to come towards him as he rested his axe on his shoulder.
"W-What? He's your opponent you baboon!" the announcer pointed at Auden whom was laughing.
"No, that's Auden. He's a Shepherd not an enemy of mine," Vaike stated plainly while eyeing the announcer as though he was short a few brain cells.
At this point, Auden fully started to laugh. He bellowed in laughter as he slapped his knee a few times. It was during this that the announcer extended both his hands towards Auden as though he was presenting him to Vaike, "Now he's your opponent. Look, I don't get paid enough to deal with this. Just hit each other and not me. No killing."
The announcer of the tournament walked away throwing his hands up in the air and shouting, "Begin!"
Auden slowly stopped in his fit of laughter while Vaike still looked as puzzled as ever.
Drawing out his short sword, Auden looked at Vaike, "That was possibly the most I've ever laughed in this arena. Good on you, boy!"
Vaike blinked in confusion, "Huh? Auden, what's going on?"
"It's a tourney, my boy! We're competitors! I dare say, it's quite unlucky for you to have been put up against I, the greatest adventurer to ever live; Auden!"
Auden raised both his hands above his head expecting an eruption of applause from the audience that has witnessed him fight multiple times in Regna Ferox. There was nothing but silence.
Vaike's eye twitched and he tightened his grip on his axe, "You? The greatest adventurer!? That title belongs to Ol' Teach!"
Vaike mimicked Auden's stance and awaited applause from the crowd. Not a single person clapped. In fact, a few people booed as a nosier audience member shouted, "Hurry up and fight already!"
Both Vaike and Auden looked incredibly confused about the situation they were faced with. Nobody in the crowd was cheering for either of them. They were actually getting annoyed by them. Neither of them could understand it.
They both simultaneously shrugged before lifting their weapons back up ready for a fight. Auden stood straight with his short sword in one hand aimed at Vaike while Vaike was hunched down closer to the ground holding his heavy axe in both his hands.
"For the title: The strongest man," Auden stated with a grin.
"You mean the one I already have?" Vaike replied while hefting his axe up and down.
Auden laughed heartily before going in for a swing at Vaike. He expected Vaike to dodge, but what he didn't see coming was the quick kick to his shin. Vaike never played fair in any of his fights.
With his axe hefted up, Vaike let a drop down for Auden. Stuffing the pain in his leg to the back of his head, Auden sidestepped Vaike's attack and grabbed ahold of his axe's haft.
Auden pulled the axe away from Vaike who struggled to hold onto his weapon. After a swift tug, Auden then pushed the axe back towards Vaike aiming the bottom of the axe for Vaike's gut which connected. All of the air was pushed out of his lungs and he was left gasping.
Capitalizing now on his own dirty tactic, Auden lunged his short sword towards Vaike aiming for his upper shoulder. Still trying to catch his breath, Vaike barely managed to dodge as the sword grazed his arm leaving a deep cut.
Vaike then threw his body into Auden's to drive his elbow deep into the other's gut. Auden recoiled from the attack and now both fighters were left gasping for air.
Being the first to recover, Vaike swung his axe for his enemy's side. Auden dodged back in a hurry still trying to catch his breath. Vaike followed forward as Auden swung his sword for him as he did. Blocking the strike with the haft of his axe, Vaike then threw a punch since he was too close now to swing his axe effectively.
Finally regaining his composure, Auden dodged the punch. He then swung his sword at Vaike. The sword turned out to be a distraction, however, as Vaike dodged right into a punch from Auden.
Gripping his face, Vaike staggered backwards. He removed his hand from his face revealing that his nose was clearly broken and bleeding. Nevertheless he went after Auden still wanting to fight.
It was a swing and a miss when Vaike swung his axe haphazardly towards Auden. Another swing that was erratic as the last came speeding towards him but was dodged again.
It was by this time that Auden noticed Vaike was fighting with no real plan in mind. His plan was simply to berserk.
