Chapter has been rewritten completely, cause why not

..::..

I live an easy life. It's not hard to admit that. I won't refuse that I've been incredibly lucky to be born as I am. I get up at 9:00 am every morning and take a shower, brush my teeth, and get ready for work. I take the bus to the grocery store and I work at a cash register for 6 hours a day, then I come back home and watch sports or play video games.

It's simple, and you can say my lack of work ethic is keeping me down, but I live happy at least, and isn't that enough?

I tap at my phone absently as the bus rolls down the busy street, lazily playing with my long raven hair. I check the clock.

9:30 am

"My boss is gonna kill me," I grumble under my breath.

"Oh you'll be fine, my boy."

I jerk my head to the side to look at the old man sitting next to me, a hood covering his face.

"What do you mean?" I question.

The old man chuckles lightly, before answering in a sing-song tone, "You're destined for great things, Eren. Nobody as lowly as your 'manager' should scare one such as you."

A confused smile slowly spreads across my face, my head leaning a bit to the side as I question who the hell this guy is. "That's… cool?"

"Thank you very much young man! Now, I have a proposition for you, if you don't mind."

I nod slowly.

"Work for me, and you may rise above that pesky mortal grocery store manager! Above I, a GOD!" He stands, holding his hand out towards me, a blinding white smile on his stretched face.

I let a mildly nervous laugh escape me, despite the stares from everyone else on the bus. The old man's smile falters for a second, and I decide to humor him.

"He-" I catch myself in the middle of the swear. I need to stop doing that. I cough into my hand to play it off. "Yeah Man!" and shake hands heartily with him. He doesn't mind that I accidentally shook it with my spit-covered hand, the smile breaking back out on his face. I swear I see red flash in his eyes.

"See you 'round, Eren," the old man says, before turning and walking down the isle in a confident stride.

I smile in bewilderment, before a thought occurs to me. "How do you know my name, anywa-"

And then the bus explodes.

..::..

I open my eyes to see a wood ceiling above me, and a nice, comfortable bed below me. What just happened? I could've sworn that I was just doing something, and man my arm burns-

I turn to look and realize I'm on fire. Right now.

I let out a loud, unfortunately high pitched yelp and I start swatting at my arm, rolling around on the ground even though it's already been put out.

"Thank God there wasn't anyone around to see that." I think, gasping in fear. I stand up and take stock of where I am. It seems to be a quaint little hotel room, if anything. Log walls, rough wooden floors, a bed that would look a lot nicer without the burned out hole in the sheets, a small table, and a mirror.

"Not even a bathroom?" I ask nobody in particular.

I take stock of myself now, looking down at my choice of clothing. Where before I had been wearing a shoddy hoodie and shorts, both riddled with holes. Now there's a large and stuffy leather coat with slacks and gloves to match. Both are black, lined with a sweet blue, and I have to wonder how expensive these were.

I'm shaken out of my thoughts as I smell something in the air. Smoke. I look up, and I almost squeal. Fire is creeping across the ceiling at a fast pace, and I realize just how I started combusting earlier.

I immediately run over and throw open the door and begin hacking as smoke fills my lungs. My eyes begin to tear up, but I can see down the stairs and realize the entire house is on fire, including the stairs that would be my escape. I raise my coat over my mouth and nose as a makeshift mask, and with no time to think, I do something really stupid.

I throw myself over the railing and hit the deck, the air driven out of my body. I lay there for a second, gasping for air as the flames creep close before I force myself to my feet. There's the door, and a large window to the left of it. The door is on fire, so I take my chances with the window.

As soon as I break open the window the influx of oxygen causes the fire behind me to explode, blasting me out of the house and into the dirt. My ears are ringing. I groan and roll over onto my back, causing the tiny shards of glass from the window still stuck in my back to push in a little further.

"Oooohhh, shit-" I cough. I can feel blood running down my back now, and this is probably the worst I've felt in my entire life right now. As my hearing comes back to me, the screams begin.

I slowly push myself up, and I realize I'm laying in the middle of a warzone. A bell rings constantly in warning from a large tower in the distance, joining the cacophony of noise. Ash hangs in the air, choking me. People run past me, many of them covered in blood or ash. Many buildings along the dirt road I'm standing in are lit up in flame, men with water buckets desperately trying to contain them.

