A Dragon's Boon [T] [X-Over]

This is a crossover of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Breath of Fire III, following the Radiant Dawn story "The Silver-Haired Maiden" chapters. It's rated T for violence, blood, and swearing. There's also romance in here. Comments, constructive critiques and the like are all welcome. Flames shall be abolished. Enjoy!


In the land of Daein there was a dead space, occupied by, decrepit buildings that once stood years ago. Ever since the Mad King's War three years prior, Daein's lands have not been peaceful since; the once proud buildings were beyond recognition and repair. The Crimean army had stormed this place those years ago, defeating the Daeins, and then walked all over them, leaving the country into the hands of Begnion. The people that lived in the nation were without help, and the buildings that were once inhabited by those people, were starved for repair. However, its inanimate thirst was never quenched.

The ruins of the battlefield lay in waste.

In these same, ruined areas, the moon was lit full, shining upon the wreckage with its alluring, white light. Stars packed around the moon as if they were ants marching around a picnic basket full of food. They, too, also illuminated the dark night, painting across canvas of the sky. There were still a few trees and some molded grassland amidst the rubble of destruction, however, it was hard to notice and very little remained. Storms of footsteps marched the area, torches lighting the way as soldiers in burnt orange armor hurried around the place as if they owned it. It appears they were searching for something, or someone.

“Find anything?” One soldier asked his cohort, who shook his head in light disappointment.

“Not yet, sir, no.” the other replied.

“Someone's gotta be here. Keep looking!”

“Yes sir!”

The two soldiers begin to turn away, their torches close, their weapons closer, and their eyes peeled open. Nearby, someone was hiding behind a broken wall, which was fortunately tall enough to hide them completely from view of the lighted torches. The person peered through a small crack in the wall, the dull, golden color of their eyes barely visible. They were trying to keep quiet as much as possible. However, one turns around, and the person moves from the crack quickly, causing a faint gasp to escape their lips. Uh-oh!

“We're wasting our time. There's no one here.” the second soldier half groaned in complaint.

“No. I know I heard something...” The first red-clad soldier examined, his eyes roving over the area he could see physically, almost approaching the wall the hidden person was hiding behind.

The quiet person from before was actually a female with fair skin, brilliantly colored silver hair, gold eyes, and looked like a young girl in her teens. She wore a maroon colored tunic with an intricate design on the bottom of the tunic skirt's short, front flap; the rest of her tunic's length extended behind her body. Her shoulders were bare, exposed to the airy draft the night could offer. Her legs were covered with long, black skin tight pants for women, her arms, sans her shoulders, were covered in long, black half gloves that ended to her skinny, feminine fingers. Around the beginning of the arm-length gloves, were French cuffs, folded and tied together with a thin, red string on both sides; however on her right hand, were two, thin gold circlets around her wrist, and upon the left, were more of those strings. Around her waist was a thin, brown belt with a golden buckle, meant to keep the tunic tightly snuggled to her petite, feminine frame. The belt had a few pouches connected to it which contained precious, traveling items.

Around her legs were more of the thin, red strings, tied neatly in tiny bows, and wrapped around her golden boots that she wore. Lastly, around her neck draped a navy blue scarf, long enough to reach past her rear, and a matching blue ribbon tied into her silvery locks, visible from behind only. She was carrying a light yellow book with her, and a small, orange canary-like bird was with her. It seemed quite terrified at first, chirping very quietly.

“Hush, Yune. Don't cry, please. If they hear you, you'll give us both away...” the girl soothes the small avian with her kind, reassuring voice as much as possible, cupping the bird comfortably tight in her hands and close to her chest.

Unfortunately, the silver-haired girl's words did not lend much reassurance to the tweeting bird; in its fear, it flew off, causing the girl to gasp. This stirred the soldiers, their awareness sharply increased. “Who's there!?” the first soldier calls out, and then notices the orange canary flying out in panic. When it was gone, the soldier peered into the crack, the girl freezing on the spot and away from it to avoid detection.

“Is it the Dawn Brigade?” the second asked.

“No. It was just a bird...” his cohort replied. The two exchanges glances silently, the responding soldier waving the other to go around the other end of the wall. They knew someone was hiding behind the wall and were going to plan a surprise attack to catch the culprit off guard.

Feeling that nobody was around, or they simply ignored her presence, the girl sighs in relief. However, the brief moment by her lonesome was soon cut off abruptly by someone snatching her from behind! A soldier rudely grabs her by her arm, the girl cried out in utter surprise by the man's force, bringing both of her arms back and bound with his tight grip after twisting them tight. In the confusion, the silver-haired young woman drops her tome. “”Ha-ha-ha! You thought we didn't see you, huh?”” The soldier laughs deviously. The girl attempts to struggle faintly, proving useless as the man keeps her bound. If that wasn't good enough, more red-clad soldiers enter the small area, about four more, holding torches towards the girl to get a better look at her features.

Another grabs her chin, causing her to wince and flinch back lightly. “Look at that... Silver hair...” The one grasping the girl’s body states, running his hand through her long, thin hair.

“If she's the fortune-teller everyone's been talking about, we'll be the talk of the town. Us, heroes! Heh, without her, the Dawn Brigade is nothing!” The commanding soldier that had previously spoken stated, grinning proudly. The girl attempts to struggle again, and as before, it proved pointless. “Oh, the general's going to love this. Bind her!”

“Sir!” the other soldiers under command state, beginning to use rope to truss up the girl's wrists.

“Listen up, lass. If you don't want to get hurt, don't struggle.” The commanding officer tells her. It wasn't long until the group hears a familiar chirping of a bird; all of them look up, the girl included, as the bird flies high into the dark night. An immediate sound of clank! of steel meeting weaponry rang out as a soldier gutted out a groan before collapsing instantly. In the confusion of the soldiers' gasping, the girl escapes under it, grabbing her tome she dropped not long ago.

“She's not alone!” The commanding soldier of the group shouts aloud.

Many of the soldiers were falling, one by one, as a young teenager, just in his building man years, appeared from literally nowhere to them—which in fact he hadn’t—knocking down the soldiers that had assailed the young girl earlier, with his powerful kicks and stabs with his stiletto-like knife. One soldier attempted to stab him with his lance, but failed as the youth dodged with a skilled back-flip. Many after him also tried thrusting their lances and swords, only to be countered with a swift stabbing to their necks by his dagger. This young male had short, green hair, almost the color of the forest, having solid, gold, soul-piercing eyes, and stood around six feet in height. His skin complexion was paler than the girl's, but he was muscular built for a teen his age, his arms, exposed abdomen, and legs expressed this.

He wore a half shirt the color of an olive green, sleeveless, and stopped just above his stomach line. Running down the center of the top were criss-cross laces of brown that kept it together. It also appeared that protective padding for added protection was threaded into the clothing. His pants were slightly baggy, though still hung close to his young, masculine, teenaged body. They were a beige color, and around his waist was a black colored belt, having two pouches attached to it, a dagger's sheath and a protective pad of armor belted around his left leg's front thigh. The dagger's sheath was red colored, contrasting the youth's attire. His brown colored boots were belt buckled three times on either boot, having gold colored buckles, keeping the rest of his legs secure and safe. Lastly, he wore ragged, padded black, chainmail gloves on both arms, which only reached towards his elbows at most. He also had a tattered beige-olive colored scarf around his neck, making him look like either a ruffian or a thief. It was, more or less, probably the latter.

Once the surrounding soldiers were dispatched of, the two teens stood back to back while a standing soldier blows on a long horn to alert the others patrolling the area of the ongoing disaster unfolding. Others were flooding in like water, armed and ready to attack.

“Micaiah...” the green haired teen spoke softly, calling to the girl's name.

“Sothe...” Micaiah, as she was called, named the green-haired teen's own.

“We got you now!” the commanding soldier bellowed as they neared the pair.

Regardless of the situation, Micaiah opens the tome she was carrying, and begins to chant whispers of magical essence. Sothe covered his eyes with his scarf as his partner raised her hand, releasing a volley of words that deemed ancient, “Ekarif magae teiodasto ieraka!” Once chanting this, a light emitted from her hand, blinding the soldiers with its magnificent brilliance.

“Augh!”

“My eyes!”

“I can't see!”

The soldiers bellow, dropping their weapons simultaneously as they cringed. As the light was beginning to fade and clear out, Sothe opened his own eyes, checking around quickly before nodding to his companion. “Good job, Micaiah. Let's go.” He insisted hurriedly, now taking off with her behind him.
“Right. Yune!” Micaiah calls to the orange canary, which tweets almost innocently, flying after them. The two friends quickly dash into the night, disappearing into the thickets of the woods, leaving those soldiers―those Begnion soldiers―behind them.

However, in the fair distance, a pair of blue eyes, underneath a helmet, had been closely watching this act of escape…



In the capital of Daein, Nevassa, the morning sky is filled with gray clouds around the early sun, blocking out its light. The town was dingy looking, almost dead in appearance. It looked beyond poverty and without inhabitants. The streets were paved with damaged, wrecked roadways; houses were standing compared to the area from a few days ago. A few citizens that lived in the capital were outside, talking to other commoners around, trying to maintain what shred of peace they could grab. A few cows and horses were out, being tended to by working men, and women were sweeping porches. Today felt like many other; it seemed to have carried itself slowly.

