A Reaper's Awakening

by Storm VII

After being thrown into the cauldron, Ragna the Bloodedge finds himself in Ylisse where he meets Chrom, Fredrick, and Lissa. What does fate have in store for the Grim Reaper? Why was he thrown into a conflict with Plegia, which he knows next to nothing about? Ragna x Harem

23. The War's End and What Lies Beyond

Chapter XXIII: The War's End and What Lies Beyond

In the Plegian desert, on a cloudless day, where the sandy ground was still for no wind blew, one single figure walked along the endless barren dunes. His body was bloodied, dirty, and very much needed a thorough washing. His black cloak was rough and raggedy while smelling of death and decay, but it was all he had to wear. His right arm was bound in black straps with a metal plate and a strange red seal on the back of his hand and it limply swung as he walked. The only tool this man had to defend himself with was a single crooked sword strapped to his side in its sheath.

The man continued walking on, his bare feet walking along the coarse sands of the desert for he had no footwear. Even through the black hood he kept on shielding his face, the harsh sunlight continued to shine down on the man and caused him to sweat. He'd been walking for some time without rest and with little idea where he was or which direction to go… yet the man only kept walking.

As he passed over one sand dune, he glanced downwards and observed a small traveling caravan with smoke billowing out of the charred wagons. Without a word, he slid down the dune, the gritty sand getting in the space between his feet. He came to a stop in front of one of the wagons. Peering around the caravan he found several bodies, some men, some women, and some children. Their eyes had a look of absolute fear in them and there were stab wounds, claw marks and large bites taken out of the bodies.

The shuffling of feet was vaguely heard as the corpse-like bodies of the Risen started to emerge from the smoke. Some had leather bags over their head and only relied on their claws to attack, others wearing in various leather armors and steel weaponry, though one of which was wearing sorcerer's cloak and holding a tome of fire magic. The Risen gave ill groans as they stumbled forward, their mere presence was enough to send a shiver up the spine of a normal mortal… but the cloaked figure merely let out an annoyed grunt.

The first Risen's undead body tensed lunged forward with its claws, but the man was ready for this as he tensed his own muscles and unleashed his own attack on the monster, a powerful punch from his left arm which struck the creature through its head. The Risen gave one last pathetic groan before it started to dissolve into shadows. Those shadows wisped around the man to the other side of his body where they slowly went into his limp arm. There was a black spark from the seal as the limb spasmed before becoming able to move naturally. The Risen that he been punched through finished dissolving as the rest of the monsters surged forward.

A few glowing circles of yellow magic symbols surrounded the unusual arm as he swiped it upwards and sent a ball of lightning at one of the Risen and disintegrated his target with ease. A Revenant rushed forward to claw him though like it had the poor people of the caravan, but cloaked figure's right arm shot out and tore the claw off. The Revenant gave something of a feral shriek before its own talons were thrust into its chest, killing it and cause the cloaked man's arm to absorb more shadows.

Another Risen, a Fighter type, ran forward with its axe while the sorcerer behind him finally finished casting an Elfire spell and blasted it at the figure. The figure swung his wrapped arm once more, this time managing to deflect the very attack of magic itself and batting into the warrior that had approached him, incinerating it where the creature stood.

Two Risen sword users (Myrmidon type and a Mercenary type) emerged from the smoke and rushed forward, but their effort was cut short as the man quickly charged an Arcwind spell fired it at the two cutting both of them to shreds and allowing him to consume their shadows. Now only the Sorcerer was left. The Sorcerer charged up a Fire spell, but it was far too late as the man rushed forward, grabbed and lifted the Risen leader above his head, and tore it in half with his bare hands.

With the Risen disposed of, the man looked around at the bodies that littered the caravan. Saying nothing he gathered the bodies together into a single pile. Using his own fire magic, he lit the bodies in his small makeshift pyre that would burn away what little remained of the caravan into ash. Not a lengthy funeral, but better than what they would have gotten. With that part of his business dealt with, the cloaked man continued his wandering among the arid sands.

The Plegian Capital

"So this is where it happened," Pharos said in the darken hallway. He was observing the burnt room in front of him where only ash pitch black ash remained one the cobble walls and in large piles of the floor. "This is where a King was murdered…"

"A Mad King, but a King all the same," said Anuket Ultaras, a grey haired, wrinkly skinned, and all-around elderly woman who was also a well-respected member of the Plegian nobility due to her years of experience. She'd been a key supporter of Emmeryn's ideals during the Old War and had kept her people well fed and treated them in a calm and sympathetic manner. She'd never fully been supportive of Gangrel, but that did little to ease her of current events. "The room was already completely burned to ash before anyone realized what had happened. The Mad King was gone and we haven't seen any trace of him since he'd been brought here."

"Have you found anything about the man that brought him down to this room?" Pharos questioned her.

"Nothing as far the guards or staff know," Anuket told him. "The person in question seems to have vanished completely and an ongoing investigation seems… unwanted."

"I can't imagine why," Pharos sighed. "We'd be wasting time, looking for a killer that no one wants to be found. You probably couldn't count how many people would have wanted to burn the king to death after Lady Emmeryn's sacrifice and his use of those… abominations."

"Careful Pharos, I hear that those Risen are a mark of Grima's influence," Anuket told him. "I thought you respected your new leader, wanting nothing more than to serve him 'till your dying breath."

"And I still do, but that does not mean I enjoy the use of those things. Wars should be fought with men, leave the monsters in the nightmares of those who don't honor the Fell Dragon, not on the grounds of those who worship him."

"That is how you really feel?" the noble woman questioned before smiling. "I'm glad to hear that you still haven't changed after all of these years Pharos, that's of some comfort to me."

"Comfort will be in short supply in these upcoming days I'm afraid. Even if Gangrel was a monster, that still leaves the throne empty, though I don't expect it to stay that way for very long. There's too much scum in the places of power, all of which would love nothing more than to take the kingdom for themselves and crush any obstacles."

"True, such is the foolishness of the nobility though... Do you think that Minos could take part in that power struggle?"

"It's certainly a possibility, if his power of influence works as well on the people as it does on our cult then we'd have a new King very early with little infighting. And he's undeniably wise and very just in his judgment."

"That would be a nice change from our last king, and I do hope there's no infighting. We'll have enough problems in convincing Ylisse to stop this bloody war," Anuket said with a roll of her eyes. "I hear that Emmeryn's younger brother is much more hotheaded than his sister. I hope my gift to him will be sufficient."

"Gift?" Pharos repeated. He'd known Anuket long enough to be sure that she'd never stoop so low to bribery, but he also knew that she almost knew exactly what to give a person to ease tensions. "What do you intend to give?"

"Never you mind, it's my business to build a bridge between our neighbors, it's your business if they try to burn it," she reminded him before stretching her arms. "As good as it was to catch up with you, I should be going; I'll be leaving for Regna Ferox within an hour and after the day we've all had have I feel like I should enjoy myself before the journey."

"Enjoy yourself?" the Grimleal's second-in-command asked quizzically. "And what, pray tell, would a noble woman such as yourself do for enjoyment? Drink fine wines? Soak in a warm bath? Perhaps host yourself a feast fit for our former Mad King?"

"Please, nothing so materialistic," Anuket told him with a look of melancholy. "I simply want to spend as much time as I can with my beautiful grandchild. The gods know how much I need to see that bright smile of his."

"See that you give him something to smile about, though I'll never understand why you're leaving your entire inheritance to him."

"Well I couldn't let his uncle have it could I?" Anuket said shaking her head. "I still don't know what my second daughter sees in that man. He's completely motivated only by status, not even caring about the people under him or how to make strong friend with outside nations. Bloody self-centered fool…"

"Well you didn't have to leave it all for Leonardo, he may have lost both of his parents, but I doubt an inheritance that large for a child of his age will do him any good. Why not give half to your other grandchild, his cousin?"

"Tharja didn't want any, and I doubt I'll have to fear Leo gaining his uncle's cold and cruel persona; that child has more goodwill in him than half the people of this continent combined."

"If that's your judgment then who am I to question it?" Pharos said with a shrug. As Anuket headed down the shadowy hallway, he decided to inform her of one last thing that he seen while casting Minos's magic spell. "The last I saw, Tharja was with the Shepherds; you might find her in Regna Ferox."

"Why do you think I'm going?" she called back rhetorically. The Hierophant's right-hand man smirked to himself as she left; the head noble of the Ultarasian lands was certainly headstrong, especially for someone of her age. Looking back to the ashen room, Pharos thought long and hard to himself.