Having handled situations with crazed fighters before, Auden knew to simply wait it out. Play defense long enough for him to tire himself out.
Playing it safely, Auden deflected and dodged Vaike's attacks. He watched Vaike's axe carefully since he never knew how Vaike would swing it next.
Finally, Vaike broke the constant axe swings and body checked Auden while his sword wasn't a threat. Auden fell onto his back and looked up at Vaike.
Vaike swung his axe down towards Auden with only the thought to injure him. He actually had to hold back the weight of his weapon in order to not accidentally cleave through his downed opponent.
Luckily, this slowed swing gave Auden enough time to roll out of the way and get up.
No matter how much he would never admit it, Auden was getting tired. On the other hand, Vaike seemed ready to keep going even though he's lost a bit of blood.
Auden couldn't play the long game. He had to cut down Vaike right now while he still had some steam left in him.
Slashing towards Vaike, Auden hoped for the best. He instead got the worst in the form of Vaike punching him in the gut as his sword went past.
Auden expected this which is why he was ready to grab ahold of Vaike's arm when he was punched. Vaike wasn't surprised by this. No, he was more surprised when he felt the ground disappear under his feet. He was being lifted up by Auden!
Dropping his short sword and hooking his other arm under Vaike's shoulder, Auden used the rest of his strength to lift the blonde up. He pivoted on his foot and used the rest of the strength he had in him to flip Vaike up and over him.
The entire move happened in a blur for Vaike. One moment he was standing, the next he was flipping through the air. The final moment had his back meet the cold hard dirt of the arena's floor.
Incredible pained filled both Vaike and Auden. The pain for Auden was from his age. He must've pulled on the wrong muscle too hard. On the other hand, Vaike couldn't move. The pain started in his back and has now worked its way throughout his entire body.
Struggling against his own pain, Auden reached towards his short sword. Not wanting to give up either, Vaike willed himself to move in the direction of his axe he let go of. Both fighters were in agonizing discomfort yet they continued. The first one to reach their weapon would more than likely be the match's winner.
The crowd was going wild. While Vaike's victory would mean complete victory for Flavia, Auden's victory would give Basilio a chance to still win. Inevitably, supporters of both sides were cheering for their respective team.
The unbearably slow race to their weapons continued on with the roar of the crowd. Inching closer and closer to their respective weapons, it seemed like Vaike was going to win.
It was only a couple of feet away from Vaike's hand now. Just a little closer and he would make it. Two feet soon died down to one and then it came down to inches. He could already feel the steel of his axe near his fingers.
Surprising everyone, Auden had given up on going after his own weapon. He instead opted to get behind Vaike and wrapped his arm around his neck effectively putting him in a sleeper hold.
Vaike struggled against the hold with one of his hands while he continued to reach for his axe. His fingers grazed against his weapon and sent it a centimeter further away from him. He cursed mentally as he could feel himself getting light headed.
Auden tightened his hold on Vaike and even fought against him to pull him away from the axe.
Nobody knew on how much longer Vaike could go without air. The hold he was in seemed like a solid one. There was still some hope though because he almost had a hold on his axe.
With his index finger acting as a hook, Vaike tried to pull his weapon just a bit closer so he could grab it. His vision was starting to get hazy. His head started to thump as he weakly wrapped his hand around his axe. He lifted it up barely and started to think of how he was going to swing it for the man on his back.
When Vaike started to twist his weapon around, his vision went black. His hand released his axe and it fell back down into the dirt. He was put to sleep by Auden.
Auden rolled off of Vaike's back wheezing and placing his hand under his own back. The both of them were lying on the ground, but it was clear who the winner was.
"Ladies and gentlemen there's your winner! Auden!" the announcer shouted excitedly while a squad of paramedics hauled the two contestants out of the arena.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Gosh. Weren't both of them Shepherds? Hard to root for someone when they're apart of the same team," Donnel stated exhaustedly after finishing watching Auden and Vaike's fight.