Every passing minute feeling like someone put the clock in slow motion. In one particular area of Nevassa, a pair of teens was on a staircase, sitting down, waiting patiently for something. Instead of how normal kids dressed, these two were particularly dressed for battle; one was a boy with short, untamed, blond-brown locks seemingly swept in place and frozen there. He was wearing a red, sleeveless tunic, strapped tight with a light brown leather belt around his thin, youthful frame. Underneath, he wore a light, faded yellow shirt with short sleeves, his arms and elbows exposed, and matching half-arm length gloves—his right glove having brown, leather straps crossing over one another to keep an extra padding against his hand, which was common amongst novice swordsmanship. His pants were a beige color that fit his legs, and lastly, boots that were brown, coated with a light yellow covering and orange flaps folded over the top edges of the boots. His eyes were large, but expected for a boy his age, and lacked physical build. An iron sword was equipped around his waist, feeling loose in case he needed it quickly, and lacked a shield to protect it.

Next to him was Micaiah, the girl from days before that had escaped with Sothe.

“I wonder where he is...” the brunet began, tapping his foot almost impatiently, frowning even. “Something must have happened to him.”

Micaiah denied this, simply shaking her head and said, “Don't worry, he'll be here.” She quietly petted the orange canary on her shoulder, Yune, atop her head. Her companion pouted lightly, sighing under his breath. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, and beamed instantly while turning to the silver-haired girl. “Hey, I have an idea.” He started, “Micaiah, why don't you use your far-sight to see when Leonardo will arrive?” The girl stopped petting Yune, frowning at the idea her friend just offered, ridiculously.

“Oh Edward, you know that's not how it works. I foresee some things, but I don't get to choose what I see.”

“I know, I know! I was just teasing!” the brunet, now called Edward, said with a light snicker. “But still, Leonardo's never late. Something must have―”

“H-Help!” An urgent voice called out abruptly. “Someone, please help us!” Micaiah and Edward exchanged worried looks, then stood immediately from their current spots, ushering themselves down the steps to find the owner of the shout. Running into view was a woman, around her mid-thirties, holding a boy's hand tightly in her large ones. From the looks of it, the woman was burly, big-boned, and dressed commonly in a simple dress, shoes, and a scarf over her brown hair. Her large nose gave way that she appeared to be a nanny of sorts as well. The boy with her was very young, about six or seven years old, with messy, dark chocolate brown locks, matching eyes, fair skin, and wore a large, teal green shirt, brown shorts and sandals upon his feet. He looked worried, just as much as the woman holding his hand. Micaiah and Edward quickly rushed towards them, concerned for their safety.

“What happened? What's the yelling for?” the brunet wondered.

“Bandits! Bandits are attacking the town!” the woman exclaimed, out of breath, but managed to get her message out anyhow. “R-run! You kids better run away! Who knows what those brutes will do if they catch you!” The lady's words were rushed; the two appeared to have run a distance to escape the tyranny of the pillaging bandits.

“Where is the Imperial Occupation Army this time? How can they keep the peace when they're nowhere to be found?” Micaiah also wondered, frowning even lower than when Edward cracked his joke earlier. Upon hearing this, the Daein woman recovered much of her lost breath, shooting a hateful glance at Micaiah, though only at her words about the “army” coming to their aid.

“Hmph, who? The Begnion Soldiers!? Hah! They don't care a lick about us! We lost the war, and they won. We're nothing to them!” She scorned in distaste. “They're only interested in chasing down the Dawn Brigade. They let the real scoundrels run wild and brutalize us.”

Sensing the woman's emotions, and by the look of her face, the two friends couldn't possibly turn this down. Besides, what she said was the truth; Begnion didn't care about the Daein citizens' well-being. They ignored plight after plight, letting robberies and crimes run rampant while they sit on their rears and do absolutely nothing about it. Micaiah sighed half irritably. “They're worse than useless!” She exclaimed, and then looked the woman in the eyes proudly. “We'll be glad to help you. Just find someplace to hide and leave those bandits to us.”

“Oh, but you're...” the lady began objecting; however Edward pitched in next, grinning from ear to ear.

“Don't worry about us. We happen to be members of the same Dawn Brigade those Begnion troops are so interested in!”

“What?! Really!? You guys are in the Dawn Brigade?” the boy with them exclaimed, his eyes sparkling, almost. He stared at Micaiah and Edward, beaming with absolute joy. “Wow! My friends and I talk about you all the time!” Micaiah simply smiled gently at the comment, while Edward was feeling proud of himself. Apparently, if kids were gossiping about them, then they were quite popular around Nevassa. While gaining popularity with Daein's city folk weren't top priority, it was still reassuring to hear that the citizens knew about them and their true nature.

“You? But you're just children!” the woman said aloud in shock. “Oh, how Daein has fallen... Children forced to fight and steal for the good of the poor.” She sighed, relenting to the situation. These kids looked prepared and more skilled than she could ever hope to be. Perhaps it was best to let the fight belong to them. It was savagely, but it couldn't be helped. This was extreme measures. “But... we can't those rogues, so we'll take you up on that offer. Please, be careful. They'll slice clean through you if they can.”

“We will be. Thank you.” Micaiah assured her.

“Now hurry and go hide and leave this to us!” Edward added.

The woman and boy nod, hurrying off, going up the previous stairway the two Dawn Brigade members had once sat upon. Once they were out of sight, a few bandits, packed with bags across their backs, were storming the area. Edward and Micaiah quickly took shelter behind a convenient, loaded crate filled with boxes, hiding until their opportunity came along. The bandits were ugly looking, having dark hair that appeared braided, a dirtied, grey headband, gorilla-looking bodies, long arms and hands gripping axes made of iron. Their breath stank and their bods emitted a horrid stench that Edward complained he could smell if he were a mile away. They had baggy, brown pants on, damaged sandals, and barely any scrap of armor on their masculine bodies to protect them from harm should they encounter a scuffle.

The leader of their merry band was a man as tall as six feet, being a little overweight but it was hardly noticeable. He had wild, short, creamy blond hair, a scrunched in look that seemed as if he were punched in the face twice and it stuck. His eyes were narrow, the pupils colored in blue. He wore a man-sized battle tunic, the color of brown, with shoulder plates of iron armor kept upon said shoulders, strapped around his chest and back, as well as his back. His beefed up arms were dressed in long gloves, padded with a brown, leather covering meant to protect his arms. His pants were also baggy like his cohorts, though they were steel grey colored than brown. He, too, shared sandals like them as well as an iron axe. With a gruff, smug grin, he looked over the area greedily. “Listen up, you louts!” the man shouted to the others, “This town's nothin' but idiot kids and drooling graybeards. Steal everything you can!”

“Heh-heh, yeah!” one grunted ignorantly.

“You said it, Pugo, boss!” another laughed.

“This'll be a cinch.” the last bandit chanted hoggishly.

Micaiah and Edward stayed low in their position, listening as the bandits scuffled about unwelcomed, taking things that didn't belong to them. This fueled their anger, and the two decided to emerge from their hiding and attack. “Yune, it's dangerous here. Go find someplace safe for now.” The silver-haired magic user instructed. The bird chirped, taking off in a random direction.

“Micaiah, remember. You let me take care of the close quarters and you just attack from afar.” The brunet swordsman lectured lightly, which his silver-haired companion simply nodded.

“I remember, Edward. Let's go!” After their small dialogue, the teens encounter the first brigand, who had been stuffing his face with fresh produce that were in the nearest crate. He had opened it with his axe, greedily eating everything his mouth could fit.

“Hey! That's being selfish, you know!” The myrmidon tsked, frowning. “If you eat like that, you'll get fat!” The bandit being insulted growled angrily, dropping whatever he was going to eat, grabbed his axe and rushed the two teens. The ruffian leered at Edward, but gaped when he laid his lustful eyes on Micaiah. Now that was something worth stealing!

“Heh-heh-heh! A pretty girl like you'll fetch a pretty penny for me! Now be a good girl and come to papa.” the ugly glutton snickered, making Edward sick to the stomach and Micaiah wanting nothing to do with his comments. She closed her eyes, beginning to chant something in an ancient tongue, similar to how she handled the Begnion soldiers a few days ago. The bandit, having no idea what she was mumbling, gave her an odd glance that read confusion easily. “What did you say? That better not have been an insult, you...!” Soon, light emanated from the girl's fingertips, shining brightly as she had opened her Light Tome, summoning a flash of light that both struck and blinded the brute.

“Huh? AUGH!” he cringed, covering his eyes.

“Edward, now!”

“Right on it!” The myrmidon called out, lunging forward, unleashing his iron sword beside him as he ran forward towards the glutton. It took three slashes at the bandit to fell him, and he landed with a loud thud sound that would for sure alert his cohorts. Oh well. “No matter the manner of man, the goddess judges with an even hand...” Micaiah silently said as the ruffian fell to his death, sighing. Edward twirled his sword in his hand almost expertly, laughing lightly.