'This is going so well, almost impossibly well… It's just like Minos said; the Mad King is brought into his death room which has already been set up with containment seals by some of our other disguised members. Ravia's an unknown master of disguise so she lures him into the room as an unsuspecting morgue keeper and activates the already placed the Hellfire seal to burn him to death. Meanwhile there is speculation tied to his demise, but due to his reputation and his apparent command of the Risen that we sent to the execution grounds, not many people are going to care…'

Pharos then took a small wooden pipe out from the folds of his robe as well as some tobacco to burn. He wasn't a person who enjoyed smoking all that much, but acquiring the pipe had been one of the most important milestones of his lifetime. As such he'd started smoking it whenever something meaningful happened.

His first day in the Grimleal? He'd smoked it before going to bed. Validar's downfall? A smoke before he'd fought to take the leadership seat. He'd even smoked after his first dinner the day he'd been revived. Now he was about to smoke to celebrate the end of the Mad King and a preemptive end to the second Crusades. He crushed the tobacco and put them into the pipe before giving it a firm press.

'There will be infighting for certain, but if Minos's future plans go as well as these current ones I wouldn't be surprised if we had our new king within a month and people were bowing to its feet willingly… Is there nothing he can't predict with his foresight?'

Holding the pipe in his mouth steady with his left hand while he lit a flame on his right index finger using a bit of fire magic, he lit the pipe and allowed himself to save the taste before exhaling the fumes. He was about to let the small flame on his finger die out, but then he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes, something he hadn't seen when the hallway had remained darkened.

'Black scorch marks on the wall?' he thought to himself before looking back to the Mad King's earlier death chamber. 'And it's completely opposite from the doorway; I was expecting some ash to flow out of the room onto the floor eventually with the door burned away, but this looks like a blast mark. Could Gangrel have… No, that's impossible; those seals could have taken blows from magic or physical forces countless times stronger than his Levin Sword and remain completely unaffected.'

Smirking to himself at his paranoia, Pharos let the flame die and held the pipe with his mouth as he walked down the hallway, going the opposite direction that Anuket had taken. 'Besides, if not his sword what could he possibly have used? All that was in that room was a table, several embalming tools, and the body of the Re...'

The next moment his pipe fell out of his mouth and hit the floor with a gentle clack. His face was frozen in realization and horror, his breath was caught in his throat, and for a moment he could almost feel the steel edge of a scythe against his throat as if the Reaper was standing right behind him. Snapping back to his senses, he picked the pipe off the ground and stuffed it within the folds of his cloak before franticly running.

'NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!' Pharos shouted internally as he ran along the hallways of the castle, not bother to address or even greet the nobles, staff, and guards as he did so, which almost always a custom for him. 'The hellish damage that he took! Minos's perfectly scripted plan! The way his body was torn to shreds! He was gone! He had to have been DEAD!'

Those thoughts plagued him his entire run to the Grimleal's gathering grounds when he got to the front gates. He shouted for the guards to open them, which they did and he ran inside without bothering to stop and thank them. Running through the hall he found Minos walking along the hallway with a young girl.

"My lord!" he called out though he was out of breath. The act was more than enough as the Hierophant turned to his right-hand man with his hood still covering his face as always.

"Pharos… You seem worried. Has word of Lady Emmeryn's escape reached your ears as well?"

"The Exalts alive!? Damn it! This just keeps getting worse!" Pharos shouted, getting the attention of several passing cultist.

"What's wrong with you? I've never seen you lose your temper so badly…" Minos commented. "Now that I think about it, where have you been anyways?"

"Speaking with an old friend of mine," the battle-hardened sorcerer told him. "But I was also near the room where Gangrel was killed… I think that the Reaper might be alive!?"

"What!? Impossible! That spell I cast had all of the magic energy in an entire kingdom! It was miracle enough that his body didn't turn to dust after the initial flame, but you're telling me that monster is still alive!?"Pharos said as he was breathing heavily and was clearly enraged.

"I hated finding out a much as you did, but that's the truth. There was a blast mark from the room his body was being kept in and there was no way Gangrel could have broken out. We don't have any idea where he could be or what he's doing. For all we know he could have already found Prince Chrom and the others," the Hierophant's right-hand man informed. "I hope the peace negotiations proceed well, otherwise by the end of today we all may be dead."

"Come on I doubt it'll be that bad silly," the young girl said as she put her hands on her hips. "If the Exalt's alive I doubt she'll let her meathead brother act like his late daddy and start purging all of a sudden."

"Um… who exactly are you?" Pharos decided to ask as he stared at the girl. She was a very short 4 feet tall in height, was wearing a black cloak, and had emerald green eyes and teal blue hair which was bound into pigtails long enough to go to her waist.

"Uh, hellooooooo? I'm the girl that helped you with all of this! Ravia? Ringing any bells in there?" she rudely demanded.

'Does she really expect me to believe that? Last I saw her she was a foot taller, had crimson red hair in a ponytail, wore light assassin leather, and looked like she was a strong ten years older.' "I did meet you earlier… but your appearance…"

"Oh, that," Ravia said with a casual shrug. "I got bored with the way I looked so I let changed clothes into something more fitting."

'Changed into something more fitting? What IS she?' Pharos thought to himself before turning to Minos who was deep in thought. "Regardless of that, what are we going to do? The Reaper and the Exalt are both alive, we don't have the Fire Emblem, and it appears that the war is about to end."

"The only thing I can do now is report to our Master, but fret not; we still have more than enough time to plan our future attacks…" Despite his promise, even though they couldn't see his face because of the hood he wore it was apparent that Minos was more than a little unsure of himself. "I shall go pray to Grima and… hopefully I shall return soon…"

As Minos continued on his way to the chambers, Pharos remained in the hallway with Ravia as several passing cultists bowed as the Hierophant continued walking down the pathway towards his prayer to the Fell Dragon, yet for once he never acknowledged them. Eventually making his way to the chambers, Minos closed the massive doors before hesitating. Trying to shake the feeling of dread off, he headed for the center of the room and knelt.

"My Lord, please answer my call… I beg of thee to listen…"

All at once the room seemed to be flooding with shadows as a cold feeling swept over Minos from the void. He waited for the Fell Dragon's eyes to appear so that he might deliver his report. However this time was different, instead a featureless body of purple flames appeared in front of him.

"My Lord? Has your physical body begun to gain its strength back?"

"It has… But enough of trivial details as such Minos; I am VERY interested in what you have to report." The tone of the Fell Dragon was colder than the darkness the two were in, and it almost sounded sadistic, as if it eagerly awaited the news of the failures.

"Yes… and I am afraid that there is no good news to be had… The fault for that manner is mine alone; my plan was enacted perfectly by both the members of the Grimleal and the mages we allied ourselves with in the effort. The issue was that it was not enough, despite the damage I caused the Reaper, despite turning the powers he stole from you against his very being, and despite the Risen that should have mauled him to death, my second in command has reason to believe that he is still alive…"

"Then your second in command is wise, for that is indeed the truth… but at least when the Reaper escaped YOU DIDN'T ASSIST HIS SURVIVAL!"

"My lor-AURGH!" Minos screamed as he fell on his side and gripped his face as he writhed in pain on the floor as blood started to ooze from his horridly healed skin. The dark body of flames towered over the Hierophant as Minos was continually wracked with pain.

"You really thought that I wouldn't notice you use my own power to save the Exalt!? Maybe that Pegasus rider bitch may have been alive, but then you protected them both with an illusion! I thought you were completely dedicated to my cause, but you dare to disrespect me so!?"

"My lord please! I beg your forgiveness!" Minos shouted as he rolled shuddered on the floor as his body was continually wracked with pain. He was dying, being killed by the Fell Dragon's very power that was keeping him alive. Now not just his face was bleeding by the rotting skin being viciously ripped open, but most of his robes were beginning to be stained by his own blood.

"Why have you done this!? You vowed that you would uphold my ideals and never turn your back on me! What could have possibly made you act so unfaithfully!? Was it love!? Do you still love the Exalt even after all of the years and the many vows you've made!?"

"NO! I DON'T LOVE HER! I'VE WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN TO SEE HER DIE SINCE YOU'VE FOUND ME!" Minos screamed as he felt his own skull begin to crack as purple flames began to engulf his body.