A woman runs headfirst into me, knocking me to the ground. And I come back to reality. We stare dumbly at each other before a little girl, maybe around fifteen, hauls her mother to her feet and they take off in the same direction as everyone else.

An enormous CRACK rings across the clearing, and some people stop and look. I do too, and watch in horror as the great bell tower topples over and smashes into the houses across the street from me, crushing many people in the process and spreading even more fire.

The screams get louder.

"I'M GOOD." I join them as I run down the street where everyone else is going. A man runs from around the corner up ahead, waving his hands around above his head with a frantic look on his face.

"TURN BACK!" He screams, "TURN BACK, THERE'S BANDITS COMING THI-" He doesn't get to finish before a large, burly man turns the corner and plants a whole axe in his back, wrenching it out with a disgusting squelch, letting him fall to the ground.

Some people, including me, are frozen in shock. The rest turn around and decide the fire would be preferable. The burly man raises his axe and bellows, running after us as six more armed and armored men turn the corner as well. I stand there, frozen as the men run towards me. I can't think, I can't move, I can't breathe.

Three men run past me, pitchforks in hand as they move to intercept the bandits. The first one to enter the fight has his head lopped right off by the lead bandit, and his pitchfork falls to my feet, blood spraying across my face as the giant of a man steps over the body.

I scream and run. I hear the screams of the other people behind me of the ones both frozen in fear still, or fighting for their fellow man. Tears begin to well up, from the smoke or blind terror I can't tell.

The fallen bell tower blocks the way ahead, so I turn once again to find another absolute bloodbath. The townspeople had run directly into a trap, and now so have I. I stand in a large square, a fountain stained red in the middle. Small stalls have been tipped over and looted, blood mixing with the smashed merchandise inside of them.

The bandits are either locked in combat with a few of the pitchfork-wielding townspeople, looting houses, or chasing the unarmed villagers. A house nearby has its door kicked open as an absolute giant walks out, dragging a woman out by the hair as she kicks and screams. I realize she was the one who bumped into me earlier, now newly adorned with a massive gash on her stomach.

The hobgoblin dragging her out is a towering 7 feet tall, with tree trunk arms carrying a massive greatsword in one hand and the woman in the other with ease. He turns to me and flashes me a huge grin, all rotted teeth mixed with blood and drool dripping down his face.

He drops the woman and points at me with one of his huge, gnarly fingers. "You." He says simply.

I blink, terror rising even higher in my chest. "M-Me?" I ask.

The giant doesn't seem to notice my question, closing the gap between the two of us quickly.

"L-Look man, not me, okay?" He starts taking a few practice swings, the mighty sword whistling through the air with speed that massive slab of iron absolutely should not have. I start to back away, "No-Not, alright, please man, I don't want any-nononoNONONON-"

I'm barely saved from being ripped in half as I trip over a piece of debris, the sword whistling horizontally over me. I barely have time to scramble out of the way before the next overhead slash barely misses my legs, instead driving deep into the dirt. The giant rips the sword out of the earth without too much effort, giving me the time to stand once again. In my adrenaline, I pick fight over flight, and try to punch him in the face.

Despite my 5'9", 150 pound frame, I like to think I was pretty good at taking hits after 5 years of playing football, as well as the occasional schoolyard scuffle. This beast of a man shoulder-checks me like a speeding semi would a geriatric rabbit. I land with all the grace of an eighty year-old man as I tumble and land on my face.

I groan in pain, futilely trying to push myself back to my feet. As the bigger man steps over me. He raises his sword, the sun and ash outlining him like Death if he looked like he were one of the Flintstones. In my delirium, I giggle at my own stupid joke. The giant chuckles with me.

"At least I made one friend in this hellscape." I think to myself. I close my eyes.

The hobgoblin of a man bellows in pain and I snap my eyes open, spying the little girl from earlier with a sharp and now bloodied piece of debris in her hands. I see a bandit in the distance look over in surprise at the outburst before he's run through with a pitchfork.