“I bet if Sothe heard him speak to you like that, he would have murdered him twenty times.”

“Oh, Edward!”

“Hey, I'm just telling the truth.”

The girl sighed, brushing strands of her hair back. Trying to hold a conversation with the sword fighter was pointless now. “We shouldn't dawdle and chat our lives away. There's still a few more bandits lingering around, and I'm sure they noticed the grunt from before. So, be on your guard.” Edward chuckled again, though decided to drop the subject, rekindling his focus on ridding of the invading brigands. If it weren't for them, he would have teased Micaiah all day until they got home.

“You have a point. Hm, here comes another, Micaiah, right on schedule!” The second and third bandits emerged from around the stack of crates, growling as they spotted their fallen ally and then the two kids who were possibly reliable for his death.

“You kids gone and dun it now!” One spat.

“C'mere and git yours!”

“Hah! Just try it!” Edward taunted, cheerfully rushing into the fray to meet them head on while Micaiah stayed back a bit. Casting magic from a distance was her job while the myrmidon fought closely. It was a great strategy, but it could only go so far. The brunet youth met the burly men armed with axes, taking chances and turns against them with the swiftness of his blade. He was still inexperienced, but he didn't miss a beat with his footwork. With shouts of “haaah!” and “yaaah!” going about, as well as clinks!, clanks! and changs! noises sparked as clashes of steel met head on, the fight was growing intense!

The last clash with bandit number three caused Edward to stumble backwards off balance, and the second bandit was coming for him! “Take this, brat!” He lunged, swinging his axe in downward motion to either amputate Edward’s arm or decapitate him. Either way, fresh victories from a boy’s murderous cries were delightfully delicious to hear amongst cutthroat brutes such as them. Micaiah summoned another light spell to block the third, but watched in horror as the third was about to strike Edward!

“Oh-no! Ed―!” That's all Micaiah could utter. Sailing past her was a sharp, pointed object, which pierced into the third bandit's eye, stunning him into shock and pain.

“Guuhhaaawwwh! MY EYE! MY EYE!” the burly man groaned. Edward and Micaiah stared wondrously at him, but soon caught onto the object that struck him; an arrow! Only one person they knew could have done this!

“Micaiah! Edward! Are you two all right?” shouted another, young boy's voice. The sword and magic users turned simultaneously to notice a blond haired teen was approaching them. This kid was around Edward's height and age, wearing a fancy-looking steel blue tunic with sleeves that covered his arms, stopping around his thighs, and a natural slit running down the center. Strapped to his chest and back were darker blue padding for protection; underneath his tunic was an equally colored shirt that covered majority of his neck that was visible. Across the shoulder blades of his tunic were two, blue belts tied around to keep his quiver of arrows tightly secured in place. Around his waist were two more buckle belts, nearly the color of his hair. He had another strap, the color of red, tied around, locking a small pouch meant for keeping small items like vulneraries on him. The pants he wore were a light cream color, hugging his legs much like Edward's and not as much as Micaiah's. His attire was complete with his navy blue boots, styled with intricate designs, his blue eyes matching these, and his iron-padded gloves that gave his hands and fingers protection when handling his trusty bow, also made of iron.

“Leonardo!” both chimed together, smiling.

“How did you find us?” Micaiah asked rather quickly.

“A little bird told me,” The blond haired archer replied, also smiling. “Yours, in fact.” At this, Yune chirped, flying around before flying away. It was as if she went to find Leonardo and warn him of danger. She was such a talented bird, it made the silver-haired girl feel proud to have been her friend. When she was gone, Leonardo turned to his friends, now frowning slightly. “What were you two thinking, taking on these bandits by yourselves? That's beyond reckless.” He added, lecturing almost.

“I'm sorry, Leonardo,” Micaiah apologized, “But we couldn't just leave the helpless villagers to these monsters. Please, help us fight them.”

“Oh, I see now. Of course I'll fight with you. That's what friends are for.” The archer responds, taking his bow gladly.

“Great! Now with the three of us, we'll be unstoppable!” Edward projected aloud, causing his two companions to sigh lightly. But, he had a point, regardless of how ridiculous or outlandish it sounded. Once they stopped chatting, the third bandit had fallen dead, having lost too much blood, and his cohort was unable to help him. Good riddance.

“Hey you brats! You'll pay for that!” He bellowed, beginning to charge wildly. The trio of the Dawn Brigade quickly ran off to the side, evading his rampant attack.

“Hm? What the―!” the brute wondered, turning around to find the three ganging up on him to attack! Micaiah read through her tome again, summoning another round of light to attack and blind him. The nuisance hollered in pain, allowing Leonardo and Edward to finish him. The blond archer drew an arrow from his quiver, took precise aim, and let it sail through the air, hitting the dirty man in his knee. A groan later and Edward slashed him in an X-shape across his chest, the monster falling flat to his face as he bled to death. “Whew, that's just three of them. Two more to go, and then we’ll win!” The myrmidon panted, feeling excited.

“Watch yourself, Edward. Don't get too cocky or it'll hurt you one day.” Leonardo warned.

“Ah, don't worry, Leo. I'm just fine! Besides, we should be celebrating. We have the bandits' boss and that last one to handle, apparently. And boy, he's surely ugly.” The brunet pointed his friend towards Pugo, who was busily grabbing things and shoving them into his make-shift sack. The last bandit had been stashing things into his own sack, humming some random tune to himself. Leonardo made a simple “ew” face, cringing at the sight; that guy was a horrible mess! No wonder Micaiah called them monsters. They probably hadn't bathed in months. How disgusting. “Ugh.” The blond muttered.

“That's what I said...”

“Come on you two. We have to stop them before he tries to get away or find us.” Micaiah urged, now hurrying towards Pugo, but keeping herself hidden for another surprise attack. The two boys followed suit, hiding around another set of crates adjacent to her as she hid behind a barrel wagon. Watching them, from above on balcony at a distance, was a soldier of Begnion. He was wearing simple red armor; a breastplate, helmet, arm pads, shoulder pads, leg pads and footwear as protection. He was unlike most of the Begnion dogs, however. His body had more of a young, but older masculine build, medium-toned, and it was evident by his arms only. Underneath the helmet that was visible was his fair skin, a few strands of hair that were unnaturally blue in color, and soulless, blue eyes staring down. At his side, was a sword sheathed in place. Instead of shouting to the group that claimed to be the Dawn Brigade, he simply watched the teens finishing off the bandits, curiously, cautiously, and just because he was interested in how the outcome would turn out.

“You idiots better be gettin' stuff! 'Cause when I get done, ya'll better be done, too!” the loud mouth idiot ratted.

“Okay, so how we’ll we go about this? Attacking them both at the same time is a bad idea.” Leonardo began quietly.

“I’m not too sure…”

“Hmm, you know. I can probably distract that Pugo guy while you two take down that last bandit.” Edward suggested. His two friends glanced at him oddly, wondering where this “brilliant” idea came from.

“Edward, that’s a stupid and suicidal idea. We should all team up and take them down one by one.” The archer protested, half glaring at his companion’s rather cheerful demeanor at such a time like this. “You could get killed!”

“Yeah, but I have a sword, and he’s using an axe… From this standpoint, I have an advantage, don’t I? Besides, I’m faster. He won’t even touch me!”

“Oh Edward…” Micaiah sighed, also in disagreement.

“Come on! I’ll be distracting him, not fighting him until you two are finished with the other one.”

It took a moment for the other two to ponder on the idea. They didn’t like it; separating just to fight these bandits. Of course, Edward had pointed out two facts, one being he had a weapon advantage on the leader. This silence carried on until someone nearby said, “This should be enough.” The teens perk up, slowly peeking from their hiding spot to find the last bandit in the group to be closing up his sack! Uh-oh! While they were chattering away, the burly man had been stuffing himself with loot. “Come on, you two!” Edward half begged. “This is serious! If he gets away, then—!”

“We won’t let him.” Leonardo interrupted, turning to the silver-haired girl. “Right, Micaiah?”

“That’s right. Edward… Please promise you will only distract the leader for us to finish the last of the bandit’s group.”

The brunet’s face changed from a frown to an excited, though silent, cheer. “I will!”

“…Good. Then, on the count of three… One… Two… Three! Go!” Micaiah shouted.

The three jetted out of their hiding places, the light mage and archer teaming up against the bandit, surprising him, while Edward headed for the leader, Pugo. Overhearing something, the dirty blond blinked, his unused sixth sense sparking to life and alerting him of danger. He followed that intuition and spun around; behold were three kids ready to assault him! Well only one of them was heading his way! Edward swung his blade vertically, but due to his shy callowness of the sword, the axe man dodged it.

“Who the hell are you?!” Pugo roared furiously.

“Someone who’s taking you out of the game!” Edward taunted, smirking. He knew he would pay for that someday, but it was only used to stall for time while his friends charged for the other bandit. His comment, more or less, infuriated the brigand further.

“Grrr! We’ll see about that, boy!” the bandit boss fumed, swinging his axe in his hand, lunging for the myrmidon. Edward posed himself watching the axeman’s foot work with his eyes, but also paying attention to the swinging of his arm. If anything, it was wild, untamed, but powerful—Edward swiftly dodged the three attacks aimed for him, grinning when Pugo missed him, applying more taunts.