"Then tell me the reason she's still alive!" Grima commanded. "Why did you save her!?"

"IT'S BECAUSE I OWED HER!"

"A Debt?" Grima questioned as the flames around Minos faded, yet his body continued to be wracked with pain. "Choose your next words very carefully Hierophant, lest they be your last."

"Be-Before you blessed me, I was alone… I didn't have friends, the only family I had hated my very existence… But she was different… She made me feel like someone who mattered, in fact she may have saved my life from despair itself… In part it was thanks to her I was even alive to meet you…"

The Fell Dragon said nothing for several moments as its servant's breath was heavy from the pain inflicted on it. By now Minos was almost completely soaked in his own blood, but Grima's power was still keeping him alive in his suffering.

"This is your second miracle Judge… Your first one was my discovery of you when that fool Validar died. If his spirit had survived, I doubt I would've found you barely clinging to your pathetic life in my search. The Second Miracle is having the patience to let you live now because of your foresight and skills… Maybe you're far stronger and far more adept than Validar ever was, but that does not make you invaluable. This is the only instance in all of time that I've allowed a second miracle for a being, Minos... THERE WILL NEVER BE A THIRD."

"I...I understand my lord," Minos promised as the pain finally subsided, blood was still dripping from his wounds and through his coat, but somehow the Judge managed to stand. "I swear to you, I will have the Grimleal gain the respect that we rightfully deserve, and I will never allow this insult to happen again."

"See that you never do, otherwise I will find another that can carry my will out… And do not engage the Reaper, he's not to be fought at present…"

"As you say my lord... but there are still several Risen in the kingdom. If they remain here then the Reaper can use them to regain his strength... We should-"

"My Risen will stay and spread my influence of destruction, but you have my permission to proceed with any plans you might have concocted. Know that you are one mistake away from losing my power and your life. If I am not satisfied with your progress when next we meet, both are forfeit."

The body of flames slowly dissipated and the shadows around Minos faded until he found himself in back in the Ceremonial Chamber. Groaning to himself, he slowly forced himself to the feet with shallow breaths leaving a pool of his blood on the floor. He slowly limped over to the doorway and tried as hard as he could to open the doors, he tried with all of his strength, but it wasn't enough and as he did was harm himself and open his wounds further.

"Damn…" he raspily said to himself as he braced his back against the wall and painfully slid down and hit the floor with an agonizing thud. "He's letting me experience death… but he won't let me die, not this time. This is merely my punishment, and I deserved this and so much more… Even if I didn't mean to react, even if I was just caught up in the moment, that still means that my soul is filled with impurity…"

He remembered seeing the Exalt as she fell towards her death during the Shepherd's attempted rescue. He'd seen that the Reaper had somehow managed to act swiftly enough to where one of the Pegasus riders had survived and could catch the falling woman. Without thinking, he'd altered some of the remaining seals and created a momentary illusion. Emmeryn had died in the fall to anyone watching or listening, though in reality she had barely gotten away.

"...Gods save me… The next time we meet will be the last…"

'Uncle Bess!' a very young Emmeryn had said to him long ago as she ran to him with a bright smile on her face. A smile that try as he might, he still thought of very fondly to this very day.

"...One way… or the other…"

Somewhere in the Plegian Desert

The hooded man continued his aimless walk through the desert, though there was still no thought to any potential destinations. The sun continued shining down on him from overhead, warming the sand that he walked on to almost uncomfortable levels, but he simply chose to ignore it, just like he was ignoring the vultures that were circling him from overhead as they waited for him to finally die.

Eventually in his long journey he came across a small town in the sands. The town seemed to be close to a large crumbling ruined temple, covered from the frequent sandstorms and surrounded by tents. As the hooded man walked into the town, he saw men in light armor with weapons in sheathes glaring at him as he passed him by. From their appearance these people weren't soldiers of the kingdom or town guards, they were most likely mercenaries.

"Who invited that garbage in?" one of the mercs said to one of his friends as he took a swig of the bottle he held.

"Looks like some kind of traveling beggar," his friend said as he held his own drink for the moment. "Feh, leave him be. If he's barefoot in those rags he probably doesn't have any coin worth taking. Maybe on his way out we can nab that sword off of him for town protection charges."

The enigma heard what they'd said quite clearly, it was just that he didn't seem to care. Walking along the town's path, the few people that were out were trying to keep their heads down and avoid attention from others. The mercenaries however were walking around town like they owned the place, and given their numbers it very much seemed like they did.

As the man walked along the street he heard the high pitched scream of what seemed to be a young lady coming from one of the buildings. He glanced his head to the source of the noise and saw a wooden sign hanging over the entrance reading The Wasteland's Oasis with a picture of a frothy beer on it, indicating it was most likely some form of tavern. The other townspeople didn't react to the scream like one normally would, they simply hesitated, gave a painful grimace, and proceeded on their way.

"Please let her go!" a lanky man with a clean shaven face and raven hair begged inside the tavern. A mercenary roughly held a skinny serving girl with matching black hair with an arm around her waist while other mercenaries laughed and catcalled.

"Aw shut your trap old man and get us some more beer!" the mercenary holding the girl hostage rudely shouted. The man in question was a tall muscular figure in heavy armor (Knight Class). He had a slightly plump head with any hair completely absent and had a few scars that he'd gained from combat.

"Please! I've given you whatever food and drink you've wanted! Leave my daughter out of this!" the man begged again before being towered over by another man.

"I thought he told you to shut up!" a different mercenary said as he hit the man with the blunt side of his sword and sent him sprawling to the floor. The bar keeper's daughter screamed as the rest of the mercenaries let out another round of laughter.

"Aw cheer up old man, things aren't that bad," the armored mercenary said as he continued to hold the struggling girl. "When we take her with us when we leave this rotten town, you'll have one less mouth to feed!"

"But-!" the man was about to try to protest, then he saw his daughter's pleading look and knew if he protested he could get both of them killed. 'Damn them! Damn these men to the depths of hell!' Though reluctant, he readied a frothy mug of beer and placed it on the counter in front of the knight. The knight smirked as he reached to grab it with his free hand, but before he could the tavern door was flung open resulting in a sound thud.

The hooded man walked into the tavern, his feet bare and covered in sand while the raggedy hood still completely covered his eyes. The mercenaries of the bar glared at him and muttered unpleasant remarks about him under their breaths.

"This is the wrong place for beggars, boy! Run off before I rip your arms off!" the knight shouted at the enigma as he grabbed the beer on the counter and began raising it to his lips, all while still holding onto the girl. The man did not leave, it didn't appear that he'd even heard the insulting knight. "Are ye deaf!? I told you to get out of our-!"

Too fast for anyone to see, the hooded man crossed the distance on the bar and before anyone could blink he backhanded the heavily armored knight. The force of that simple and quick strike caught the man unprepared as he lost his hold on the serving girl as well as his drink and went flying against the bar's wall despite the weight of his body and armor.

The other mercenaries grunted in surprise and the serving girl had a look of awe on her face before the cloaked man caught the knight's drink in his right hand. Without even removing his hood he quickly began to down the contents of the mug while everyone stared at his bizarre hand. The mercenaries eventually got over their shock and began going for their weapons.

Meanwhile the knight that'd been sent into a wall was shaking his headache off as he angrily growled. This wasn't supposed to happen to someone like him, he was supposed to be in charge here! He had both great power and invincible armor! Whatever fool crossed him would have their head on a stake by the end of the-!

"You can have this back," came an uncaring voice before he was harshly struck in the face by his own empty mug being thrown at him. His growl turned to a snarl as he rose and gripped his bleeding and broken nose.

"Who the hell are you!?" he demanded the unmoving enigma. His mercenary men had their weapons drawn while the barkeeper and his daughter hid behind the counter. At the silence of his attacker, he was enraged beyond his limit and charged him with his single-handed axe. "I'LL KILL YOU AND FEED YOU TO THE PIGS YOU NAMELESS BASTARD!"

He was never able to complete the blow as his arm was stopped before the axe could strike his target. The man's face went taut as he saw the hooded man held his axe by its blade in a single hand with a seemingly bored expression.

"I already died yesterday, I'm not in any hurry to do it again," he said before grabbing the knight's arm, flipping him over, and roughly slamming him to the floor. The knight was about to swear out, but not before his arm was broken at the joint. The rest of the mercenaries seemed to take a step back, except for the loudmouthed idiot that seems to be in every group.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea who we are?" No response. "Well I'll tell you who we are! We're the Desert Scorpion Mercenary Band! We make women scream, we make children cry, and we make men bleed! We've even been hired by King Gangrel himself to protect this sorry excuse for a town!"