The girl drops the shard of wood, turning towards her mother still laying on the ground before the bigger man punches her square in the back of the head. He moves strong and confident still, not at all fazed by what I can see is a pretty good hole in his back as he turns and changes targets to finish the job on the two women.

The heat off of me now, I get up to run. I barely manage to turn around before the girl cries out in a choked off scream as the giant lifts her up with one hand by the throat. I stare at them, then the improvised weapon on the ground. In yet another stupid decision for the day, I make my choice.

"C'MON, ASSWIPE!" I scream, and the bigger man turns just in time to get stabbed once, twice in the abdomen. He roars and backhands me so hard my ears ring. I barely get my bearings back before he's in full swing once more. What I do is more of a fall than a dodge, but it gets the job done. I hit the deck, and he puts so much weight in the swing he spins in a half-circle before righting himself.

I get up, going for another stab, but the ogre moves with uncanny speed, turning and kicking me, hard. I tumble down the road again, this time landing on my back before coming to a stop. My vision is swimming now, my ears still ringing a bit. I get up shakily, watching as the giant man huffs and puffs in anger. There's blood running down his leg where I must have accidentally scratched it with my pitiful excuse for a weapon.

I look down at said weapon and realize I didn't completely dodge that last attack. There are wooden shards all over the ground from where it was torn to shreds by the sword. I realize with a start that there's blood running down my hand. I turn it over to see my pinky and ring finger simply gone. Ripped off down the knuckles, which are sticking out of the bloody stumps.

My mind is blank, and I stand unmoving as the giant once again makes his approach. The greatsword trails along behind him, a great gash being drawn in the earth.

"Yeah, I'm dead. Sorry mom, dad, everyone. I tried, I guess."

I drop my now destroyed weapon to the dirt as I look around me. The girl is bawling over her mother now, a great pool of blood formed under the woman as she looks into the sky with glassy eyes. The tide of the battle has turned firmly against the townspeople, with many of them having fled, died, or still locked in combat by the overwhelming force of bandits.

I sigh and close my eyes. Time is moving slower now, as the giant approaches. For some reason, I'm filled with… calm. The fire is everywhere now.

The fire.

"My power will not be wasted on bandit scum, boy." My eyes snap open as a voice not my own echoes in my mind. "You will live, lest my birthright be diminished. Call forth the flame and cleanse the earth of sinners." A hellish orange light shines from beneath my glove. I robotically raise my right hand forward, pointing my remaining fingers at the giant almost like a child would mimic a gun.

I breathe in.

The fire from the nearby houses seems to twist and wrap around both of us, his eyes widening in shock. He opens his mouth in a scream of anger.

I breathe out.

For a second there's a slight whine, like nails on a chalkboard, and everyone stops, looking at the spectacle in the middle of the square. The fire begins to wrap around the giant, before exploding in a massive KA-BOOOOM. Everyone around us is thrown back as the earth shakes, debris and pieces of the annihilated fountain next to us flying everywhere.

I stand there now, alone, as everyone stares at where the great man once stood, not even ash left in the wake of whatever the hell I just did. Burns and cracks run up and down my right arm, the glove and part of my sleeve of this nice coat completely burned away. The glow emanating from my hand fades away, and my arm drops to my side, completely unfeeling.

I fall flat on my ass, eyes watering as my head begins pounding. Before anyone can react to what just happened, the cavalry arrives. A massive horse, fitted with blue and silver armor, gallops into the clearing. A man atop the beast, fitted in similar armor and armed with a spear, impales a stunned bandit through the chest, and the fighting breaks out once again.

A few others rush past me, but I barely register them, falling to the ground with a thud and a sigh. I blearily look up as someone stands over me, a bright light shining in my face before darkness takes me.

..::..

Slowly, ever so slowly I wake up, my eyes blinking open blearily.

The first thing I notice is that I'm inside of a tent of some sort. A blue diamond insignia is drawn on the flaps, and medical equipment is laid about a table beside me. A large wooden staff with a crystal embedded in the top leans against the wall next to the bed I'm in. I look down and realize I'm in a white gown.

"A medical tent, then. You'd think I'd be in a hospital though, after that crash." I struggle to stand, my legs weak. My right arm and back are covered in bandages. I can barely feel either.