Meanwhile, Micaiah summoned a light spell to strike the bandit she and Leonardo went after, managing to hit and blind him temporarily while the archer fired an arrow to the man’s arm. “Gah! You punks are gonna get it when I—!!” The bandit raged, but with another round of light magic and an arrow striking the left center of his chest, he couldn’t finish his insult.

“He wasn’t as tough as he looked.” Leonardo admitted. “But he was annoying, I will say.”

“I agree…” his friend nodded, then turned around, noticing Edward had been doing his task; distracting the bandit leader. However, from the looks of things, he didn’t look like he would last longer. Edward was clearly tiring out! “Leonardo! We have to help Edward! Come on!” Micaiah urged, hurrying as fast as her legs would carry her. The lighter blond didn’t object, taking off after Micaiah quickly. When they were within range, the light mage fired off another spell of light magic at Pugo, and Leonardo let an arrow escape his precise-like aim from his fingertips, sailing through the air. However, Pugo, from the corner of his eye, saw the attacks coming. He held up his axe to deflect its rays of brightness, and ducked as the arrow flew by. This bought time for Edward to roll from underneath the man, gripping the pommel of his sword as he stood with his friends.

“Grrr! You brats! Who do you think you are, the Dawn Brigade?!” He shouted irritably.

“Correction: we are the Dawn Brigade!” Edward told truthfully. He, Leonardo and Micaiah were cornering him, all on three sides of him, trapping him between a dead end and the only way out. Pugo growled, glaring at each of them, especially at the silver-haired girl. “I will ask you once; stop stealing from the town and leave!” She demanded, which caused the bandit leader to chuckle deviously.

“You give us proper thieves a bad name. Hah! You like charity? Come closer! I'll show you some charity!” Pugo laughed, swinging his iron axe wildly, which made the three back up to avoid being hit.
Micaiah narrowed her golden eyes firmly on her opponent, frowning.

“These people work hard to feed their families mere scraps. Then you come along and steal what little they've earned. That's not charity! That isn't right!”

“Shut up, kid!” Pugo hollered. “I work hard, too! You want honest? Once I've sold you, I'll have earned an honest penny!”

“Pfft, as if!” Edward mocked.

“What was that, punk!?”

“It is three against one. Unfair odds, don't you think?” Leonardo added. “I suggest listening to her. Leave now or face the consequences.”

“Hmrph! Not ever! I'll kill you two boys, take what I came for, and steal the girl. I'll sell her to the highest bidder and earn me a good lifestyle where I don't need to steal from pathetic people!” Pugo spat, and then charged for the archer. “You're first!”

“Hey!” Edward called out, intervening with a slash to Pugo's back. The man grunted, stumbling forward as his straps were sliced clean, as well as his tunic, having a nice, diagonal tear through it with fresh blood trickling down. “Grr! You're gonna pay for that!” the burly brute growled, now rushing to meet the myrmidon head on, stupidly, of course. He struck at Edward, who evaded, just barely, and countered with his own attack. Pugo saw it coming, blocking the slash with his heavy axe, pushing the boy away as if he were nothing but a stick in his way. “Humph! You got nothing on me, boy!”

“Ugh!” Edward grumbled, skidding back on his feet slightly. His two friends rush to his side, leering at the bandit leader. He didn't look like he was going down without a fight.

“We better end this quickly, or we will draw unnecessary attention from Begnion troops.” Leonardo observed, being unaware of the soldier that had been watching them intently. “We certainly don't need them to find us here.”

“Yeah, that's true, but how do we go about and beat this lug? He can tell when we're going to strike!” The brown haired sword fighter mumbled, panting. “Even when I was against him by myself, I namely dodged and taunted him. That guy is seriously heavy! Trying to counter him is staggeringly hard enough as is. I literally felt my bones scream when he blocked my attack with his axe. Man!”

“I have an idea, but we may have one shot at this,” Micaiah admitted lightly, having cooked up something in her mind.

“Well, better think quickly because here he comes!” Edward yelped. The three didn't have much time to react; Micaiah and Leonardo were able to jump away from the vertical attack Pugo aimed at all of them; however, Edward stayed, using the strength of his body to hold his iron sword in front of him to block the attack. It was hard; the guy was just bigger than him and had a lot of power packed on. His muscles adding more pressure didn't help the brunet, either. He struggled to keep the axeman at bay, clashing against him until his two friends were ready.

“Listen, Leonardo. Remember our first attack? I want you to shoot him, but don't really aim at him. Make him think you'll shoot at him, but in reality, you miss. This will draw his attention to you.” Micaiah says hurriedly, noticing the panting and near exhausted Edward defending and dodging as much as he could. “Then, I will use my light magic to stun him, giving Edward the opportunity.”

“Ah, I see it now! It was very similar how we took out that last one, right?”

“Yes, exactly, just lightly modified. Hurry, Edward looks worn down even more than before.”

“Got it!” Leonardo, from his position by the crates, drew another arrow, falsely aiming at the brigand as told. “Hey! Leave him alone, will you?” The archer called out, getting the man's utmost attention. The blond let the arrow fly, and upon instinct, Pugo ducked away to dodge the purposely missed arrow.

“Heh! You missed, idiot! Can't you aim correctly?” Pugo taunted. Leonardo simply stared at him as the man continued gloating. Meanwhile, Micaiah was well prepared with her magic, twirled once and allowed the light escape her fingers and striking the bandit leader head on!

“Ack! Gaahh! It's bright! Rrrrrgh!” Pugo bellowed, covering his eyes.

“Edward! Now! Get him while he's distracted. It won't last long!” the silver-haired girl shouted.

Exhausted, the brunet swordsman gritted his teeth, his sword's pommel, he gripped tighter, running up to Pugo with a battle cry, charging with a horizontal slash to his unprotected groin, and then drilling his sword into the nuisance's neck. Pugo gutted blood from his mouth, the liquid spilling about around him, making a large puddle. “Agghh! Wh...What just... happened!?” He choked, screaming painfully. His body couldn't hold on any longer, and soon, he fell to the ground, dead.

Edward panted again, stepping away before the bottoms of his shoes were soaked in the crimson fluid that continued to pour out slowly from the former bandit's body. “Whew. That was intense. And that was just a bandit.” The brunet sighed. His two friends approached him, carefully as to not step in the blood, and smiled. “Hey, Micaiah. We won, it's like you said; they weren't a match for us!” Edward said with an adorable wink. The girl he was addressing nodded, feeling proud of her friends helping the villagers and ending the bandits' attack against them.

“Yune, come here.” She called, the orange canary instantly returning to her side, sitting on her left shoulder.


Silently, the soldier from before continued watching, smiling very lightly. The Dawn Brigade were just mere children who had amazing skill. If not too careful, they could be even stronger than some of the finest Begnion soldiers. Perhaps that was one reason why the Imperial Occupation Army was so interested in getting their hands on them. They wanted this band of Robin Hoods silenced so they could keep the uproars at a minimum. Well, they weren't doing a very good job. Each day, the Dawn Brigade grows stronger, the longer they live. They'll never even get a chance to stop them. This young man was hoping for that outcome. However, coming to interrupt his time of peace were three more soldiers that were possibly assigned to patrol the area.

“Hey you. What are you doing here all by yourself? The commander was looking for you.” One said. The young man remained silent as ever, simply eying the other with a frown now carved on. “Er...” The soldier stuttered at the ominous stare given at him before beginning again. “Wh-what are you looking at?” The two look down at where the seemingly blue-eyed knight was glancing at, noticing a suspicious group of villagers were huddled together in one area. One boy had a bow, the other had a sword, a girl with strange colored hair had a light yellow book in her hands, a young boy and older woman with them that didn't carry anything. However, what really caught their attention was the boy’s blade; it was stained with blood! This was suspicious indeed.

“Hm! They could be apart of the Dawn Brigade!” The first knight stated, inspecting as well. “Were they the ones who fought off bandits?”

A simple nod from the silent soldier was all that was needed to set the other two off. “Hey man! Why didn't you stop them? You know they're against Begnion! Why!?” The second one questions in demand, growling.

“...There were bandits attacking,” the blue-eyed young man began, his voice soft but cold as ice. “So they stepped in an area you fools weren't good at; protecting the villagers and killing off the bandits.”

“You idiot!” The second soldier fumes. “Nobody cares about damn bandits robbing the place!” This made the soldier with blue hair scowl lightly, but kept his peace, for now, as the second soldier continued wallowing by voice. “Ah man, the commanding officer is going to nag on our asses if we don't do something about them soon...”


Meanwhile...


“You did it!” a voice called over to the group, who turn and see it was the woman and boy from earlier. “Thank you so much! We owe you our lives!”

“It was no trouble ma'am―” Micaiah began, but...

“You there! What are you doing!?” Another's voice shouting at them cut her off abruptly. The startled group look up, wondering, then eventually find the source of the yelling; a Begnion soldier! “Stop immediately!”

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up... Begnion soldiers. They certainly took their time, didn't they?” Edward said half sarcastically, sheathing his sword and frowning.