"...And why am I supposed to care about any of that?" the cloaked man answered. "I just came here to steal a drink from your stupid asses."

"That does it! KILL HIM!" the loud mouthed one shouted as the rest of the mercs ran forward with weapons drawn. "Well tear his body apart and string him up along the town as an example!"

Outside, the few people who were brave enough to risk the streets to check on friends and buy food paused in their walks as they heard grown men scream from inside the Wasteland's Oasis. There was also the occasional sound of someone hitting the floor, the sound of bones being broken, and crash of someone being flung into the wall. The townspeople didn't know what to make of any of these sounds, so they hurried on their way and tried to keep their distance from the bar.

Back inside the tavern, the loudmouth of the group was the only one that hadn't been beaten down, only because it didn't appear he could move his own fear. The enigma had beaten the mercenaries with ease, not even taking a single wound in the process. His opponents were on the ground, nursing broken bones, twisted limbs, and terrible bruises. Despite all of the damage he caused them he'd never once had to draw the sword at his side, relying only on his fists.

"Wh-what the hell are you!?"

"Someone who's pissed," came the menacing voice from underneath the hood. "Get out of my face before I send you bastards to hell."

Several of the mercenaries forced themselves to get up as quickly as they could with their wounds. As they left the loudmouth, of course, had to try to get in the last word.

"You're in for it now you bastard! We've got men back at out camp and even more coming in from another job! When they get here that pathetic head underneath those rags is going to be put on a pike! What do you have to say to that!?"

"...Maybe I should save myself the trouble and kill you all here so the rest don't hear from you," the enigma said as his unusual right hand slowly went for his sword's handle, causing the loud mouthed fool to stutter before finally getting the hint and running out of the room with his tail between his legs.

"A-Are they gone?" the barkeep said before finally poking his head out from behind the counter. There was some damage done to the tavern, drinks had been spilt on the floor, plates had been smashed, tables and chairs had been broken… but most of that had happened when the men had come in earlier. "Y-you beat them all?"

"Easily," was the cold response.

"That's good," the barkeep said to him to him. "My names Arthur, currently the only bar owner in town. I couldn't do anything when those monsters were abusing my daughter, I thought they were going to carry her off with them and do gods know what. Honestly, I don't know how to thank you."

It was then that a low rumble was heard from the mystery man's stomach. Both the bar keeper and his daughter stared at him speechless for a moment.

"...Some food sounds pretty good," the mysterious stranger admitted before grabbing a chair and taking a casual seat at one of the unbroken tables. A few minutes later he was dining on chicken stew, slightly stale bread, and a bowl of figs.

"Y-You know that you don't have keep your hood on," the nervous serving girl said to him as she brought him another beer while her father tried to clean up his tavern. "I mean you saved us so we won't tell anyone if you're an enemy of the king or whatever."

"Trust me," the hooded men said with a mouthful of bread before taking a moment to swallow his food. "You don't want to have to see this face."

"If you say so," she said to him before looking at the hand he was using to shovel stew into his mouth with the spoon. "What's up with that gauntlet anyway? I've never seen a-"

"Jennet! Don't annoy him! He probably wants to enjoy his meal in peace!" Arthur interrupted. The daughter gave an apologetic bow before hurrying back into the kitchen. "Sorry about that; she's a friendly one, but too curious for her own good."

"I hadn't noticed…" the enigma said sarcastically before finally deciding to ask about the town's situation. "What about those mercenaries? Why are they here?"

"An easy job? Because the king made them? Because our own soldiers are out fighting a fool's war? Pick a reason," the bartender said sadly before leaning in close and whispering. "But they're also here because word got out about a treasure."

"Treasure? From the ruins?"

"In reality we don't know where it's from, but there are rumors about someone finding a suit of armor; something that was supposedly just a piece of a legend from faraway lands. We have no damn idea of how it got here or what it can really do, but those mercenaries want it and they want it bad. Our town blacksmith, my brother, has hidden himself in the ruins to work on it and they've spent all of their time searching for him. They haven't found him yet, but they're harassing the town in the meantime. Once the rest of their forces get here they'll start burning the town to ashes as a way to demand that armor from us."

"...And you're telling me this because...?"

"Because of how you handled those men! I don't know if that armor is as cracked up as I've heard, but if we give you that I think you can beat them! Save our town and the it's yours. My brother'll agree."

"...Fine, it's not like I have anything better to do," the man said before rising from his seat. "How am I supposed to get into the temple?"

"I can help you sneak in," Jennet said as she came in from the backroom. "I've been having to sneak into those ruins to bring food to my uncle and I was exploring the upper level of them since I was a little girl, I can show you the best way to get inside."

"If we're going to do this then we better get started; I wanted to get out of this town quick and I've already stayed too long."

The two made their way out of the tavern in a hurry with the Tavern girl carrying a basket of food for the uncle. In the streets outside there were no mercenaries guarding the city, apparently all of them had been frightened off by the earlier brawl and the loss they'd suffered. The two hurried around the far side of the ruins and snuck past the mercenaries that were on patrol. The two climbed over piles of rubble and snuck through a few of the cracks that you'd miss without knowing where to look. Eventually the two came to a dusty open hallway.

"Okay, now we just need to find the staircase that leads to the lower dungeons. That's where we'll find my uncle at the forge," Jennet explained as the two walked down the long stairway.

"Okay, but how are we supposed to get out of here? I barely fit through those cracks as it was, I won't be able to do it with a set of armor on."

"There's another entrance, when my uncle first came here managed to get through a large set of iron doors. The iron on them is really thick and there's a powerful lock on the inside. They're not getting in without a battering ram."

"Then what's the point, why have they stayed here so long?" the hooded man question. "Couldn't they just hold the townspeople hostage or something?"

"They're going to, but they need to wait until their boss gets back; the way my uncle tells it he's a legend among mercenaries. They say he's twice as strong as most men and wield a giant hammer that's never gotten even a scratch on it. He loves pillaging and no one ever starts a raid before him."

"So they're waiting for him to get back from whatever he's out for… What's he doing anyways?"

"I heard he wanted to slaughter another group of mercenaries so he left town for a few days," Jennet explained as they heard the sound of metal hitting. "I don't know how long we have until he gets back, but we really need you."

As the two turned the corner, they found himself in a medieval forge with a heavily muscled man with a greying beard who struck a large red hot sword with his smithing hammer. Eventually he picked the blade up with his forging tongs and set it in a pool of water to cool.

"Uncle Travis!" Jennet called to him, causing the old man to become startled.

"Jennet! What are you doing here!? And with a basket… I thought I told you not to bring me anymore food! It's too risky" the man said with a glare in his eyes.

"Must have slipped my mind," she said with a guilty smile. "But I brought someone who can help us! My dad said if we gave him the armor that you made and a sword he'll get rid of the bandits!"

"Him?" Travis said with doubt. "I don't think he'll be able to do much for us. He looks more like a common beggar..."

"A common beggar that beat plenty of those thugs with fists alone," the hooded man told him, causing the blacksmith's eyes to narrow in speculation. "If you want me to help you'll have to trust me, otherwise you're on your own."

"...Any other time I'd have told you to go to hell and found someone else who won't run off with the armor and sword I was going to present to the king, but we can't afford to risk it. Their boss might be coming back tonight and I'll take anyone I can get. Though that still doesn't solve the problem I'm having with the sword."

"What wrong with it?" Jennet asked as she looked at the blade as it cooled. It was a fairly thick blade with a curved front.

"I don't have enough metal to finish it!" Travis said. "I gathered whatever metal I had, but it still wasn't enough to completely fill the mold. Without more metal I won't be able to make it correctly!"

"Then why not make another type of sword?" Jennet asked. "Does it really have to be this specific type?"

"Yes, for two reasons. First, this is the only molding that I brought with me, so it'll be hard to proper forge a blade worth using without it. Second, that blade's an Armorslayer; the leader took heavily armored units with him and without a proper blade it's going to be tricky to get through that plating."

"Then why not take a piece of metal off the armor and finish it?" Jennet asked again, continuing their back and forth.

"That armor took me months to complete and the metal's too hard to work with! I wouldn't be able to finish it tonight or within a week for that matter!" Travis shouted at them before the hooded figure took of sheathed weapon's straps and held it out for him to take. "What's that you got there?"