Auden's a Shepherd? Man, I forgot the guy was even a part of it… Lazy beard man…
"It's all down to you," Robin said as he eyed me from the bench across where I stood.
"Whoa! Do. Not. Put pressure on me!" I nervously started to stare out the iron gate.
"S-Sorry! I meant… Um… It's going down now! W-Wait! I mean, you're down and out from here! Wait a second!" Robin stumbled over his words.
"You are not helping," I sulkily said as I continued staring into the arena. The announcer was walking towards the center.
Crap. Why did it have to come to this? Everything is on my shoulders. Champion versus champion. This feels more scripted than a WWE match.
"Fellow Feroxians, are you ready for the final match of the day!?" the announcer was getting the crowd pumped while I felt like pulling a sheet over my head.
I took in a deep breath and exhaled.
I'm not ready.
The gates started to slide open slower than usual.
I'm not at all ready.
"We've reached the final match that'll decide the ruling Khan for the next two years!" I held in my rapidly increasing terror as the crowd started getting louder than they ever did before. People were stomping on their seats above. It was nerve wrecking.
I'm definitely not ready.
"Give 'em all ya got, Vince!" Donnel slapped my back and I staggered forward still trying to control my out of control heart beat.
"We're rooting for you!" Lissa said as I staggered past her.
"Everything's going downhill! Wait that doesn't sound good either," Robin continued to muse over what he should tell me before I had to fight.
Frederick scowled at me before breaking it for a brief second, "I wish you the best of luck… on behalf of milord."
"Now, give it up for the East Khan's champion, Vincent!" the announcer pointed towards me as I mindlessly moved forward.
The gate closed behind me as I stepped through it. There wasn't any going back now.
I looked all around the arena as I marched forward. Most to all of the Shepherds had close to front row seating. Sully seemed to be seated up there with a few bandages wrapped around different parts of her body. I guess she's fine.
All of them were clapping. Was it simply a force of the surroundings or did they actually have hope in me? The others seemed to have hope in me as well. I didn't know what to do with it all.
Continuing the scan of the arena, Basilio was watching me closely with his one eye while Lon'qu stood beside him. Basilio seemed incredibly happy while Lon'qu was looking as stoic as he probably usually is.
Flavia was on the opposite side of Basilio in the arena. She was grinning madly while she clapped.
I made it to the announcer of the tournament and my eyes continued to mindlessly look around the arena. All the fear I had in me was gone now thanks to me finally being able to get out here. The buildup was completely gone. Now, I was left in wonder on just how many eyes were on me currently. I did a double take of the entire arena. It was definitely overflowing with people.
It was only after I felt the man next to me tug on my shirt that I noticed he was speaking to me.
"Hey, strike a pose for the crowd!" he was really pushy on wanting me to do what he said.
Did everybody have to deal with this guy?
Despite my thoughts, I tried doing something to satisfy him. I raised my right fist into the air and the crowd cheered again for me.
"Alright, next up is the West Khan's new champion! He calls himself after the hero king himself! Give it up for Marth!" the announcer then pointed off towards the already marching masked swordsman.
Lucina didn't look nearly as marveled as I did entering into the arena. She seemed dead focused on getting to the center.
Could it be? A-Are her eyes are closed!?
It seemed likely enough because she walked past both the announcer and I.
"U-Um… Marth! Come back!" the announcer called out.
Lucina froze in place before looking back to me and the announcer. She quickly made her way back and bowed her head apologetically.
"My deepest apologies. I hadn't-!" Lucina looked surprised when she brought her head back up.
She seemed to have her attention locked onto me. It was only thanks to the announcer telling her to strike a pose that she broke focus. Holding her falchion above her, the crowd roared with applause.
The announcer quickly went over the rules with us and made his away immediately away from us.
"You are Vincent. From the forest, correct?" Lucina asked me while she gripped her Falchion with both her hands.
"Well, I would hope I still am. It would be kind of weird if I wasn't," I said as I scratched the back of my head.