“We mustn't be caught.” Leonardo warned, watching as the soldiers were still staring at them. Micaiah slowly turns to the woman and child, also frowning. This was so sudden for the Begnion soldiers to find them.

“I'm sorry. We have to leave.” She states sadly.

“I know. Thank you again for all you've done. Now, go! Run!” The lady says, encouraging them to hurry along.

“Micaiah! Edward! Make a break for it. Run!” Leonardo urges. The group begins to leave, rushing through the small area, and heading down more steps. However, before not getting too far, the boy wiggles free from the woman, running up behind them, knowing his small legs couldn't catch up, but still, his heart had to shout to them what he wanted to say. “Hey, lady! My name's Nico! When I grow up, I want to be just like you guys! Come back sometime!” The brunet says happily, waving to them goodbye. The trio takes this into heart, remembering the boy's name as they continued their escape.

“Hold it! Stop right there!” The first soldier yells out, but his voice met it's echo instead.

“Who are you bellowing at, soldier?”

All four soldiers turn gasp in surprise, except the usually quiet one, as they turned to meet the owner of this new voice that sounded awfully familiar to them. “G-General Jarod?” The first soldier stammered in surprise. Coming along with this man, Jarod, was another soldier clad in the same armor as they, however, appeared more burlier, having dark navy hair, tan complexion, and held a lance in his hands.

“Wh-When did you arrive?” The second asked, stuttering as well.

The man called Jarod was a tall man, possibly around in the six feet. His hair was smooth, a little wild, and the shade of auburn. His eyes matched this, and with his fair skin, it was like a complete puzzle for his features. He was wearing a maroon colored tunic, with shades of purple armor on his shoulders, waist, legs, back and feet. He had his helmet off, being snapped on the back of his armor; he also wore a teal colored scarf around his neck, and held a red lance in his hand. The general approached the men talking to him, frowning when they gawked, rather than replying.

“Answer my question, maggot.” Jarod demanded. “I want to know who you were yelling at and why you did nothing but yell at them.”

“S-sorry, sir.” The man apologized, saluting. The two others followed suit, except the third, while the first soldier continued. “”We suspect they were from the Dawn Brigade, a band of thieves that targets goods levied from the town. People say they give what they've stolen back to the villagers and strut around acting like heroes. Some say they have a witch among them, a girl called the Silver-Haired Maiden. They say she can heal wounds instantly by laying her hands on any injury. The townspeople treat her like a savior.”

“And? What have you been doing about this band of fools?” Jarod demanded next, looking less than amused by the “report” the soldier gave him.

“Sir. A few days ago we stormed their hideout. We found a girl much like the Silver-Haired Maiden... We ran the dogs from their den, but they were cunning and cautious, and...We lost them.” The first soldier stated, his voice slipping to silence after his last sentence. After absorbing the information in, the general closed his eyes, a smug, sarcastic grin appearing on his face.

“I see. I'm beginning to understand.”

“How do you mean, sir?”

Jarod open his eyes, glaring into the idiot's face. “I'm beginning to understand exactly how incompetent you all are!” He growls furiously, and stabs the soldier through his abdomen forcefully, ending the fool's life that instantly.

“Urk!” the first Begnion soldier blurted out his last before falling to the ground, dead, similarly to the bandit earlier. The blue-haired male's eyes widened in fury—how could a man kill his own soldier!? That was beyond heartless! Still, his voice couldn't be spoken, just yet, or else uproar would commence. Once the sating of his death was over, Jarod turned to the other three incompetents, leering at them. “Make the villagers talk. I want to know who these bandits are and where they're hiding.” He commanded.

“Y-yes, sir! Understood, sir!” The second and third said, trembling. They were gone in a flash, while the dark navy haired knight walked towards Jarod. The unusually silent one quietly obeys, though walks off slowly.

“I don't care who they are. The more kick they have in them, the more fun for us, don't you think, sir?” The third soldier, named Alder, says.

“Precisely. Overseeing this dusty old town is wearing thin. A little fresh game is just what I need.” The general replies sadistically. However, his eyes catch onto the slow moving soldier he had just commanded, growling in anger. “These damn bastards just can't get a move on today. I better go rouse him.” Alder chuckles as Jarod heads over to the slowed knight, angered.

“You! Pick up the pace, unless you want to end up like that idiot I stabbed moments ago!” He threatened. The young man doesn't move any faster; in fact he stops completely, and then turns around with his head down for a second. Jarod narrows his auburn eyes menacingly at this fool who is utterly disobeying him, approaching him yet again until he was in his face. “I said get a move on, damnit, or you will die! Is that what you want?!” The blue-eyed soldier simply stares up at him with his gaze, unfazed by the threat.

Suddenly, he smirks in such a snide, taunting way that infuriates Jarod to the boiling point. Seeing as he didn't want to unnecessarily lose pawning soldiers at this point, he grudgingly allows the idiot to live. Just this once. Their eyes meet, and hold and grueling staring contest. If anyone didn't know any better, sparks were starting to set up between them; that is, until Jarod breaks the silence. “Get in your place, maggot.” He hisses venomously, which still makes the soldier unfazed. Their unusual staring contest continues for a while longer until the shorter male eventually breaks it off and leaves. Once he was gone, Alder steps forward again, his eyes leering at the odd encounter.

“Sir? What was that all about?”

“Another incompetent fool who will learn his place very soon. I’m allowing the maggot to live for today just because he is nothing more than a pawn to me. But, that chilling stare was unnatural almost. I better not let it get to me, or else I'll lose myself to stupidity.”

Edward, Leonardo and Micaiah continued running, ducking under a convenient tunnel bridge of town to avoid being spotted by Begnion soldiers. Once it was clear, the trio headed down another back alley way, going inside a shelter of sorts. It was nearing into the evening when they arrived indoors, out of breath, but thankful they made it to their base of operations, and out of Begnion’s eyes for now.

“Whew, finally made it…” Edward sighed tiredly, closing his eyes. He found a seat at their makeshift table, trying to catch his breath.

“Yes. It’s rather unfortunate that we were seen.” Leonardo added, closing his eyes momentarily. “I hope Nolan and Sothe make it home safely…”

“I do as well.” Micaiah lightly agreed, sighing heavily. They had been running from Begnion soldiers since the day Crimea walked away from them after winning the war three years ago. They allowed the empire to rule over them with an iron fist, mistreating the citizens and taking men and imprisoning them in camps. The Dawn Brigade stood against their tyranny, claiming themselves as the Robin Hood of the land; taking from the rich and giving to the poor. They were also citizens of Daein, having met one another the few months prior to the downfall of the nation. They had devoted themselves to protect the people of Daein, and one day, liberate it from the tight grasp Begnion held over it. The company had been the prime target in the empire’s eyes, having more worry about a bunch of people rebelling than running over the townsfolk. Silence filled the entire household, if it could be called that. The night went on for what appeared to be a long time, the three remained hushed as they prepared a light meal in which to eat.

The next morning arrived, far too quickly for the three teenaged members of the Dawn Brigade. Once they were awake fully, Micaiah spoke up.

“How should we explain yesterday to Sothe and Nolan?”

“It's like you said; we didn't have a choice.” Leonardo began. “We had to save Nico and the townsfolk. But I admit, getting spotted by those Begnion soldiers was unfortunate, as I’ve said yesterday.” He let out a sigh before continuning. “Still, I'd do it all over again. The worst part is they know we're near. They could find this hideout as easily as they found our last one.”

Edward rolled over in mild complaint. “I just don't get it. This is our country… Why do we have to live in hiding, like prisoners in our own land?”

Leonardo sighed again in exasperation, looking at his myrmidon companion. “Come on, you know why. We lost the war… and Crimea won. It's not “our” country anymore. End of story.”

“Except that Crimea walked away after winning, leaving those heartless Begnion dogs to rule our country for the last three years!” The brunet voiced angrily. “The occupying soldiers march around like they own the place, doing whatever they want, and no one dares to stop them!”

“To be fair, Crimea didn't have the resources to rule another country.” A masculine voice told them from a reasonable distance, surprising the chatting trio. They turned around, knowing who it was that spoke.

Entering the base were two men, looking concerned. However, one of the two were taller, a man built into his later thirties, with muscles packed onto his arms and visibly showing through his clothing. He had shaggy, brown hair that left past his ears, a mustache and beard rounding as facial hair, gentle but firm brown color for his eyes. His skin complexion was hardly called fair, as it seemed tanned, if only a little. He wore a dark blue tunic with the collar sleeves unfolded, a dark green and brown, padded armor vest above the tunic, silver shoulder plates of armor for shoulder protection, and thick, brown gloves meant for cushioning his hands inside, but rough for gripping weapons. One in particular was an axe he carried, strapped to his back. Across his waist was a brown belt, a golden buckle situated in the center of said belt to keep the strap securely tightened, and brown, thick pants that dressed his legs. Lastly, dark brown boots supported covering for his feet, having straps around them to keep them in place. Next to this man, was none other than Sothe, the green-haired teen that was seen with Micaiah three days ago during their escape from the Begnion troops.

“Sothe! And Nolan, too! Welcome back. I'm glad you made it in one piece.” Micaiah greeted them cheerfully, grateful they had made it back safely.