"Just a sword I… found," the man said as Travis took the weapon and unsheathed it, his eye growing wide as he looked at the weapon he held.

'This is an actual Levin Sword! Unless you're a noble or a merchant with amazing contacts these things are almost impossible to find! And the work on this thing looks like it was made for a…' "What did you say your name was?" Travis asked the man darkly.

"I didn't say, must be because I don't have one," was the curt answer that followed. "Will it work?"

"Better than I thought; the metal on this sword's strong despite being meant for magic and I can melt this blade down easily," the blacksmith said before grabbing a helmet off of the table and tossing it to the enigma who barely caught it. "The rest of the armor's in the back, go ahead and put it on, I'll be finishing up this blade. We might survive to see tomorrow's dawn yet."

"Let's…" the man said before looking at the heavy plated helm he was carrying. He didn't recognize it, but for some reason every hair on his body stood as he simply looked at the piece of armor.

Meanwhile -Regna Ferox-

"I never thought I'd be so happy to feel the snow," Chrom said, his breath visible as he talked. He, his sisters, the Khans, and the rest of the Shepherds had already passed into the Regna Ferox borders and were a short distance away from the capital. Turning his head, the prince noticed his older sister shivering at the cold. "Are you alright Emm?"

"I-I'll be fine Chrom," she tried to reassure him with a smile despite her chattering teeth. Before she could protest further however, Olivia approached her and handed her a heavy fur cloak.

"You'll get used to the cold eventually your Grace, but you'll want this," Olivia assured her as the Exalt covered herself in the fur to keep herself warm.

"Thank you Olivia," Emmeryn told her with a smile. "It's been quite some time since I've seen you."

"Oh, you two know each other?" Chrom questioned.

"Yes, Emmeryn was very kind to me in the past," Olivia said with a small smile. "It was a short time before I met Basilio, I was traveling with a caravan at the time performing my dance wherever I could. We traveled across almost all of the continent, but hard times were upon us. We were in the slums, trying to find food where we might… but then Emmeryn saved us by donating gold and shelter."

"I wouldn't say that I saved you, your performance moved me beyond words and I simply felt that I couldn't let your career and that of the caravan end there in the slums," Emmeryn said modestly. "Though it seems that you've taken up swords wielding?"

"It's more of a second skill your ladyship," Olivia admitted. "I'm not the best, but I have been diligently practicing as of late to keep the so called noblemen away and… another reason..."

"Really? What would that be?" Chrom asked with genuine interest.

"I… I wanted to return the favor of someone who helped me… The one who taught me how to use a sword…"

"...I see…" Chrom said sorrowfully, knowing full well who she meant and that it was no longer a possibility to repay them. "I'm going to let you two catch up with each other, I should probably check on Lissa."

Heading away from the two, Chrom eventually found his sister sitting against a snow covered tree, her head buried in her hands though she didn't appear to be crying.

"Dumb question, but are you doing okay?" he asked his sister who kept her head were it was.

"I don't know… I mean I know that I'm not okay but… I don't know how I'm feeling," Lissa told him. "I'm happy that we got Emm back, I'm really happy about that since I thought I saw her die… but I also saw Ragna and…" The Princess of Ylisse was certainly in low spirits, but she tried her hardest to focus on something else. "Remember when we first found him?"

"You mean in the fields near South Town? How could I forget?" Chrom said with a small smile before chuckling. "Remember when we were in the forest and he had to save you, how he slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour?"

"Yeah I remember," Lissa said with a small giggle. "That was before he realized that I was the princess though."

"Would it really have made a difference?" Chrom asked with a smirk.

"I guess not," Lissa said remembering how Ragna had always acted around her, she was about to become sorrowful again before shaking her head. "I'm not going to let myself mope anymore! Ragna would've wanted us to fight back and kick Gangrel's ass!"

"Lissa! Language!" Chrom vented at his sister who merely giggled. "Maybe I should've been more careful of Ragna's influence on you."

"Aw c'mon Chrom, you know that Sully swears way more than I do and no one tells her anything," Lissa reminded him.

"That's because she's neither a princess and or my sister… and she'd probably kick my ass." Chrom had to admit that last part. "You have a point though; we still have a job to do and we owe it to Ragna not to give in."

"And I'm going to do my best to help everyone!" Lissa said as she her hands in determination before glancing off to the treeline and seeing a very familiar redhead standing by a frozen river. "Is that Cordelia?"

"Looks like it…" Chrom said. "Go find Emm and get a fur or something to warm yourself with, I'm going to go check on her." As the princess made her way to talk to her rescued sister, Chrom approached the Pegasus knight. "Cordelia?"

'Of course, now he talks to me,' she thought with a hint of irony before turning to the prince. "Yes Prince Chrom? Is something wrong?"

"No nothing's wrong per say, I just saw you standing alone and thought I'd check on you," the prince said to her.

"Well I'm not doing fine, but I'm trying to stay focused on the task at hand," she told him before giving the smallest of smiles. "How long has it been since we talked like this?"

"Come on we've been working alongside each other in the Shepherds since I brought Ragna back," Chrom said, remembering when his late friend had told him that he'd asked Cordelia to join them. "We've talked before, I mean remember when we… when you did that… when…" The prince thought long and hard, trying to remember when he'd spoken to Cordelia, for the life of him he couldn't remember. The few times she was there he didn't even talk to her, Ragna did.

"Like I said," Cordelia told him, and Chrom could no longer argue with her.

"Sorry, I know it sounds like an excuse, but I was fairly busy with other tasks. That still doesn't excuse the fact that I haven't exactly made time to talk with you and make sure you were alright," the Prince apologized.

"...I had crush on you Chrom," Cordelia said, surprising the Prince. "No, it was more than that; I was obsessed with you, ever since you talked to me when we were little."

"Wait, for that long?" he asked with wide eyes. "I… I had no idea…"

"I think you might've been the only one in the Shepherds that didn't…" Cordelia told him. "For the longest time I was heartbroken, I tried to find some way to make you notice me, but you didn't. Even when I saved your life if our first battle you thought that it was Kellam since you didn't see me."

"I see…" Chrom said, cringing slightly as he realized how badly he'd screwed up.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you, someone already helped me open my eyes," the Pegasus rider told him with a bittersweet smile. "But I want you to promise me something, there's someone else that cares about you in the Shepherds, she cares about you a lot. Promise that you won't make the mistakes with her that you did with me, you both need each other, especially now."

"I promise," Chrom assured her, knowing full well who she meant. "And is it just me or is that new girl we found in Plegia, Tharja, is she up to something? Does she seem to be stalking Robin or is it just me?"

"So you're not completely oblivious," Cordelia said with a giggle, causing Chrom's face to light up with a slight blush.

Back In Plegia: Ruin's Forge

"I hope this is enough," Travis said as he held up the Armorslayer he'd worked quickly to finish. The Levin Sword the stranger had given him was just what he needed and he was easily able to finish the weapon with the metal he'd been given. While a Levin sword wasn't meant to be used as a weapon for directly attacking an opponent, with the new shape and addition metal, it should've been able to hack through armor while retaining at least a few magical properties, allowing its owner to channel their magics into the blade.

"Uncle!" Jennet shouted as she ran from the upper floor. "We need to hurry! I overheard some of the mercenaries talking and it sounds like their leader is coming back!"

"Well I've finally finished the sword, now it's just up to our mysterious friend… Do you really think he can take all of the mercenaries?"

"He has to! The rest of us don't have any weapons and we don't even know how to fight in the first place! We'd be slaughtered and they'd burn our home to the ground…"

"And god knows what else," Travis said sadly.

"Well that's not going to happen," came the voice of their apparent savior. Jennet gasped as she saw the man in his armor. "...I have to admit, this suit feels like overkill…"

"Well we don't know just what we're getting into, so it's what we're going to use," Travis said sternly before handing the man the sword he'd made as well as a sheath. "I'm giving you my two greatest pieces of work; don't you dare let us down."

"I won't…" was the response, still as void of emotion as ever. The newly armored man took the and equipped the sheath to his side.

"May the gods watch over you," Travis said before heading over to his workbench and rummaging around for a moment. "I'll get the key to unlock the door. I won't be able to get the lock back on as things stand, so you'll have to make sure none of them get into the town or the temple… Damn it! Where the hell is the key!? We can't get the lock off without it!"