I gently set a foot on the ground, inching my way away from the table as I lean on it for support. I let go and wobble on the balls of my feet for a second, before finally balancing myself on my own two feet. I walk towards the tent flap, pushing it open. I'm blinded almost instantly, having to shield my face with my hands.

As my vision becomes clear, I take in the landscape before me. I'm atop a hill overlooking the town, allowing me to see the extent of the carnage.

Most buildings are reduced to rubble or ash, which still hangs over the town like a cloud. Most of the debris is being cleaned up, except for the ruins of the bell tower that fell during the battle. There's a great burning structure in the middle of the town square. A funeral pyre, I realize, as I see men dragging bodies and heaving them onto the pile.

A presence moves next to me, the grass rustling as someone slowly walks up. I turn, spotting blonde hair and an intricate yellow gown.

"I've seen this person before…"

The girl waves her hand, smiling brilliantly at me, exclaiming, "Oh good! You're awake! We thought you were a goner there for a second." She stalks around me, looking me up and down, "We're lucky you recovered so fast! Can you walk right?"

"Y-Yeah-" I cough into my hand my throat sore and dry

Thankfully she procures a waterskin from her belt immediately, which I take gladly. She watches as I gulp down on it greedily, before handing it back to her.

Once again she holds a hand out, "I'm Lissa, and you?"

So my suspicions are confirmed. I breathe in and out heavily. It feels like I just woke up from the dead. I shake her hand slowly, softly, "Eren," I answer.

Her smile gets just a little brighter as she pulls a hand away, then points at the tent, "Your clothes are inside, and the coat's been mended for the most part!"

I nod and give a quiet thank you before I stumble, barely catching myself.

Lissa rushes to my side, holding me steady once more, "Do you need help?" She asks politely. I nod once again, full of shame, before she leads me slowly back to the tent. She leaves and I change slowly, not wanting to aggravate anything. I finally slip the coat on, glad my hand and arm are still covered. I don't think I can bear to look at them.

I step out of the tent with some confidence, and Lissa waves me over, still as bright as ever.

"Follow me! I've gotta show you something!"

I start shakily taking steps down the hill, keeping a hand on her shoulder for balance. She's patient though, keeping pace with me easily.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"My brother would like to speak to you." She says simply, and that's that.

It's pretty obvious at this point, but I've somehow arrived in Ylisse. Southtown, I'm pretty sure. I haven't played fire emblem in years, but I'm pretty sure I'm at the start of the game. I'll have to sit down sometime and try to remember the events of the game.

The second thing I have to do is get away from these people as quickly as possible. I couldn't beat Grungy the bandit, there's no way in hell I'm fighting anyone ever again. The game will carry on just fine without me, I'm sure.

We've made our way into town, and I take a second to look around. Children play in the town square, somehow able to find joy in this awful situation. A man sits beside a pile of rubble that used to be a home, crying. People are already beginning to rebuild their homes nearby. A huge tent has been set up, and I can hear a large mass of people talking over each other inside.

"You saved a lot of people yesterday, Eren." Lissa says solemnly, and I look at her curiously.

"It was only one bandit. I shouldn't have won that anyways." I answer noncommittally, but she shakes her head.

"Not only did it disperse one of the bigger fires, but it drew the cavalry to where… Everything was happening," She explains, looking down in frustration, "We almost lost you all…"

I frown and put a hand on her shoulder now, "You still got there in time. It's thanks to you we're here at all, so don't beat yourself up about it."

She smiles lightly at that. I realize just how tired she looks before she turns away once more.

In front of the tent ahead of us stands a man I can immediately tell is Chrom. The signature blue hair, shoulder pauldron, cape, and Falchion at his hip are all too obvious. The woman next to him only takes me a second longer to recognize. Robin's white hair hangs down her shoulders, the oversized coat all too recognizable on her thin frame.

They're engaged in conversation with an older man, but they quickly break off as the older man enters the tent when they see us approaching. When we get close, Chrom sticks out his hand to me in greeting, I move to shake it before we both realize my lack of fingers available to shake his, quickly trying to change hands.