“At last, the Dawn Brigade is all present.” The blond archer says, smiling lightly. “But you are unusually late. Were you delayed?”

“I think our fame's catching up with us. Begnion patrols are everywhere. It took us a while to avoid them.” Sothe replied, his expression read curiosity.

“I've never seen so much Begnion activity in this area before.” Nolan, the older of the group, observed quietly. “Is there… something we should know?” His eyes focused on the three, wondering. Micaiah looked away as the topic was brought up, Edward remained quiet, and Leonardo sighed lightly, knowing this would be inevitable.

“Um, well, actually, the truth is…” He started, earning the attention of Nolan and Sothe equally. “We were on our way back to the base, and I had gone off to find us something to eat for dinner. Micaiah and Edward went ahead of me to make sure Begnion troops weren’t around.”

“Yeah.” Edward chipped in next. “But Leonardo was taking so long, it got Micaiah and I worried. Before we could suggest to look for him or anything, bandits were attacking, stealing food from the villagers, just making a mess of things.”

“But…” Leonardo wanted to say, but couldn’t for some reason.

Nolan closed his eyes. “Ah, that's what did it. You had a run-in with bandits?” He asked.

“Yes, we did.” Edward added. “We stopped them, though.”

“And Begnion soldiers spotted us as we made our escape.” Micaiah added in next. “I’m sorry. We only wanted to help. We were careless.”

Sothe shook his head in understanding. “We'll worry about that later. More importantly, Micaiah, were you seen healing anyone with Sacrifice?”

“I’m afraid so.” The silver haired girl answered, Sothe getting frustrated with light rage with her response.

“Micaiah, you can't allow anyone to know what you can do. Healing without any tomes or staves is a rare gift—almost unheard of. If anyone saw you doing it, you’d be given away immediately, and I don’t know if I could keep you safe.”

“I know, Sothe.”

“I know you know, but you keep doing it!” Sothe nearly shouted, but managed to keep calm. “This place isn’t safe anymore. We should leave at once.” He demanded, grabbing a few possessions, such as vulneraries, food they could carry lightly, and gold they had collected and earned. Once those were settled into a bag tightly, he secured it around his waist’s belt, glancing at the others. “We can’t stay here. Those Begnion soldiers will find this place.”

“Hm, that’s correct.” Nolan agreed, taking a deep breath as a sigh. “Ah, but it would have been nice to eat just one meal in peace…”

It wasn’t long when the group had collected what they could carry and abandoned their base. Sothe cautiously crept around to keep an eye on soldiers’ movements, directing the group to follow him through an alley way from behind their base. Once doing so, he told them to go on ahead, as he would find a way around for them. Traveling as a group together would be risky, as they would have been spotted easier. Nolan and the others head out safely, reaching the back alley of the church. They stayed quietly for awhile, now growing worried for the greenet. Nolan suggested they peek around and see if soldiers were nearby; sure enough, there were soldiers everywhere.

“This way's no good either.” Edward announced. “Begnion soldiers have every alleyway blocked. A kitten couldn't sneak past them.”

“It looks like this really is the least guarded path, then. Even so, it's swarming with soldiers.” The axe wielder of the group stated.

“There are more coming up behind us! We'll be trapped if we don't move quickly!” Micaiah urged.

“We can't wait for Sothe.” Nolan added softly, still concerned for the whereabouts of the teen.

“The stairs by the church lead to the marketplace. We can break through there.” Micaiah said, pointing out a way for them to escape. “We’ll have to fight our way through.”

“I’ll go first and secure the way.” Nolan began, looking at the archer and light mage. “Micaiah and Leonardo, cover my back! Remember to keep your distance from the enemy. Team up and bring them down one by one!”

“Right. We'll be careful.” The girl replied.

“Leave it to us.” Leonardo added.

After hearing their voices, Nolan turned to the brunet myrmidon. “Edward, you bring up the rear. Your skills have improved, but you're still new to fighting. Don't rush the enemy. Just focus on surviving their attacks. Got it?”

Edward partially nodded, shrugging in overconfidence. “Yeah, yeah, I got it.” He said. However, something, or rather, someone was approaching them from behind. His eyes caught onto the moving figure, then widened when he realized it was a Begnion soldier! Uh-oh! “Oh wow, Micaiah, you weren’t kidding! A Begnion soldier is right behind us!”

“Wh-what?!” Leonardo panicked.

“No…” Micaiah gasped.

Nolan instinctively stood in front of the group with his axe handy, narrowing his eyes as the Begnion soldier neared them. The man was armed, with a sheathed sword at his side, but hadn’t drawn it at all. That was rather odd to the group, but they remained on their guard. “If you’re here to arrest us, then you’ll have to fight us, first.” Nolan stated seriously. The young man in red-clad armor did not flinch, but rather nodded.

“I am aware…” He said quietly. “You are the Dawn Brigade.”

“Yeah. Why?” Edward asked, matter-of-factly.

“…I have no quarrel with any of you.” The soldier said, his visible blue eye flashing. None of them caught this, except Micaiah. How odd that someone’s eyes would flash like that and with no light in the clouds above. His gaze turned to Micaiah, Edward and Leonardo in particular. “I have seen you three yesterday. You defeated a gang of bandits to protect the citizens. That was very noble, and something Begnion soldiers would never do for the people of Daein.”

“…Ah, thank you…” The silver haired girl said lightly.

“It was nothing. We only want to help everyone, really.” Leonardo said after. Edward had a big grin painted on his face, though said nothing. “But, why are you here, if I may ask? What do you want from us? Aren’t you with Begnion?”

“I saw you escaping from your base of operations,” the mysterious soldier began, surprising the Dawn Brigade members, “but I didn’t tell any of them that you all were leaving. I know you’re trying to escape. Allow me to help you.”

“And, why should we trust you?” Leonardo questioned next.

“…My heart is not with the fools and their ambitions. I don’t know how I got tangled up in this service, but if I can help… then perhaps there is hope for Daein.”

Micaiah closed her eyes, patiently reading the flow of the soldier’s heart and mind. It was an ability she gained while growing up, and has been able to ever since. After a brief moment, she reopened her eyes, nodding to her companions. “He’s telling the truth.” She said. “We can trust him.”

“All right, Micaiah. If you say we can trust him, then we’ll trust him.” Nolan deduced, smiling lightly.

The soldier was taken aback a little; he knew the Silver-Haired Maiden was gifted, but he didn’t know she was able to read minds or the like. That small sense of power he felt; that was hers. Amazing. “I suppose I can ditch the armor…” The young man said, removing the breast plate, shoulder, arms and legs plates. Underneath the armor was, apparently, his true apparel; a cream colored shirt supported his chest, and above this, was a silver breastplate of its own, with matching shoulder and arm plates on both sides. White, detached jacket strips of sorts adorned themselves alongside his shoulders and his backside. His pants were slightly baggy, a dark green color, supported by a dark brown belt with a silver buckle and appeared thick. His boots were brown, and seemed to be made out of material unknown to the group. An orange scarf was draped around his neck; white bandages were wrapped around his lower arm lengths to his wrists. Upon his hands, he wore brown half gloves that were comfortable. He stacked the armor together in a pile, pushing them towards the nearest wall, reattaching his sheath to left side of his waist’s belt.

“That should do the trick.” The blue-eyed male said.

“Your helmet’s still on…” Edward pointed out.

“I’m aware.”

“…Well, how come you won’t take it off? We’re not gonna bite.”

“It’s complicated to say why… Perhaps when we’re out of here, I will. I’m trying to avoid detection…”

“Oh… well I suppose that makes sense.” The brunet mildly said, unsheathing his sword. “I take it you know how to use a sword, too?” The other simply nodded to the question. “So, what’s your name?”

“…We’ll leave that until later as well. Again, I’m trying to avoid detection. Many of the Begnion soldiers know my name…”

“All right.” Edward relented. “By the way, since you’ll be with us, welcome to the Dawn Brigade!”

“Now that we’re somewhat acquainted, let’s get this over with before real Begnion soldiers come for us.” Nolan suggested urgently. “Remember our tactic from before.” The older man turned to the newcomer. “You and Edward bring up the rear. I’ll carve us a path.”

“Right.” Both swordsmen nodded in approval. Nolan prepared his axe, leading the group through the narrow pathway of the alley. It wasn’t long until one of the men in the back path noticed their movements, turning to the man standing next to him.

“Captain Isaiya! Just as you said, a group that appears to be the Dawn Brigade is storming the alley!” the mercenary axe man alerted.

The man standing next to this mercenary was about in his mid twenties, with maroon colored hair, it being tied into a low ponytail. He had light orange-like skin as a complexion, wearing a sepia-colored tunic with short sleeves, dark sepia colored padded vest with thick straps to keep it firmly strapped to his body as protection for his upper chest and abdomen. He wore twin brown belts with silver buckles across his waist, a sheath to his right. Lastly, he wore sepia colored half gloves, black pants and matching boots, along with a sword in his grasp. He smirked cunningly, “How generous of them. I'll wipe them out and advertise my exploits to our commanders back home.”