"I won't need it…" came the ominous reply as the figure walked off to confront the mercenaries.

Outside the temple, the mercenaries became a good deal more nervous as their leader came into the encampment. He was a very lightly armored man who stood tall and heavily muscled. He had shaggy gray hair that was almost reaching out like tentacles in the wind, giving him the appearance of a crazed old man… it was only a half deceiving look. He had a few scars on his face making him look even more insane and while no one knew his name, before he had been forcefully discharged from the Plegian army he had been given the title Crusher. Even Gangrel had thought this man to be too bloodthirsty, wiping out entire squads of his allies and enemies alike. Also, he was never seen without his massive hammer with was almost always splattered with blood like it was now.

His second in command approached his boss, he was the knight from the tavern that was still nursing a broken arm that he'd gotten from the stranger. "Welcome back boss," he said as he approached Crusher. "How was the fighting?"

"Dull, those damn idiots could barely call themselves mercs. Probably just a lot of farm boys with delusions of some greater cause," he said with a gravelly voice before seeing the limp arm. "You're hurt, did you run into any trouble or were you just so drunk you broke your arm?"

"I had a bit of a tussle earlier, but we made the man pay in blood for it," the knight lied.

"Oh, is that so?" Crusher said with a chuckle. "Now that I look around I can see more of your unit seems to have taken a beating as well…" Before the knight could fearfully respond, Crusher swung a missive downwards blow with his hammer, breaking the man's head completely with that single strike. "I DON'T HAVE ANY USE FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN'T EVEN KILL A FARM BOY WITHOUT SCREWING UP!"

The rest of the mercenaries shuddered at the sight of the downed knight, whose head had been crushed so badly it was now little more than a saggy, bloody, sack of flesh. The Mercenary leader then raised his hammer and began his battle call.

"Listen up all of you! There's a set of armor in that temple and with the way those cowards in town are talking about it, I'm thinking that thing's worth a lot of gold! That fool inside won't open up those doors, but he'll open them when he hears the rest of the town being put to the sword! I want that town in flames! Their livestock slaughtered! Their men and children butchered! Their women screaming at the doors! We'll bring him out here when we show him what happens when you refuse the Desert Scorpions!"

The mercenaries let out a loud cheer as Crusher let out a heavy laugh. The men grabbed out their weaponry and were about to begin pillaging the town before a heavy blast that seemed similar to a cannon sounded from inside the temple. The mercenaries remained silent as a weak groan came from the entrance leading to a massive thud; the iron door had fallen.

"Huh, the blacksmith's coming out," Crusher said with a viciously sadistic smile. "Maybe we'll grab him first and have him watch his town get massacred… Heh… HahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Let's burn it all! This town! The kingdom! Let's burn this shitty world to the ground! All of it!"

Clunk

The leader paused as heard the sounds of a heavily armored step; he hadn't considered that the fool would consider using the armor himself, but it wouldn't matter. The blood on it wouldn't hurt the price that much.

Clunk…Clunk...Clunk

More heavy steps followed one after another until the figure emerged out of the entrance holding an expertly made Armorslayer in his right hand while wearing the sought after armor in all of its glory.

(Cue Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn's Unstoppable Destiny)

The armored suit consisted of thick plating made of a dark ebony metal and even the leather underneath the plates were stained black as midnight. The armor came with a battle skirt also made of dark leather to guard the user's legs. Behind the armor was a repaired cape that was black on the exterior and bright red on the interior, flowing magnificently in the strong breeze. But byfar the most intimidating part of the armor was the helm; it was an intimidating collection of metal, having an opening so slim it was impossible to see the face that lie beneath it.

"OH THERE WE GO!" Crusher shouted creepily. "THAT PIECE WILL BE WORTH ONE HELL OF A PAYDAY! HALF OF YOU STAY HERE AND GET THE ARMOR! THE REST ARE WITH ME AND WE'LL PILLAGE! WE'LL RAPE! WE'LL-!"

The newly armored enigma raised his sword and channeled in his magical power into the blade before swinging in down and sending out a vertical shockwave that soared forward, wiping out several soldiers along the way with that single attack. The Mercenaries leader looked to his killed men before turning back to the attacker with a scowl.

"Fine… have it your way then… ALL OF YOU KILL HIM NOW!" he shouted before his countless mercenaries ran forward in bloodthirsty rage to kill their target.

A mercenary rushed forward and brought his sword down on his unmoving target, but instead of cutting through the armor, the cheaper steel shattered into pieces. As the man gaped, his opponent was not merciful in his harsh slash across the torso that cleaved the man into bloody halves. The next opponent wielded a killer lance and lunged forward before two quick sword slashes destroyed the spear's blade and separated the man's' head from his body. An armored knight quickly approached and tried to ram the dark armored knight with his shield, but the sword managed to cleave through the shield and armor with no resistance at all.

"DAMN YOU IDIOTS! SURROUND HIM! ARCHERS AND MAGES LINE UP! I WANT THAT ARMOR AND TO SEE THE MAN INSIDE IT DEAD! YOU HEAR ME!? DE-!" As the troops rushed forward to get into position, the dark enigma send out two additional shockwaves to interrupt the mercenary leader, each of which cleaved through several soldiers, but missed Crusher on either side by mere millimeters. It was a form of spite and Crusher could see that, in fact it he could swear he saw whoever was under that helm with a shiteatting grin on their face as he cleaved through more and more of his men.

"...That does it… OUT OF THE WAY YOU LOUTS!" Crusher shouted as he shoved one of his helpless men that was simply in his way. And rushed forward, as he ran through the sands of his encampment, but that didn't stop his men from foolishly trying to take on the enigma themselves.

The Armorslayer viciously cut through another mercenary with a sword before blocking the axe of attacking fool, knocking them off balance, and cutting them across the chest. As he unleashed another slash which cut through two mercenaries at once, a group of enemy mages and archers sent out a barrage of arrows and magic. Before the could hit him however, the enigma grabbed an enemy knight and shoved him in the way of the attacks, causing it to take all of the damage for him. He then performed a spinning attack, cutting through five men at once and killing them all easily.

"TIME TO DIE!" Crusher shouted as he finally made his way forward and brought his hammer down as strong as he had when he crushed his second-in-command's head. His weapon was meant for dealing for armored units like him, but the heavy hammer was deflected away with ease by the Armorslayer and sent him off balance. The mercenary commander growled as his opponent stabbed his sword through yet another enemy knight and killed him with ease.

"Is this really the best you've got?" the man in dark armor said to Crusher as the rest of the mercenaries to a cautious step back, yet remaining in a circle around the two. "Even if you weren't the scum of the earth I doubt that you could have protected this town from bandits."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Crusher shouted as rushed towards the one causing him aggravation and swung his hammer again, this time from the side, but the blow was once again blocked with the sword. Heaving to himself, Crusher leapt into the air to bring down his hammer in a powerful leaping blow.

The enigmatic dark knight did not move to dodge this attack; even as the hammer came down with such power that it would've destroyed the helm. Instead the Armorslayer he held sliced through the air in a devastating upwards arc that cut through the hammer from the handle to its head. Not only was the weapon sliced in half, but Crusher's fingers were also severed from his hands. The Mercenary command did not even have time to scream as the blade was swung a second time and cleanly cleaved his head off in a spray of blood.

(End Theme)

As their decapitated leader fell to the ground, the remaining mercenaries surrounding his killer in a circle stared at the fallen former legend in a mix of fear and awe before glancing at each other and murmuring to each other.

"What the hell is that monster?"

"He killed the boss so easily!"

"Damn! He even took out our other forces without taking any damage! Let's get out of here!"

"Not happening..." the enigma said before the sword glew yellow with lightning magic The magic extended out of the blade, granting the blade a massive reach of glowing energy. Swinging the enchanted blade in a massive swipe, every remaining mercenary had their torso separated from their waist in a final spray of crimson before all of them fell dead to the ground.

The sands were quickly becoming stained red with blood, making the victor glad that his new suit came with a form of foot protection; he'd already been covered in enough blood since yesterday. Sheathing his new sword at his side, he made his way back inside the temple.

Eventually making his way back to the forge, he found Travis with his forging hammer at the ready in case any of the Mercenaries had broken through, though he was relieved when he saw the armor. "Oh, it's just you… so is it really over?"

"Yeah, just thought I'd let you know… where's Jennet?"