"A-Ah, I'm sorry man,"

"Nono I'm sorry just-"

"Let's just-"

Lissa and Robin watch the both of us awkwardly open and close different hands, trying to coordinate to no avail before we just fist bump. Lissa giggles at our terrible social skills as Robin sighs at our lack of tact.

Chrom laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head for a second before putting a hand on my shoulder, a smile on his face.

"What's your name, friend?" He asks, and I laugh.

"Eren… my lord?" I sort of ask. I have no idea how to talk to a man of royalty.

That draws a laugh from him now as he takes the hand off of my shoulder, "Chrom, as you've already guessed. So I assume you already know who our little troop is?"

I tilt my head to the side, "The Shepherds, right?"

His goofy grin gets a little wider as he puts his hands on his hips, "I'll get straight to the point then. I'd like you to join our merry little band."

"Really? Just like that? Whatever will get me out of here and to Ylisstol, I guess." I think to myself. I raise an eyebrow, "May I ask why, sir? Surely one act of mild heroism isn't enough to join a militia as prestigious as yours," I state factually.

A new voice joins in as a man I recognize as the rider from the battle steps out of the tent, "I'm afraid I must agree, m'lord," Frederick stares at me, eyes cold, "Are we so understaffed that we must pick up every stray we find on the road?" He looks at the bandages covering my arm, "A broken one, at that,"

"Damn. That was a zinger and a half, although you probably aren't completely wrong, Frederick. I'll probably bail the second you turn your back."

Lissa looks ready to explode at the comment, and her brother doesn't look too amused either.

Chrom speaks up after a split-second glaring contest, "Your opinion has been heard and is appreciated, Frederick. Please leave us."

Frederick salutes, "I am only doing my duty, prince. Good day," And with that, he walks away, stance rigid.

Chrom turns back to me, sighing in defeat, "I'm sorry about him. He can be a bit… paranoid."

I chuckle, "I would be too, if I'm completely honest. I can respect it at least a little bit."

Another sigh, "Thank you for that, good man. Now, back to our previous conversation?"

"I'll… think about it." I glance up at the sky, the sunset slowly sinking below the horizon. "You'll be informed of my decision tomorrow, m'lord."

Chrom frowns a bit at that, but nods in understanding, reaching his left hand out this time, "No matter what you choose, I'll sleep well knowing we've another good man on our side."

I smile, a bit flustered, before shaking his hand firmly.

..::..

I sit atop the hill once again, staring out over the dark town. It's surprisingly peaceful, only a full day after the attack. These people… I can't believe how strong they are. They can do a lot better than a guy who just lucked into… whatever the hell went down that day. I'll "join" the Shepherds, but once we're to Ylisstol, I'll disappear. Can't be too hard to hide in the capital city, after all.

I hear a rustle behind me, and my hand flies to the knife at my hip. I traded some bread for it back in town. I'm taken aback instantly when I see the girl who saved me walk up and sit next to me, staring out into the town.

I shift, a bit uncomfortable, before focusing my attention back onto the town as well. We sit there, silent for a few moments, before she speaks, staring directly at me.

"Where are you going?"

I'm taken aback even more now, my eyes widening, "N-No?"

She sighs, leaning back, "You lie like my ma did."

"How so?"

"Badly."

I chuckle, before a thought crashes into me, "Your mother, did she…?"

The girl shakes her head, "Mary says she's in a better place now."

I lean back now with a sigh, looking up to the sky, "I'm… I'm sorry, I tried to-"

"You tried your best, mister," She says, completely unmoved, staring stoically at the moon.

"...I-" I blink a few times before I realize I'm crying. I'm a really ugly cryer, but I can't hold it in anymore. "I shouldn't… I shouldn't be here. Oh god, oh god, where the hell am I?"

She looks at me curiously, "If you weren't here, I'd be dead… What's your name anyways?"

I cough, trying to reign myself in with no avail, before answering shakily, "E-Eren. Wilkes."

She grins widely, "My name's Rosalia, but you can just call me Rose!"

..::..

A/N – Hey there. Uhhh, welcome to my first story here! I'm pretty excited to finally start something, and I hope you enjoyed this first chapter at least a little bit. I'll try and keep updates to at most take two weeks, so bear with my inconsistencies since this IS my first work. Feel free to flame me or just leave your thoughts, all are welcome.