The Dawn Brigade, with the now ex-Begnion soldier with them, hurried to meet their first opponent. It was a man armed with a sword, and Nolan knew full well he would be at a disadvantage. “Leonardo, Micaiah! I need him weakened first!” the bearded man called to them. The Light mage and archer instinctively went ahead, surrounding the enemy myrmidon.

“The Dawn Brigade!” he shouted a loud. Unfortunately, that was all he uttered, as Micaiah blinded him with a light spell, Leonardo fired two arrows at his knees, and Nolan finished him by splitting him in half with the blade of his axe. The next soldier to meet his demise by the hands of the stranger and Edward wielded a lance, standing in front of the church’s door way. Perfect.

“He’s got a lance, we better be careful!” the brunet warned his fellow sword-user, who simply nodded, but internally, didn’t really care.

“What the—!!” The red-clad lance man bellowed as Edward was charging for him, and the blue-eyed young man right behind him. He readied his battle pike, waiting for the chance to hit the foolishly stupid boy who dared challenged him with a blade. “Hey! Hasn’t anyone taught you about the Weapon Triangle?!” He shouted, thrusting his lance forward when Edward was close. The brunet gasped, barely dodging by a hair—literally—off his head.

“I know all about it, bud! But, to speedy people like me, I don’t have to care so much!” Edward retaliated, slashing at the soldier horizontally with swiftness of his blade and unmatched agility. The soldier didn’t have much time to evade, so he raised his buckle-like shield to protect himself from the attack. The clank! of their metal against iron didn’t go by unnoticed, as more Begnion idiots were beginning to pile around the corner. “More of them are coming.” The other swordsman thought a loud, narrowing his eyes when spotting them. He turned to Edward and the soldier he was fighting; they were struggling to overpower the other, very similarly to how the brunet performed the day before against the bandits.

When his gaze locked with the soldier’s his eyes widened in fear, pointing behind him, almost telling him to ‘look out!’. The idiot broke off the trance, turning around with a “huh!?”, letting his guard down just slightly. Edward grinned, taking this opportunity to stab the man through his unprotected abdomen, letting him bleed to his death. “Heh, got him! Thanks for the stall!” Edward chuckled, rummaging through the dead man’s inventory and finding a valuable vulnerary. This would be useful for the long run. Before the two could move on, an old woman stopped them, as well as a man that had been inside the church. They were given vulnerary and an axe, called a Hand Axe. The two swordsmen thanked the two villagers before allowing them to close the doors to the church and house respectively, to avoid the conflict of outside.

The group met up around the church’s left side corner, now facing off with an archer, another myrmidon and a man using a Hand Axe from himself. They were getting rather clever, or annoying, according to Edward. “Nolan, we picked this up for you!” Edward said, handing the man the boomerang like axe. Nolan chuckled at the “gracious gift”, proud to be able to use it.

“Thank you, Edward. Now, let me handle this one!” Nolan said as he charged for the man with the Hand Axe. The mercenary tossed his axe, however, Nolan dodged by rolling out of its path. “This is how it’s done!” He called to the other, throwing his Hand Axe with impressive strength expertly. The spinning, boomerang axe nicked the man in his right leg, allowing Nolan to finish him with his Steel Axe.

Meanwhile, Micaiah and the mysterious swordsman were dealing with the enemy archer, who was firing off arrows. He and the girl were unable to get too close without being hit fatally. “Ah!” Micaiah squeaked out as an arrow was nearing her. The helmet-wearer threw himself between her and the arrow, knocking it away with the back of his hand. This stunned the archer, more or less. “What the!? How did you—?” The silver haired girl found this chance to attack, twirling elegantly as she called on a light spell once again to stun and blind the man temporarily. This gave the winning finish for the swordsman, thrusting his sword like a knife right through the fool’s neck, felling him as he bled profusely, and dropping dead. The young man lightly jerked his sword out, with not a stain of blood on his weapon. Micaiah found this weird, but nonetheless, didn’t ask. “Good work. I think we’ll be out of here very soon if we keep this up.” She said, smiling fairly.

“Mmhm.” Her companion nodded in agreement. The two were soon accompanied by Nolan, who turned to watch Edward and Leonardo take out the third soldier that had tried attacking them.

“Haaah aaaah!” Edward lunged forward, his sword and his opponent’s meeting, clashing and creating steel sparks. While they were busy doing this, Leonardo readied three arrows, firing off one at a time, but rapidly, and aiming for the Begnion mercenary. The first few times he had managed to dodge the attacks, and nearly shoved Edward into the line of range. Thankfully, the Dawn Brigade member nimbly evaded the arrow himself, growling with rage. “Hey! That was dirty!” The brunet said, frowning.

“Anything can be dirty!” the other myrmidon retorted back. “Nothing can be fair in this world! You all better give up while you can!”

“Never!” Edward charged forward, landing a horizontal attack against the sword fighter. A large gash of a cut wounded itself upon his face, enraging the man.

“How dare you! Errraaahh!!” He shouted, retaliating by jabbing forward with a strike. The brunet managed to dodge the attack, and grinned. This irritated his opponent, who wildly kept jabbing in rage. However, Edward continued to dodge his attacks by backing up.

“You’re not even hitting me!” he jeered. “Come on!”

“Stay still, punk!”

“Haha!”

“Grrrrhhhh! Quit your jumping around and fight back, whelp—! GAAAH!” he stopped instantly, his unoccupied hand hurried to where he was struck. An arrow lodged itself into his back, and it was out of his reach! “Aaagh! It—! My back!” Leonardo aimed another, shooting the fool through his kneecaps. He roared in pain again, stumbling backwards, unfortunately. The arrows in both his back and kneecaps dug deeper into his flesh, a pool of blood was underneath him in a matter of seconds. “Gaaah!”

“Now you’re not so much talk.” Edward smirked, eying the wounded man. “I would end this, but it’d be a waste of my time. So, you can lay there. See ya!” The brunet and his blond archer companion hurried off to combine with their friends, who were now heading towards the exit of the stairs, leading to the marketplace.

“I’m actually glad you spared him.” Micaiah told Edward, who mildly shrugged.

“Yeah. He wasn’t worth it. But I should have taken his life…”

“You did the right thing, Ed.” Nolan added sagely. “Even though Begnion has an iron fist over Daein, simply taking a life when it can be spared is the best option. We’re not heartless killers; we’re the Dawn Brigade. We should only kill, I hate to admit, but, when it’s absolutely necessary…”

“Like right now?” The brunet myrmidon pointed out to Isaiya and the mercenary from earlier. The group stopped; these two men were blocking their way out of this jam. Micaiah closed her eyes, feeling horrible. Something bad was going to happen, but she didn’t know what it was…

“Heh. Going somewhere?” Isiaya snorts rudely. “What fast little mice you are! How long do you plan on scurrying around in back alleys?”

“As long as it’s necessary.” Leonardo answered, which irked the swordsman blocking their way.

“Step aside!” Micaiah demanded.

Isiaya turned to the girl, grinning. “The girl we've been looking for! You’re a lucky little escapee. It’s too bad for you, sweetie because your luck ends today!” The Begnion mercenary shouts, charging for Micaiah as the other beside him lunges for Leonardo! Isiaya’s Steel Sword meets with Nolan’s Steel Axe, and the other’s axe clashes with Edward’s Iron Sword. Both Dawn Brigade members push their foes back with relative ease, standing guard for the mage and archer respectively.

“Have you no manners? Attacking a defenseless woman?” Nolan glared at the maroon-haired blade man, who laughs spitefully.

“Manners? I don’t need them when my pockets are going to be full when the girl is dead. And you will be right along with her!” Isiaya charged again, this time, his blade meeting the helmet-wearer’s blade! “Grrh! Just how many of you are there?!”

“Enough to take you out, that’s what!” Edward shot, he and his opponent going head to head. Leonardo supported his myrmidon friend by firing arrows from a safe distance, managing to lodge one in the enemy axe man’s eye.

“Gah!” he groaned in agony.

“Take this!” Edward moved in for the finishing blow. However, Isiaya blocked him, countering with a deadly horizontal slash to the brunet’s neck! Edward, unfortunately, did not see that coming. The brunet’s neck gashed open, and could have fallen off if he had not stumbled backwards at the last second. Edward dropped down instantly, the grip on his sword lost as it went down with him, clanking. He was trembling in his own blood, coughing, gagging for air. Micaiah’s eyes widened, aghast; this is what she felt! She couldn’t stop it! “EDWARD!” Leonardo roared, hurrying to his side, and snatching a vulnerary as quick as he could to apply it to his friend’s severe wound. Micaiah ushered to his aid as well, her golden, worried eyes filling with tears. Nolan and the swordsman were filled with brewing rage, angered at how cruel this man had been, and how far he had gone. They turned and faced Edward’s assailant.

“Hahaha! The punk deserved it! Now he will die, knowing he was useless!” Isiaya bellowed. His eyes met the glaring pair of eyes of Nolan and the helmet-wearer. “Hmph! Now you want to join him in the afterlife? Well, be my guest! Let’s have at it!”