"Right here," the young serving girl said as she got out from her hiding place with a smile now that the threat was gone. "I'm happy that you decided to check to make sure we were alright."

"Well my damned conscious wouldn't let me leave otherwise… but what happens to the village now?"

"Now we take back everything they stole from us in their camp and whatever else they have. Maybe it they have some decent weapons we can actually protect ourselves the next time this someone tries to through their weight around. Are you sure you want to leave now? We don't have much, but I'm sure my brother can make you another decent meal."

"Can't… I've got shit I need to take care of, and I'm not exactly what you'd call social…"

Victor chuckled to himself. "You know, the more I see you, the more I think that you were meant to find that armor… you make a good Black Knight."

"Black Knight eh?" the enigma repeated before turning and walking out of the forge. "...I guess that's my title now…"

"Just tell me one thing, who the hell are you anyways? A bloodstained man in rags that's able to take out several mercenaries with his bare hands before managing to destroy an entire band along with a living legend in such a short time? You're a damned miracle to say the least."

"...I'm no miracle, quite the opposite actually… All I've ever been is the enemy of the world and someone that can't even keep one promise...'

Those words were final ones, and the Black Knight walked out of the temple to continue his aimless wandering, while to trying to re-find his place in this world.

Later- Regna Ferox Capital

This meeting in the capital was much smaller than that of the last gathering. Now the table merely considered of Chrom, Emmeryn, Robin, Frederick, the Two Khans, and the still bandaged General Mustafa. In fact the meeting was even held in a different room, this current meeting room was now in the one that they'd first used… the one where Ragna had revealed his past to them all.

"...Looks like it's time to begin the meeting," Basilio said as he sat at the meeting table.

"If we're going to make a move now is the best time, I think we can agree on that," Chrom said to the others with surety.

"No one is arguing with that Chrom, the only thing we're here to discuss of how we're going to move forward," Robin told him. "We're looking at a tense situation at best between our forces and Gangrel's. I can hope that at least of few of their armies were turned by Emmeryn's sacrifice like General Mustafa and his men, but even that's a gamble. If this does become a full-fledged war we're going to need more troops, even moreso now that we've lost Ragna…"

"There's not only that," the current Exalt said, seeming to have very little emotion in her words. "The fact will soon come to light if it hasn't already that I still breath, and I do not know how the people will react. I hope for understanding, but I also fear that their thoughts may turn to rage of deception…"

"Aye, some will react that way milady," Mustafa told her honestly with a grimace. "Though I pray that it will not come to war. My words can move several to avoid taking up arms for Gangrel thanks to your brother's actions. The Son of the Crusading King that Spared the Pacifist, it's something to rally behind…"

"I only hope that it's enough," Frederick said to them with a very serious expression. "If we need additional forces that means we'll need to ask Regna Ferox's nobles for their armies and…" He gave a quick glance to Flavia who quickly waved hesitation off. "I can't stomach the feeling of my lord or ladies begging anyone for assistance, least of all them. Unfortunate that mercenaries are hard to come by outside of Plegia."

"We have the Shepherds," Chrom said with a fiery look in his eyes. "Ragna was helping several of us to improve as we went; right now I'm at a level that I would've thought impossible a month ago and several others feel the same way. Between our members and Robin's tactics I doubt that there's a force on the continent that can match us."

"...Heh," Basilio chuckled at Chrom's words.

"Something you find amusing?" the prince asked the Khan with a glare.

"Nah, nothing like that. Just wanted to say that you remind me a lot of me when I was whelp. Putting faith in the people close to you, the people you work with, damning the odds and taking a weapon to whatever needs a beating… Maybe you've grown from the boy I saw back in the tournament…"

"Thanks for the sentimentality," Chrom said shaking his head before there was a knock on the meeting rooms door. "Now what?"

"Excuse me my lords and ladies," said the soldier that entered. "But there's a person here that claims to be of Plegian nobility. She came from the south on Wyverns and asks to speak with you all…"

"Please, by all means let her in," Flavia said.

The soldier was about to comply, but was immediately shut out as the woman in the hallway passed him by to enter the room. "Thank you, but I'm confident that I can take it from here." The soldier sputtered unintelligibly for a moment before bowing to excuse himself and leaving the room. "Pardon the interruption, but I am Anuket of House Ultaras. I come bringing offering of Plegia's surrender."

"Surrender?" Flavia repeated. "On whose authority?"

The grey haired noble did not respond right away, but instead directed her gaze to ruling Khan and stared at her for a moment. "So the rumors are true; you are magnificent…" she said causing Flavia to raise her eyebrow. "I may be a lady of the courts, but I always appreciate tales of brave warrior women, thrusting themselves in the battlefield and showing up the men who tend to glare down on them all too easily. My late husband and I were particular fans of yours."

"Well I'm glad that you're satisfied, but I'd still like to know who had the authority to overwrite Gangrel's lust for war?" Flavia demanded.

"Khan Flavia... the Mad King is dead, burnt to ashes inside his own castle no less," Anuket told the people at the table who all had the look of shock in their eyes. "And though I can see that Lady Emmeryn is in fact alive I doubt this will matter. We've all learned an important lesson today about clinging to the past, not letting old hatreds die, who we're making suffer and… of the real monsters of war."

"The Risen I'm guessing," Mustafa said darkly. "How bad did the people take it?"

"An entire army of corpse like beings slaughtering a group of Pegasus riders and savagely tearing apart a man who only wanted to protect the true voice of peace? Not well, to say the least. There were already riots in the streets and people demanding justice from that monster. We're not even conducting a thorough investigation of the cloaked undertaker that guided him to his death. I knew it was only a matter of time before he died, but who would have guessed it would happen so quickly?"

"I'm almost relieved that it did…" Chrom admitted. "What are the terms for surrender?"

"Simple, we pull any forces we have from outside nations, cease all attacks and skirmishes, negotiate and pay a fair amount for the damages caused, and that's the end of this short and pointless war… Are those arrangements acceptable?"

"I say yes, and damn what the nobles of Ferox think," Flavia said.

"I say yea, though I don't really have a vote to give…" Basilio told everyone, scratching the back of his head.

Though all eyes were on her, Emmeryn did not answer for several moments, and when she did it wasn't the answer they'd been expecting. "I leave my judgment to Chrom."

"Sister?" Chrom questioned before realizing all eyes were on him. "...I agree to the terms; all that ever mattered to me was stopping Gangrel."

"Excellent," Anuket said, seeming quite pleased with the outcome. "Before we go further I have one last thing to take care of, a personal gift of good faith." She snapped her fingers and two Feroxi guards brought in a hickory chest and set it in the center of the room. "They've already viewed the contents, so there's no risk to anyone."

Unsure of what to expect inside, Chrom approached the chest and slowly opened the top of the lid. As soon as he saw the contents, his breath stopped and the entire room seemed cold as ice. The chest contain bloodstained ragged black clothes, a giant sword, and a torn crimson jacket also covered in blood with claw marks and stabs mark on every inch.

"These are… Ragna's…" he could barely say as the people around him glanced over his shoulders to look at the contents for themselves. "Why do you have them?"

"Those were not easy for me to obtain," the Plegian noble told him. "He'd been stripped of his clothes and sword by guards loyal to Gangrel and they had been gambling with them by the time I was finally able to find them. I didn't repair them since I wasn't sure how you'd want to keep them."

"...What of the body?" Chrom had to ask.

"It's gone; burnt to ash in the same fire that took Gangrel's life," Anuket told him, before turning to the other members in the room. "Let's take a moment to ourselves before drawing up the proper document for our surrender. I still have yet to speak with my granddaughter after all."

Everyone agreed and slowly began to leave the room, though Robin noticed that Chrom had not moved from his place in front of the chest. "Aren't you coming Chrom?"

"I will be Robin… just give me a moment…" the prince said softly as his tactician put a comforting hand on his soldier.

"Ragna wouldn't have wanted you to mourn, he'd say he didn't want that kind of annoyance," she said that last part with a smile of melancholy.

"You're right, he would," Chrom said as he continued to stare into the chest. "I'm not going to mourn though… I just want to say goodbye."

Robin nodded as she took her hand away from Chrom's shoulder. The prince expected her to walk away afterwards, so he was caught off guard when she leaned down and gave him a small kiss on the cheek that only lasted for a few seconds. "Don't be long."