"This is the final match everyone! Give it your all! Ready?" the announcer paused for dramatic effect.
"Then your captain… Chrom. Where is he?" Lucina sounded worried as she let her fake voice crack despite me already knowing she was a girl.
I guess she was really expecting to fight her dad.
"He's currently bed ridden recovering," I told as little as I possibly could.
"Begin!" the announcer cried out the start of our match.
I realized that I had yet to draw my blade yet and quickly did so. I clumsily bumped my sword's sheath into my thunder tome that I tied to my side, but I still managed to get my sword out without dropping either. Having recently sharpened my blade, I was confident that it was in good shape.
Now I know that I'm not the fastest person in the world. If Lucina was going to fight me, she would've already been in my face in that small time frame.
Unusually, she simply stood there in the same fighting stance as before the match.
"Recovering from what?" she seemed to have contemplated over what to ask.
I loosened up in my stance as the crowd started to murmur over the lack of any fighting yet.
"You ask a lot of questions for someone that only met the Captain once. Look, he's fine and that's all you need to know," I tried to act as annoyed as possible rather than like a man that knows a daughter is worried about her father.
Lucina grunted in anger at how I handled the situation. I half expected this. Still, she didn't go to attack me and this was a massive problem to the crowd.
They started to boo us and looked to be getting increasingly mad at the lack of actual fighting occurring.
Man, Feroxians would HATE the crap out of Dragonball. An entire episode filled with screaming and dialogue would drive them all insane.
I was starting to worry I wouldn't have to get my butt handed to me by Lucina. No, it was in fact even worse. I was going to have a mob of angry proclaimed warriors beating the living crap out of me if something didn't happen soon.
Lucina seemed to have taken notice of the increasing anger in the air. However, she didn't do what was needed to calm it. She still didn't attack me.
"Hey… I'm not interested in inciting riots. No hard feelings if I hurt ya!" Taking the initiative, I charged towards Lucina and swung for her side.
The girl easily deflected my blade out of the way and counter attacked me. Her swings were incredibly fast. I almost didn't even notice it happening before it did. Luckily for me, I was able to step out of her Falchion's path.
Finally the crowd stopped in their anger and seemed satisfied for now.
That's a load off my- God! She's gonna kill me!
Lucina wasn't being so passive anymore. She didn't seem like she was going to give me any room for a breather. Her speed was incredible and her form didn't have a single flaw in it.
Go for the low blow. It always works. Wait. If she recovers, she'll do it to you! Don't go for the low blow. Protect the jewels… Dodge!
Lucina had swung her Falchion for me to which I barely managed to dodge back in time. A second swing came plummeting towards my shoulder I resolved to block with my sword.
She swung her sword with such strength that it crashed into my blade hard. I struggled to keep her from pushing my sword out of the way and her own into me.
There was then a very distinct cracking sound I heard coming from my very own sword. Looking at it, it was starting to crack under Lucina's blade.
The hell?! I couldn't have sharpened the blade to thin, could I?!
Letting Lucina put anymore force on my sword would spell disaster. I made a quick retreat to my right in order to get away from her.
Surprisingly, I wasn't followed by my opponent. No, she kept her cool and fell back into a fighting stance. It was unnerving at how calm she was currently.
I took in a deep breath to calm myself. I wasn't nearly as skilled as Lucina in swordplay. There wasn't the smallest chance I would probably ever catch up to her in terms of skill. Despite this, I still have some hope. I would just have to try fighting differently.
Taking the opportunity Lucina was providing me, I went on the offensive. She merely awaited my attack. When I got within range, I stabbed my sword at her. I missed horribly because of how fast she dodged.
I knew she would still have lightning fast reflexes. She got around me and was going for a back attack. I rolled forward getting nicked on my back as I did. Her blade was incredibly sharp so even a small cut felt very deep.
After finishing my roll, I pivoted on my feet to turn my body fully back around. My pivot led me to be face to face with Lucina whom was swinging her weapon at me. I didn't have much time to think about it. All I could do was instinctively dodge out of the way.
