Author's Note: Hot off the presses, it's the comeback of Seven Stars! Enjoy...

Chapter 6: Pals and Pranks: the Revengeance

I woke up in the morning fairly early. That's usually the case when you're a part of an army that has been training for a while. But waking up today was important, since this day was the one that the Shepherds begin two, arduous days of extreme conditioning and practice to see who among our collective militia will join our fearless Commander and royal prince Chrom, and our brilliant yet amnesiac tactician Robin in a Feroxian election.

Don't know much about politics? Well don't worry, a Feroxian election typically boils down to who can kick the everliving crap out of the other person the most, except that both candidates bring in their own soldiers to participate in their stead.

Doing this however, would allow Feroxian me to be stationed in ways to prevent more attacks from Plegia.

Pondering all of these facts, I began to prepare for the conditioning. I put on my clothes, threw on my cloak and wrapped my scarf. Fitting some of the new provisional tomes into my rucksack, I step outside the tent...

...And land right on my ass.

Oww. What the Hell?

I attempt to get up, only to slip and fall right away.

It was then I notice that I am utterly surrounded by a sheet of ice. To my recollection, this was not here the night before. At this time, my hands clench as I scream the name of the one I know is responsible for this.

"Tristaaaaaaaaan!"

"Hey Niko," Responds the smug idiot. "What's up?"

"You think this is funny, don't you?"

"I do find your predicament to be quite humerous."

Getting my bearings, I take out one of the new fire tomes and proceed to melt the ice with it.

"You're lucky I have fire," I say before turning my full attention to him. "Actually scratch that, you're not at all."

"Hey, don't think it was me that did this!"

What? Nice try.

"There's a perfectly logical explanation for this," he explained. "Somebody else probably did this."

"And now for my explanation" that is a humungous load of bull!"

It had to be Tristan; only he would prank someone like this. If he didn't, who could have done it.

"Excuse me you two," calls out a voice.

We both turn to see...nothing there at all.

"You heard that, right?" Tristan asks incredulously.

"Y-yeah, of course!" I replied, trying to keep it together.

"Uh...guys?"

"What if it's a ghost?" Tristan says mysteriously.

"Dammit man, don't say stuff like that!" I respond shakily.

"I'm not a ghost. It's me, Kellam."

Kellam?...KELLAM!?

All of a sudden, we both are able to see him clearly. What the hell? I completely forgot a Kellam was in the Shepherds.

Why you may ask? Because like Totoro, he apparently can only be seen by people who believe in him.

"O-oh, good morning Kellam." I sigh in relief.

I realize I was holding Tristan in front of me like a human shield, so I quickly let go of him and immediately regain my composure.

"So Frederick and Robin told me to round up and bring the seven of you guys to the training. So if we all could do that...?"

"Of course." I stoically answer.

As we begin walking to the other tents, Tristan looks over to me.

"So about the human sh-"

"You will not breathe a word of that to anyone," I interrupt him as I continue to walk ahead of him.

"Okay everyone," announced the tactician supreme. "We will now determine who among you all should be the ones chosen to participate in the match."

Frederick begins to walk down the lineup of knights, mercenaries, travelers from faraway places, and a princess.

"The first test shall be running thirty laps around the training field."

Alright, I'm ready to smoke these guys out of the water...

Is what I think before we began.

...I feel like I should be dead.

Is what I thought after five laps.

As my legs begin to ache from prolonged ass-hauling, I found myself ending up near all the other guys. Apparently, we all don't have much endurance when it comes to running.

"This is freaking ridiculous!" Zaine complained.

"Even Medieval Edgeworth is doing better than us," Cole acknowledged, pointing to Virion ahead of us, surprisingly still getting at it.

"Yeah dude, helping up Sumia every time she falls down is starting to get old really fast," noted Walt.

"Well, we've got another day of this regardless. Then you guys can kick back while I kick ass," I say trying to sound cool.

"Never...again," they all unanimously say.

"What makes you think that you'll beat us out?" Cole asked incredulously.

Recovering my dropped pride, I answer with, "Think about it: there are only six people going into this three of that is already given to Chrom, Robin, and Frederick the Scary. So, with three spots left, I'm gonna have to put my best foot forward."

"Okay, we get that," Zaine admitted. "But even if you do marginally better than us, theres still eight battle-hardened individuals. You believe those would be easy endeavors as well?"

"That's the general idea," I reply sheepishly.

"Then you're in the running for being quite possibly the most ballsiest idiot we have ever known."