As his tactician walked away, Chrom said nothing before smiling softly. "Maybe the future isn't all bad after all," he said while looking inside the chest. "You were just an unknown man on the ground when we first found you, but it's thanks to you that we've made it this far without losing anyone else… If it wasn't for your words of advice I would've done something I'd live to regret when I was in the Midmire… I won't forget you my friend; you'll always have a place in the Shepherds... with all of us."

Chrom slowly closed the chest, before standing to full height and walking out of the meeting room. While Chrom walked towards his future, across the borders the mysterious Black Knight continued his own walk among the sands before pausing for a moment and turning to the skies in contemplation.

"This feeling I'm getting… Did I just hear someone or am I just imagining things? ...Maybe I should get some sleep after all."

While the two tread their separate paths, they may yet meet in the foreseeable future. The Prince moves forward in a clear direction, to carry out his duties as a Royal Leader and bring his people from wartime to peacetime, and protect the realm in his own path and by his own justice. The Black Knight moves among the sands, alone in his journey. His guide is little more than an unclear goal, a vague method, and an unseeable destination.

And through it all the Wheel of Fate continues to turn…

Arc the Second: Armistice

Author's Note: I don't own either series… Also, NO SPOILERS FOR CENTRAL FICTION IN THE REVIEWS!

Phew! I feel like I had a lot of ground to cover there. Also I know that everyone wanted a different ending to the war after how I ended the last chapter, but this is what I went with. If anyone's still confused who the Black Knight is I'll reveal everything down the line.

Now for the Omake, I had a hard time figuring out who I'd write for. This and other Omakes will take place BEFORE Chapter 22 until I say so.

Dammit Rabbit!

"There we go, this is finally starting to get that perfect smell…" Ragna said as the looked at the bunny meat he was cooking inside the frying pan he'd borrowed from the Shepherds. He was cooking the meat over a small fire he'd prepared away from the encampment so he could enjoy some well-deserved peace and quiet after a day of saving people from the Risen. Taking out a few spices that he'd gathered, he slowly sprinkled them over the meat before altering the pan to cause it slide around and cover it in its own juices.

"Just about done," Ragna said before he took another whiff of his cooking, he smelt the perfect aroma of the meat to be sure, but also the smell of roses. "I don't care what you want to say to me, this is my dinner and I want to enjoy it in peace."

"Like a true barbarian, you never once give a proper word of greeting, only trying to attest to your supposed strength and tell others what's yours," Rachel Alucard answered cooly. "Besides, I don't want any of that deplorable carcass that you call a meal."

"Call it a carcass if you want, this'll be the best food you can find without your butler," Ragna said with an obvious smirk on his face. "What's wrong with eating this anyways, Rabbit? This used to be someone you know?" His snarky commentary was rewarded with a lightning bolt striking him and coursing through his entire body, but he only appeared to shudder with the attack. "Ouch…"

"If you think that was my way of hurting you, I'll inform you that was only a warning bolt, a real attack will be far worse," the Alucard heir told him. "Honestly, you'd do far better if you knew you knew you place in the world."

"Shame I'm not making soup 'cause that's the pot calling the kettle black," Ragna said as he added more spices. "On another note, why the hell are you bothering to talk to me of all people? Are you pitying me, or are you lonely because those damn stuff toys ain't here to annoy you?"

"You're mistaken if you think that they are not here…" Rachel said before raising her hand and having Nago and Gii appear out of thin air with apparent fear on their faces.

"Thank goodness! I never thought I'd get out of there!"
"Princess! Why did you-!?"

Raising her hand again the two disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. "I simply wish to avoid any confusion caused by bringing those two with me everywhere I go."

"Suit yourself, but that still doesn't answer my original question; I can think of at least five people in the Shepherds off the top of my head that you'd get along with better than me, so why aren't you talking to them?"

"Well they don't seem to realize what I am, in fact I'd wager all of them see me as nothing more than a child with an unimaginable amount of magic and would treat me as such. You at least understand what I am a little better, even if your actions don't show it." The Grim Reaper said nothing as he continued to attend to his food. "You aren't saying anything."

"Got nothing to comment," Ragna said before hearing a rustling coming from the bushes. "Who's there?"

"I-It's just me…" said a nervous blonde haired, milk maid said as she emerged from the foliage carrying a basket full of goods. "I-I just wanted to thank you for saving my farm today. If it wasn't for you my home would be destroyed and my family dead with it."

"No problem," Ragna said passively. "It's in the job description." Despite the few words he said to her, the maid's face seemed to light up and a small scowl appeared on Rachel's face.

"I...I wanted to give you this as thanks for saving me," she said handing Ragna the basket. The Reaper took some of the goods in his free hand before passively tossing them to Rachel who caught them without difficulty. "Also I was wondering if you would like to-"

"You should head home child," Rachel interrupted. "I shudder to think what could happen to you being so defenseless… After all, the Risen pale to the REAL masters of the night."

The milk maid was about to protest, but something in Rachel's eyes made her sweat in alarm, causing her to bow and quickly scurry off.

"Well, she was nice," Ragna decided to add before once again smelling his meat and realizing it was done.

"Nice to your standards, maybe," Rachel said, her scowl still present. "The women of this world must be in desperate need of attention if they're starting to become infatuated with you of all people."

"Not sure that infatuated is the right word, but I'd say that just means that they got good taste," the Grim Reaper said as he finally took his pan away from the fire. Feeling cocky with the good mood he was in, he gave a snarky smile to Rachel. "Don't tell me you're jealous."

Ragna had been prepared to take another lightning bolt, but what he got was far worse. This time Rachel's magic stuck the rabbit meat he'd been cooking and charred it completely. Ragna stared horrified at his work before he turned to Rachel who was giving him a cruel smile.

"I'm don't make threats Ragna," Rachel told him as she turned her back on him and headed for her tent carrying with her the rest of the basket the maiden had brought. "I make promises."

"Dammit," the Reaper grunted as he stared as he burnt food. "Now I have to find another animal with some meat on it and start over." He was about to throw the entire thing out, but before he did he picked the meat with his BlazBlue and took a bite out of it. It was burnt to a crisp and the leftover lightning stung slightly, but the spices and the general taste of meat was still there. Ragna shrugged before continuing his meal.

Support Rank C Obtained with Rachel Alucard

Friend's Sister: OMG! 10/10 I SHIP!

Yes… that's what a fan of the two said when I showed this to her… Not that I've got anything against this pairing. Time for review responses.

Greyjedi449t: When those words are spoken you know shit's about to hit the fan.

EternalCobra34: An apt summary, and I'm glad I managed to make someone "feel" last chapter.

MechaDragon69: What? Every series has a cliffhanger.

Shirosaki Kizuro: Updated.

Guest (1): Not many people realize he's alive, but the time may yet come.

Longtime: Thank you very much.

Thunder Edge: It wasn't so much of a plan on Ragna's part as it was they couldn't kill the guy. Also, PLEASE stop sending me requests for that story of yours. I'm not in a place to write it and while I like both series I can't see myself writing a crossover between the two.

DualGear: I guess it was a plot twist to some degree.

Guest (2): ...Not exactly.

Kalakauai: There was a lot revealed this chapter, but a lot more questions in the place of those answered.

Guest42: I know Gangrel meant well, but he doesn't seem like the type of person Ragna would let walk after everything he did, his sadism is just too similar to Terumi's.

Adv: The cliffhanger is resolved at least.

Marconator360: It's not Dark Ragna… but I think you might enjoy it.

Warrior of six blades: As always thank you for your review, I hope to hear more from you in the future.

VirusChris: The 'her Ragna' part was simply a typo, so you'll have much better idea now. I also hoped you enjoyed my SAO update. (Shamelessly plugging another story)

PersonaQeminod1: Freak out? Chrom? ...Wouldn't surprise me.

Mugen7: When I was writing that chapter I tried to play around with a few of the themes. For the end scene I tried to avoid that song because it seemed too obvious, I tried something else that was dark, something else that was created… In the end there was no question, it was the perfect song!

Cloud Narukami: No, I think there will still be a fair deal different, but I'm sorry if you're disappointed with the trun out.

Glint Armor: Neither, the Black Knight's theme.

Shadow of a Memory: Yes and yes.

Well this marks the end of what's been the longest Arc for my longest story. Let me ask you all something? In whatever lives you live now, do I help you? Can I give you all some form of entertainment or enjoyment? Can I at least help you through the day with my writing? If the answer is yes then… well that makes me feel very, VERY happy.

Until next time everyone.

Ciao.