Following up on her attack, Lucina spun her sword around to go for another strike. Her second attack felt easier to dodge. I ducked under her attack and riposted with my own. In the blink of an eye, she managed to get her blade around and smack it into mine. My sword instantly cracked in half. She struck my sword perfectly where it was beginning to crack.
Staring blankly at my now broken sword, I felt the cold presence of Lucina's Falchion hanging over my shoulder. I dropped my broken sword and started to raise my hands up slowly.
The audience started to whistle and chant for both Basilio and Marth.
"Surrender," Lucina stated as she held her sword next to me.
"You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept," I replied to her with a smirk.
"You're weapon is broken. Mine is still intact. You'd need something short of a miracle to win," Lucina didn't find my jesting to be in the least bit funny. Actually, I'm not sure she even thought I was joking.
"Hm? My weapon is still very much intact. You sure you can see under that mask?" I continued to smirk.
Lucina seemed to look confused, "What in the name of the Gods are you talking about?"
"Crash down from the skies above and unleash thine fury across the plains, thunder!" I muttered the incantation under my breath and my thunder tome hanging on my side started to spark. My idea seemed to have worked!
Not even attempting to aim the electricity, I let it discharge completely in front of me. It shocked Lucina causing her to stumble backwards and fall to a knee.
The previously chanting crowd fell deathly silent after I used my spell.
I waved my hand in front of my face to wave off some of the resulting smoke, "Oh… Got quiet all of a sudden."
Turns out I was right in thinking you only need to have a tome attached to you in some way. I figured they couldn't have any kind of eye detectors to tell you were actually looking at the pages. These books aren't like phones from my world.
Recovering from being shocked, Lucina got up. She looked a bit more serious than she did in the beginning. My reasoning for this was reinforced when I could feel a cold aura coming from her. No, scratch that. I could actually see her starting to radiate.
She came charging at me with breath taking speed as her Falchion started to… sparkle?
I didn't have a chance at dodging her. She swiped her sword along my abdomen as she ran towards me leaving a sizeable wound. Another fast slice glided up across my chest leaving a third deep wound.
Staggering back from the wounds I just received, I placed a hand over my bleeding chest. There was a lot of blood. My back also started to feel wet from the first scratch I got.
Looking back at Lucina, she looked completely fine. I couldn't believe it. My thunder spell definitely left some burn marks on her. So, why weren't they there anymore?
There wasn't any time to think about what shenanigans were currently occurring. I had to start retaliating or else I might get struck again.
Charging up a thunder spell, I actually started to focus on aiming it this time. The energy gathered in my palm and I quickly dispelled it at Lucina.
The spell was flying quick and was heading for the target. Suddenly, however, it quickly shot down into the ground as I crumpled slightly from the pain in my gut.
Damn spell… Needs too much focus.
Without warning, Lucina attacked me. I fumbled out of the way as I felt the air stir from her attack. Another second or two and I might've been looking at the insides of my body.
Not having many other options left, I prepared another spell. This time, I focused solely on my right hand that I tightened into a fist. When I found an opening, I punched Lucina and let the spell electrocute her.
Spasming for a brief moment, she managed to push me away from her breathing heavily.
As Lucina panted heavily from being shocked, I could feel my own blood dripping onto the dirt below me. Knowing the sight all too well by this point, I directed my attention away from it and back onto the fight.
The battle continued to rage on as Lucina and I attacked each other. I tried to keep all my focus on landing my spells whether they were ranged or a melee strike. I couldn't count how many times I repeated the thunder incantation. Too many was definitely a feasible amount.
Meanwhile, Lucina kept up with her precise strikes. She didn't seem as worn out as me, but being shocked still mustn't feel good.
Lucina swung her weapon downwards for me. My legs felt weak but I still managed to back out of the way. She then took her blade and stabbed for me. I could feel my vision swaying as I barely could stand anymore. In one fell swoop, Lucina's Falchion went through my stomach. I coughed up blood as the spiking pain shot up to my head.