"Well then, may the best men get the spots!" I challenge my friends.

"Don't worry Niko, we intend to."

I didn't know it then, but that was the day we accepted each other as equals.

Right until we all unexpectedly tripped and fell over.

"Dammit!" I yell furiously.

"What the hell happened?" says Cole as he dusts himself off.

"Did Karl fall asleep again?" Walt asked annoyed.

"Zzz...zzz" Karl mumbled on the grund.

"That's what you call a marathon sleeper!"

"Tristan! what did I say about those puns?" I sighed as everyone groaned.

We finished fairly average; Virion got a serious cramp, allowing us to claim mediocrity.

The next day however, was a different story. Like the previous one, it started with an argument.

"I know it was you, you asshole!" Cole declares loudly.

"What's going on?" I ask as I approach him and Tristan.

Cole points furiously to a ditch in front of his tent. "I almost fell into that!"

"And I'm telling you I didn't do it!" Tristan responds.

"I dunno Tristan, I still think you iced the ground in front of my tent the other day," I added.

Before the argument could reach a discernible conclusion, Kellam arrived to round us up for the second challenge. So we decided to put it on hold and made our way to the training area.

"The final challenge shall be...target practice, to determine weapon proficiency and reaction time." Robin then indicated the gauntlet filled with target that we had to break in order to finish. I have no idea *coughSmashBroscough* what this reminds me of.

This challenge proved to be quite the redeeming factor for a lot of the Shepherds, myself included. Due to being proficient in magic (read: knowing how to shot fire), I cleared it in a relatively good time.

Walt, unfortunately, didn't do as well, with armor and a heavy sword slowing him down.

Karl didn't even try as he fell asleep after the first few targets, earning him the record of the slowest time.

Cole didn't take his time and ended up missing some of the targets he shot at, giving him much lower on the board.

Tristan did exceptionally well on his turn, surprising us all with his lightning fast movements and fluid strikes.

But the best time was not Tristan, but Zaine. He was not only incredibly fast, but he was scoring bulls-eyes with every single toss of his knives. It really is a good thing he played all that Assassin's Creed...and I know how idiotic that sounds.

After the challenge for the day ended, the Shepherds all adjourned to the mess tent. Never have I been happier for unspiced meat stews than the last few days.

"So then he was like, '...I got better,'" quotes Zaine in a psuedo-British accent as everyone at the table breaks out in uproarious laughter.

Ahhh, Monty Python. The height of comedy.

In the midst of the usual laughing and quoting, we were interrupted by a voice.

"Hey guys, mind if I join?" asks Lissa, her hand full with food dishes.

"Yeah, sure," I replied as I got quizzical looks from the others.

What's up with them? We've had girls sit at our lunch tables all the time back in high school. Not like it's that different from then.

"So what are you all talking about?" she asks as she took a seat between Tristan and I.

"Just this...uh...theater troupe us guys all saw years ago," I reply.

"Pretty much about a king and his knights on a quest to find a sacred cup," Zaine explains.

"Really?" Lissa says, seeming quite intrigued. "So you've known each other for a while, huh?"

"You would be correct," Tristan remarked, eyeing me as he said it.

The conversation lasted quite a long time, ranging over numerous subjects and stories. About after the second hour, I hear Lissa say,

"Niko, where did your scarf go?"

I look down, finding my person devoid of the strip of cloth. At this I start to question myself, I didn't remember even taking it off. Lissa decides to go check around the training field for it. The absolute moment she left, I see smug expressions on the guys' faces, and it all became clear.

"Dammit guys, give it back!" I call out, starting to get annoyed.

They all were silent, until Tristan responded in his Tristan way, "So Buttons gave you the scarf, huh?"

"Give it back, Tristan," my tone becoming harsher.

"I will if you answer my question."

"Come on!"

"You come on."

After realizing that was getting nowhere, I take a breath and admit defeat.

"Yes, I got the scarf from Lissa. You happy now?"

"Now was that so difficult?" he asks as he reaches into his pocket and tosses back the scarf. " So Buttons, huh?"

Yeah, that was what Tristan called Lissa. Not hard to figure out why.

"Not saying anything else," I answer curtly.

"It's fine. She seems like a nice girl," Zaine remarks.

"I wonder if she knows if you like her or not," Tristan ponders.

W-What?!

"I dunno, she seems kind of dense to me," Cole comments.

"Probably not, then," Walt surmises.

"That's it." I rise from my table, clearing my mess. "I'm goin' to bed."

