Oops, sorry about the long delay. I wrote the first paragraph of this chapter and then got writer's block. I feel really bad about leaving you guys like that. Ah well, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or Fire Emblem: Awakening, but I do own my OCs and the name Xylia. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

"Sky?" I ask, testing the name out. It feels right, and it certainly feels familiar. "Sky…" I grin and nod. "That feels like my name."

"That's because it is," Akiza replies, smiling back at me. "I'm glad you're alright, though. I don't remember much other than my name and yours, but I've been having this horrible dream as of late…"

'So, she doesn't have any memories either?' I think. 'I wonder what her dream is about, though.'

"You two can catch up later," Xylia interrupts, pulling me away from Akiza. "We're kind of in the middle of showing your general over there," she jams her thumb in the direction of the woman with short blonde hair and dark grey armor that's nearly twice her size, "that we truly are from Ylisse."

"Oh, that's why she was having us fight?" Akiza asks. "I'm sorry, let me go speak to her. I bet I can convince her that you really are… Prince Chrom, correct?" She stares at the blue-haired man.

"Yes, I am he," Chrom replies.

XXX

Several minutes later, the general, whose name turns out to be Raimi, is bowing to Chrom. "A thousand apologies, Prince Chrom. I truly took you for brigand imposters. But no frauds could ever wage a battle as you just have! You were even giving Akiza trouble."

"I told you, I'm not invincible," Akiza says, rolling her eyes. "Geez, I save you once and I earn that title…"

"Yes, well…" Raimi shrugs, her armor clanking as she does so. "I will send word of your arrival to the capital and escort you there personally."

"That would be most appreciated," Chrom says. "Thank you."

As Raimi walks off, Xylia nods. "Amazing! Her whole demeanor changed."

"Well, if I've learned one thing since waking up here, it's that strength is a lot louder than words here in Ferox," Akiza says. "You really have impressed her, which is apparently a very hard thing to do."

We go silent for a moment, until Lissa pipes in, "So, can we get going? It's not getting any warmer…" As she says this, a particularly cold gust of wind hits her and she shivers.

"Yes, I'm sure we can talk more later," Chrom says. "Let's go!"

XXX

At least we don't have to walk all the way to the capital, but the only way for that not to happen is to cram into several carriages that have probably seen better days. Still, a free ride is a free ride, and I get in the same one that Akiza's in. "So… what have you been doing since… well…"

"The memory-loss, right?" Akiza asks. "Well… I woke up in the middle of a snow heap, literally chilled to the bone. I found this tome and this axe next to me and… I kinda started to wander a little. Then I found Raimi and some of her soldiers being attacked by a large group of bandits—about thirty of them—and more or less sent the thieves packing. You?"

"Lissa and Frederick—the blonde girl and the man in blue armor, respectively—found me unconscious in the middle of a field. Then Xylia showed up, and after that… we were attacked by zombies. Uh, Risen is what we've started calling them," I say. "We killed them all, and I joined their group. That's all there is to it."

Akiza smiles, "At least you're alright."

"You too."

My friend looks out the window and points at a large, circular building about a hundred meters away. "Look, there's Arena Ferox! That means we're almost to the capital!"

XXX

Raimi leads us into a large castle. It isn't too decorated, just torches on the walls, purple carpets, and a few statues. Once we get into a large room, our escort stops. "Please wait here while I summon the khan."

"Of course," Chrom replies.

As the Feroxi woman walks away, Xylia turns to Chrom. "The khan is away?" she asks.

"Out training, I'd wager," he replies. "They prefer battle over politics, though that should be obvious by what happened at the border."

"More like battle is their politics," Akiza mumbles.

"'They'?" I ask. "You mean, there is more than one?"

"There are two, the East Khan and the West Khan," Frederick says. "If I remember from my history lessons, they hold a tournament every few years to see which khan holds power."

"Right you are," a new voice says, this belonging to a woman.

Everyone turns to see a dark-skinned woman with blonde hair walking towards us. She has white armor with a red stripe down the front over her torso, a short dark-blue dress underneath, and white armored boots that cover most of her legs. A flexible red shield is attached to her left arm, and she has a sword in the other hand.

"You're the—?! Er, that is to say… The khan, I presume?" Chrom stutters.

"One of them, yes. The East-Khan, Flavia," the woman replies. "I apologize for the trouble at the border. You are welcome in Regna Ferox."

"No need, that is already behind us," Chrom says. "Though, is it true that Plegian brigands dressed as Ylisseans have been raiding your border?"

"Yes, those Plegian dogs!" Flavia exclaims. "Documents found on the corpse of one of their captains proved as much. It seems they want to start a war between our countries."

"Damn them, then!" The blue-haired man freezes. "I… forgive me. That was… indelicately put."

The East-Khan laughs. "Damn them and damn delicacy! We have nothing wrong with plain speech here!"

I shift uncomfortably, because I have a problem with their 'plain speech'. I don't know why, though. Some innate memory? …But nothing is surfacing.

Xylia nudges me with her elbow. "Something wrong, Ama… Sky, I mean?"

I quickly hide whatever look I had on my face. "No, I thought a memory was trying to surface, but nothing happened," I reply.

"Oh," the black-haired woman replies, shrugging her shoulders and turning back to face Flavia and Chrom.

"…Regrettably, I cannot provide any Feroxi troops for Ylisse," Flavia finishes.

"What? Why not?" Lissa asks.

"I lack the authority," Flavia replies.

"You mean, you lost the previous tournament," I state.

"Yes, the West-Khan won it, and so you would have to ask him if you wished to form an alliance… however, the next tournament is nigh, and I am in need of champions."

"What does that have to do with us?" Chrom asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I would like you to represent the East in the upcoming tournament," Flavia says. "Don't worry, this is how all tournaments are fought." She laughs, "Otherwise our land would be rife with blood feuds and dead khans! If you win, I will provide Ylisse with all the soldiers she needs."

XXX

"Only six of us are allowed in, so…" Xylia frowns, closing her eyes and rubbing her chin. She nods after some consideration. "Chrom and I will be in it—after all, Chrom is our best sword fighter, and I am the tactician. Frederick and Lissa as well; we need a healer and Frederick always proves to be an exemplary defender for her… Stahl, Sky, I left the two of you out of the border fighting, so you can come as well."

I nod, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Stahl do a little fist bump. It seems he's eager to fight. Me, not so much. I've not had time to examine my tome, and… well, I'm worried I might let them down.

Someone grabs my shoulder. "Don't worry," Akiza whispers into my ear. "You'll do fine."

I smile a little, "Of course I will." Though my insides are churning. I'm going to have to hurt people to win this—people, not the dead come back to life. That means other people's blood will be on my hands. Can I do it? Can I purposefully hurt another human being?

To be continued…

So, Sky's having doubts now… Hehe. Well, I think this chapter is pretty much a success. Except for this one thing… See, Fire Emblem: Awakening basically has this dating sim thing on the side, in order for certain… characters to come from the future. As my current and only OTPs in it are Chrom/Avatar (Xylia), Sully/Virion, and Lissa/Frederick… well, my muses basically want to pair Sky with Stahl. But Sky's OTP is with Shoshan, and I was even planning on bringing him in somewhere down the road. And I really don't want to have another screwed-up love triangle/star/heptagon thing (speaking of which, the thing in Crimson Feathers is now a decagon…). Yeah, you can see how conflicting my imagination is at the moment.

*Sigh* Well, thanks to Ulrich362 for reviewing chapter three!

Anyone who's reading this, please leave a review! I'm always happy for feedback, whether it's good or bad…