She started to retract her sword out of my body slowly and I could feel more of my blood shooting out as she did so.
My wavering gaze caught the sight of the Shepherds in the crowd. They looked… sad? Worried? A mix of emotions was across all of their faces but none of them looked pleased to see me falling.
One very small part of me knew then. They really did believe in me. They placed their hopes onto my shoulders and I had failed in achieving them. My failure was a failure for all of them. I felt ashamed.
No… I won't… I can't let it end now!
I grabbed ahold of the sword exiting my stomach. The sharp blade cut past the leather gauntlet covering my hand and into it. More blood started to fall down below me.
They have hope in me… I can't let it die!
"What are you doing?! You need to stop so you can be healed!" Lucina tried to pull her sword away from me but I was attached to it like dead weight.
My legs gave out on me and I fell to my knees still clutching onto the sword. I coughed up more of my own blood and my eyesight became hazy.
"Ha… Ha… Not before you surrender," I replied weakly trying to hold my body up with Lucina's Falchion.
Crash down… From the skies above and…
My thunder tome started to spark as I slowly thought of the spell's wording.
Noticing my continued resistance, Lucina used all of her strength to remove my sword from her grip. I attached both of my hands to keep a grip on it as the rest of my body waved around like a ragdoll.
Unleash… thine...
I coughed violently as a pool of my own blood started to form underneath me. The cold liquid was all around me.
Lucina huffed before kicking me off her weapon, "You're terrible at handling your life."
My body fell back and my head cracked against the ground with a thud. Everything started to fall dark around me. I could hear the cheering of the crowd. The announcer proclaimed the winner of the fight. Roars of excitement filled the stadium. My body was slowly lifted up and I was being carried out of the arena. My last sight was all of the Shepherds. They all had a look of sadness.
I lost.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Weakly, I opened my eyes that had trouble adjusting to the light. I could feel that I was lying on a slightly comfortable bed with blankets covering up to my neck.
As my eyes adjusted to the light in the room, a voice spoke up from beside me.
"Finally awake, now are we?" the voice sounded like it was to my left.
I turned my head and tried squinting my eyes to see better.
It can't be… Chrom!?
Right beside my bedside was Chrom sitting down in a chair. He was wearing all of his usual gear and looked as good as the day I first saw him.
Now that I'm thinking about it, this room is the one Chrom was placed in. The axe being held in that display case is right across from the foot of the bed.
"For a second there, we thought you might not wake up at all. It's relieving to see you did. Actually-" Chrom started talking as I tried moving my body in the bed. I felt sore, but could at least move.
"Wait… I don't understand. What's going on?" I cut off Chrom as he was starting to trail off.
He paused momentarily but replied to me, "You've been out for a good day or so. We've just been patiently waiting for our comrade to wake up."
I've been out for a day? Right…
Thinking back, I remembered the amount of blood I spilt across the arena floor. I remembered how I lost the tournament for everyone.
"Sorry, about losing I mean. I'm sure everyone's told you," I sat up and tried not to make eye contact with Chrom because of the shame I felt. The blanket covering my body slid down and I could see that I wasn't wearing a shirt. Instead, I was completely wrapped from the top of my chest down to my hip in white bandages. My hands were entirely bandaged as well. It was painful moving them.
"You're apologizing to me? It should be me to say sorry," Chrom said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.
"For what? Being in a coma? No, I was the one to mess up. I lost Regna Ferox's support because of my loss," I faced Chrom with a self-hating scowl.
Chrom shook his head at my bitter self-loathing, "That doesn't matter. What matters is the fact you kept the Shepherds together when I could not."
I blinked in confusion at Chrom. He released his hand from my shoulder and smiled, "I'm grateful and glad to know you're a Shepherd."
"I can't… but we still didn't get the Feroxians help. What are we going to do?" I wanted to change the topic from appraising of me.