Despite the pleas from my 'friends' to stay, I leave the mess tent and make my way to mine.

Those guys are total idiots. I can't remember why I put up with them. Although I have no idea why they think I like-

"So you found it, huh? That's good," Calls Lissa, interrupting my thoughts as she walks to where I am.

"Yeah, I did," I answer detachedly.

To be honest, I just wanted some sleep right now and move to the next day. Unfortunately for me at the moment, she could tell something was up.

"What's wrong?" her voice sounding concerned.

"Nothing's wrong," I say as I avoid her eyes.

"Like heck it is!" her voice getting more forceful. " You look upset, so tell me what's wrong!"

For the second time tonight, I could not talk my way out of something and admit defeat again.

"The guys keep giving me flak constantly. It's infuriating."

"And whose fault is that?" she pointedly asks.

Huh?

"...Huh?" I respond completely dumbfounded.

Lissa starts talking seriously. "To be honest, you're kind of a pushover."

As she continued speaking I could feel as if my jaw hit the floor.

"Out of everyone here, you've had the most right to get back at those idiot. But you don't."

She walks closer to me and pokes me right in the center of my chest.

"We need to work on that."

"Fine," I answer. "Wait a second, we?"

"Of course!" she exclaims, putting her hands on her hips. "How else would you learn than from the expert herself."

Oh great, now she sounds like Vaike.

"Alright, I understand." Truth be told, I didn't realize I was being pushed into standing up for myself.

"Great! So for our first exercise, meet me by the mess tent after everyone is asleep."

"Why?" I ask confusedly.

"You'll see," she replied with a wink.

*The next day*

"Why is there fish on my tent?!" shouted Tristan as he observed the condition of his sleeping quarters. The rest of the guys stood near him, stunned over the numerous amount of fish hanging off the top of Tristan's tent.

It was the night before that Lissa and I perpetrated that prank, and the same night I learned it was she that sabotaged the other tents the night before. She apparently has done it to the other Shepherds, including her brother, but only when she gets bored out of her mind.

Joining the others, I start to lay it on thick, "Hey Tristan, buddy. How's it going?"

Knowing that I turned the tables back on him, he congratulated me for a good job right before giving me my lumps. Reeling from the pain, and after defishing his tent, we join the rest of the team for Robin's announcement.

"I know it has been quite an extensive last few days, but this is it," he starts. "And trust me, it has been worth it."

The sun began to get too bright to physically see Robin on the platform.

"Without further ado, step forward if your name is called."

Alright, time at last.

"Chrom Ylisse," Robin read off his list

As expected.

"Frederick Longstride."

Second verse, same as the first.

"Myself,"

Ok, done with the given ones.

"Zaine Krieger,"he continued.

Well that makes sense; good skills and a level head.

"Lissa Ylisse,"

Ok, last one.

The tension in the air reached its focal point, boiling wildly and forcefully...

"...And Tristan Graeme."

...until it fizzled out.

Dammit. I gave that my all, too.

Sucking up my pride, I prepare myself to congratulate him. Only, when I see him, he has his hand raised.

"Yes, Tristan?" a quizzical Robin asks him.

"I'd like to withdraw myself from the running," he replied.

"Withdraw? But you were chosen!" Robin looking very confused.

"I realized that since these guys would possibly become our allies, It would feel bad to me if I fought against them."

Where is this coming from?

"Alright then,"confirms Robin dumbfoundedly. "In that case the last spot shall go to Niko Luciano."

Wait, what?

"Okay everyone," announces Chrom as he gathers the Shepherds' attentions. "I hope we al can do our best tomorrow, for the continued peace of Ylisse and of all the realm."

As soon as the meeting was adjourned, I found Tristan as quickly as possible.

"Hey, why'd you do that?" I ask him.

"Like I said, I only like fighting when were fighting animated rotting corpses."

"You sure about this?"

"Yeah, you take care of it. Also I'm sorry 'bout ragging on you last night."

I guess he is serious. He's like a whole different person.

"Although, in the future, keep the payback to a non-aquatic food limitation," he jokes.

"Gotcha."

So I bid goodbye to him, take a deep breath, and begin my preparations for tomorrow

A/N: Sorry for it being so long since I last posted; had to find my groove during 2nd semester so I could find time to work on this. As an apology, I wrote this chapter longer than most of the others.

Man, though. Is it hard to write dialogue or what?

But as always, feel free to review, follow, or favorite.

The next chapter will be coming very soon and if will be a GOOD one. So keep your fingers crossed.

Sincerely, A-C-V