Chrom laughed and stood up from the chair he was sitting in next to my bed, "We'll figure out something. Us Shepherds aren't really known for giving up so easily."
He walked towards the door exiting the room and opened it. Turning back to me he said, "We're talking with one of the Khans in the entrance hall. Come down once you're ready."
The Captain exited slowly out the door and shut it behind him.
Surprisingly, I felt better. Even though I lost an important match, I felt exceptionally well about myself. Maybe it was because despite my loss nobody is holding it against me. I tried my best and lost; everyone understands that I suppose.
Twisting myself out of bed, I placed my feet on the floor and stood up. Next to my bedside was all of my gear. My clothes and armor that were ruined during the fight were either stitched or repaired.
Judging by the fact only Lissa knew how to stitch together anything in our group, I guess she was the one to mend my clothing.
Throwing my shirt over my head, I got dressed and picked up my belongings.
Next time for sure. I'll win it for them!
I went down the steps and found myself heading towards the entrance hall. Upon arrival there, I spotted multiple figures I could recognize instantly.
Standing on one side was Robin, Frederick, Lissa, and Chrom. On the opposite side to them were the khans Basilio, Flavia. Also, Lon'qu and what looked to be Olivia were in the hall as well.
Upon my approach, my friends waved to me causing the others in the room to turn and see me approaching.
The first thing to happen surprised everyone in the hall. Scared would actually be more fitting of a word to describe how we all felt. Olivia let out an unusually loud shriek and hid behind the largest man in the room Basilio.
I had to pause in my march because it almost gave me a heart attack. The two khans looked to each other before looking back to me.
"Don't look at me! I didn't think I looked that bad getting out of bed!" I waved my hands in front of myself defensively.
"What's wrong, Olivia? You recognize Vincent here?" Flavia asked the pink dancer peeking around Basilio.
"No…" she replied meekly still trying to hide.
That doesn't explain anything!
Her voice sounded… different though. It was much higher in pitch than the voice actor's for her was. It wasn't all that surprising though. Not many of the character's voices were completely the same as they were in the game. Her voice just seems to be the most different from the original that I heard.
Breaking the silence in the hall, Basilio laughed loudly, "First your champion loses to mine, then he scares the color out of Olivia!"
"Shut up…" Flavia sounded angry as she crossed her arms.
"Where'd you find this one?! He's a real card!" Basilio didn't seem to mind taunting his fellow khan.
"I told you to shut up!" Flavia yelled at the top of her lungs.
During the khans bickering, I started to weasel my way past them. On my way past I could tell Olivia was purposely hiding from me as she circled around Basilio to keep the large man in between us.
What's up with her?
Eventually, though, I made it to my friends and stood next to Robin. Leaning a bit closer to Robin, I whispered, "Have they been doing this for a while?"
"Saying yes to that would be an understatement," Robin replied weakly trying to hide under his hood.
"My champion definitely worked yours over! Not a scratch on the boy when he got out!" Basilio was still gloating to Flavia.
"Ha! That's because yours was too busy smoldering from the shock treatment mine delivered! Had mine brought a feasibly working sword, he would've won!" Flavia was pointing her finger in Basilio's face.
"Um… I'm kind of standing right here," I raised my hand as though I was a child in school to catch their attention.
It ended up working I suppose since they both faced me. Basilio roared with laughter, "Ah! Yes, quite the show you put on against my champion! Shame it didn't last longer, but of course my champion is the best of the best."
Flavia was holding back her anger as much as she could. Honestly, I felt bad having made her lose her chance at ruling khan. Basilio definitely seemed like a poor winner.
"Pardon me, but we're here to discuss things, correct?" Chrom politely cut in.
Basilio frowned and looked at Chrom, "Bah! Shout if you're going to speak. You're too quiet!"
"Damnit! Will we discuss anything at all?!" Chrom lost it a little and actually raised his voice to the khans.
Basilio and Flavia didn't seem to mind at all and actually seemed happy.
Raising his fist in front of him, Basilio said, "That's it! Now I can hear you!"
Still speaking with a louder voice, Chrom continued, "It's already known that we wish to have Regna Ferox's aid. What will it take to earn this, Basilio?"
Basilio laughed again at Chrom's question, "You've already got it!"
Everyone in the hall jolted at this. Even Flavia was surprised.
"W-What?! I'm sorry, but why so quickly?" Chrom didn't understand like the rest of us.
"It was per the request of my champion strangely enough. That boy has delusional dreams I tell you. Still, I agreed should he win me title of ruling khan and he did!" Basilio was as joyous as ever.
Flavia did a double take at what Basilio said, "You mean you agreed to the same bargain as me?!"
"Huh? What? You promised Vincent here the same thing?" Basilio was finally a part of the confusion.
Both of the khans looked away from each other and towards us Shepherds with scowls. It was a terrifying sight seeing two rulers extremely angry at you.
When the tension was about to hit its peak, both of the khans smiled and started laughing loudly. We were in agonizing confusion.
"Played us for fools they did!" Flavia was laughing harder than I'd seen before.
"Baha! You Ylisseans are a clever bunch!" Basilio was laughing just as loud as he usually did.
"I'm sorry if you think we planned this, but we really didn't know what that "Marth" was doing," Chrom was speaking the truth.
It didn't seem like either of the khans believed him but they still seemed happy.
Basilio stopped in his fit of laughter, "Does it matter now? You got our support, boy!"
"Are you sure? We really didn't earn it," Chrom was being modest.
Just take it already!
Basilio frowned, "Hey, I'm the ruling khan here. I'll be the one to make the decisions. Now, you have my word that Regna Ferox will support Ylisse."
"T-Thank you!" Chrom was taken aback by Basilio's generosity.
Basilio waved off Chrom and motioned for Lon'qu to come to him. Lon'qu was holding some sort of steel kite shield that had a golden bear standing up embellished on it.
"Also, take this. It was for my champion, but he ran off before I could award it to him," Lon'qu walked over and handed the steel shield to me. I looked to the others if this was alright and it seemed it was.
Lon'qu then stood in between me and Robin causing a slight rise in awkwardness. I figure he stood between me and Robin to keep himself separated from any female trying to approach him on either side. It still felt weird because of how nonchalantly he did it.
Join us you will.
Before Chrom could ask for the rest of us about Lon'qu, Basilio answered him, "Let Lon'qu join you in your endeavors as well. You'll find he's quite skilled as a fighter!"
"You're kindness is as large as you, Basilio! We'll return the favor as soon as we can!" Chrom was overly ecstatic with joy. He then turned and started on his way out of the castle motioning for us to follow.
Basilio shouted while we walked out of the castle, "Feel free to return the favor as a convoy full of Ylissean ale!"
Without much reason left to stick around in Regna Ferox, we loaded up our convoy and started on our way back to Ylisse. Getting up onto Choc, I gave the castle a final look.
Things are starting to feel… right. Let's just try and keep them that way.
There you go! The end of the tournament!
Lot of references and quotes thrown around in this one. Spot any?
This chapter definitely felt like it had a lot more comedy it in. Of course, it's comedy to me. Maybe you don't like my take on funny.
I can't tell you on how long I've been thinking about Auden fighting Vaike. They both have pretty big egos so it was fun to finally pit them against each other.
The whole tournament arc was definitely made longer to develop Vincent more with the Shepherds. Big change on how he thinks of the group as a whole now.
The language in the tomes is a small spin on the ancient language from Radiant Dawn and Path of Radiance. I didn't copy it exactly obviously, but more or less combined the way it worked across everything. There was no way I could make the language too complicated because of my screw up on the overall writing of the world. There would've been a whole side plot of someone teaching Vincent how to read, but that fell through so I had to make it a little easy and get it over with.
That's about it. Leave a review on what you thought about the chapter! Also, don't forget you can send me a PM with any ideas/questions you may have!