“There will be no afterlife for us. Or for him. It will be for you.” The ex-Begnion stated with a low, callous tone. Before Isiaya could blink, Nolan was charging for the other axe man while he dealt with the captain. Isiaya growled lowly as he narrowed his own eyes at the foolish young man approaching him.

Nolan, with his hands full with the other axe man, struck at one another, taking turns at chance strikes. Nolan was cut on his lower abdomen as he sliced the man’s shoulder vertically. The other backed up, using his axe as the Hand Axe it was meant for, and chunked it at Nolan. The older man saw it coming, but instead of dodging it, he timed the spinning axe well and caught its handle. This surprised the thrower, who was now weaponless! “Damn you!” He roared, unable to do anything about this. “Hmph. You should be damning yourself.” Nolan growled, charging the Begnion soldier quickly. With both the Hand Axe of his foe and his own, he spun them in his hands, throwing one both simultaneously. The other axe man gaped, but managed to dodge both attacks swiftly. Unfortunately, as he rolled out of the way, he was met with Nolan’s Steel Axe’s sharp edge, and his head being lopped off almost like butter. With him dead and out of the way, Nolan quickly retrieved his Hand Axe and running towards Leonardo and Micaiah.

“How is he?”

“It’s not working.” Leonardo panicked. “The vulnerary is not working! Edward is losing a lot of blood and his breathing is getting raspier!” The blond had never been so scared in his life. He and Edward were very close friends despite they were mere opposites of each other. Leo was naturally so serious and calculative while Ed was cheerful and had big dreams that were most likely impossible to accomplish. Losing Edward now would carve a gap into Leonardo’s heart. “Please, Edward! Please! Hang on!”

“Micaiah, can’t you do something…? Anything?” Nolan asked, worried.

Tears still shed from the girl’s eyes. “I don’t know if my Sacrifice will be enough, Nolan, but I will try.”

Isiaya and the ex-Begnion were staring each other down, trying to pinpoint a weakness. The young man with blue eyes closed them, concentrating. He felt the dying soul of Edward, and he had to hurry. “Wait. Don’t use your abilities.” He warned Micaiah. She turned around, teary eyed, Leonardo beating her to the question first.

“Why not!? He’s dying!” The blond yelled.

“At the rate he’s in, she’ll kill herself trying to restore him.” His gaze locked with Leonardo’s frustrated one, “He is still hanging on. Keep talking to him! I will finish this fool off.” To the others, it sounded as if he would save Edward’s life. But, that couldn’t be possible. However, the archer wasn’t going to stand back any longer. He needed to avenge his friend, and the only way he could do that is by taking out Isiaya. He grabbed his bow and quiver, hurrying towards the fray with the helmet warrior and the blocking swordsman.

“I will fight with you. I must fight for Edward.”

“Fight for him and for yourself.”

“…I will.”

“Don’t fight with rage. It will blind you. Remember that.”

“Heh, you’ll both end up like that brat! Here I come!” Isiaya roared, charging straight for Leonardo, yet again. That was to be expected. His blade was, yet again, blocked by the warrior’s sword, keeping on par, or rather, besting him, at keeping the clash at his advantage. In fact, he didn’t seem like he was trying all that much. His visible muscles tensed, flexing and bulked just slightly as he applied more pressure to the weight of his sword, forcing his opponent back. Leonardo found this chance to make his move; he quickly inserted an arrow between his fingers, taking aim at Isiaya’s torso. With a concentrated sigh, and a mild release of his emotion, the blond allowed the arrow to sail from his grasp, penetrating the air like a blade cutting through water, locking dead onto the target. “Gaauhh!” Isiaya bellowed, staggering backwards. He glared at the arrow and managed to yank it out forcefully, growling.

“You little whelp!” The Begnion mercenary roared as he charged at blinding speed towards Leonardo. “I’ll KILL you! You will never see the light of day!!” Leonardo’s eyes widened with fear. He was going to end up on the receiving end of the sword!

“LEONARDO!” Nolan shouted. “Get out of the way!”

He couldn’t. His body was frozen there. Isaiya crouched low, and as if slow motion were intact, he was thrusting his sword up to stab Leonardo from his abdoment to the chest, almost like an uppercut technique. The archer’s eyes followed slowly, aghast in horror. This was it. This was the end. He shut his eyes for the inevitable end. “SAY GOOD BYE!” Isiaya roared, the “slow motion” ceasing and his sword struck skyward!

Flesh.

Clank.

His sword tasted flesh and it was sweet. Fresh blood dripped down, patting against the pavement. “Gehehe, now die—huh!?”

However, his sword was not penetrating Leonardo’s flesh. The ex-Begnion had somehow moved himself in the way of the archer, being stabbed through the center of his stomach. His own blood poisoned his cream shirt and the backside of his white jacket-like equipment, and also spattered upon Leonardo’s own navy blue clothing. His helmet was slashed off in the process, which revealed the rest of his hair. It was blue, but unlike any color of blue anyone has ever seen before. It was electric, bright, spiked slightly and seemed to glow, much like Micaiah’s silver hair seemed to glitter. Isaiya pulled his sword out and backed away, eye twitching. His target was blocked by this idiot!

“You!” Was all he could shout in rage.

Micaiah and Nolan’s eyes widened in even more horror; just how many were they going to lose to this crazy freak? Leonardo was astonished, loss for words. His blue eyes focused on his savior, trembling, shaken up. Why did he do it? “… …Why…?” The archer asked, paling. What was there to gain for this sacrifice?

“It’s… all right.” The blue-haired warrior said with a light wincing pain. He gritted his teeth together, trying to catch his breath. “I believe… I’ve been in worse situations before. …Yes…” He didn’t know how, but something deep down in his memory, he felt he had been. Somewhere in his life. He turned to Isiaya, glaring as blood fell from his lower mouth. “Is that the best you can do?” What?!

“I… ARE YOU MOCKING ME?!” Isiaya roared. “You’re supposed to be dead! Wh-who the hell are you!?”

“It doesn’t matter now…”

This infuriated Isiaya. His opponents never lived after a fatal blow like that! EVER! This guy had to be bluffing or something! He had to be weak in the knees and would collapse anytime soon. Yes! That had to be it! He would just have to wait it out a little longer, and then he’s done for. “Yes that’s all I have to do. Then, I’ll kill the other three and earn my prize! Kehehehe! This is all too easyi!” He grinned devilishly to himself, eying the fool who attempted to fool with fate. “Heh! You’re bluffing! You bumbling fool! You will drop dead any second now and I shall kill the rest of these idiots off!” Unfortunately for him, the warrior persisted, stepping forward, his blue eyes narrowed and focused only on him. His hand gripped the pommel of his blade loosely, but his fingers firmly secured it in a holding position. He kept walking toward Isiaya, who backed up slightly. This was unreal!

“I see you don’t like it when the odds are against you. That’s a shame.” The young man stated callously again.

“SHUT UP, BASTARD!” Isiaya bellowed, vertically slamming his blade down angrily on the blue-haired warrior.

The other blocked it with his right wrist, as his half gloves were made out of steel themselves. The death of his blue eyes locked tightly into Isiaya’s, soul-piercing and one gaze you will never want to look into for yourself. It was staggering; it felt like something heinous, like a monster, was roaring on the inside, flames burning within them, and staring into them made your body feel as if it was on fire! Such a glare could cause fear into any man with hearts of ice! Isiaya shook the look off and charged the blue-haired youth again. He continuously kept blocking with his armored wrist, following each attack steadily as he read the next slashes before his opponent even coordinated them. He was getting too easy to read.

“Your attacks are too plain. You will never strike me with those blows…” the blue-head stated.

“WHY YOU…! GRRR!” Isiaya spluttered in rage. His next vertical, wild attack barely cut a strand of the blue-head’s hair. His next, aimless attack was caught by the fool’s hand! “What the—! LET GO YOU IDIOT!!”

“…Good bye.” Was all the young man said before thrusting his blade’s tip into Isiaya’s forehead, causing him to drop his sword.

“What… This can't be… I'm in my prime… Not...so easily...” Isiaya uttered out. The blue-head apathetically ran his blade down his body to split the Begnion mercenary asunder. He was done, and they now had a clear path. But one thing needed to be done; Edward.

“Edward…” Micaiah breathed quietly, watching the color of the brunet’s eyes fading and dulling out, his labored breathing diminishing. Leonardo shook from his daze of the unnamed warrior’s might and ran to his dying friend’s side.

“Micaiah…”

“I don’t know if it’ll work—” She started but was surprised to see the injured warrior himself approaching. He sheathed his sword, knelt beside the myrmidon’s body, and carefully closed his hands around his neck. “Wh-what are you doing?” Before long, a ball of greenish, white light enveloped the young man’s hands, as energy flowed from virtually nowhere. This power flowed into him, then ushered in more light into the ball of, what appeared to be, magic. Micaiah was even surprised to feel this power; it rivaled or even surpassed her own powers. Leonardo and Nolan looked with wonder as the light traveled through Edward’s body.

“Restore.” The blue head whispered, and the magic seemingly obeyed as it gathered in more energy from the young man, traveling through the dying body, healing the wound and restoring his body’s health. When the light ended, Edward’s body lightly twitched, the color of his skin and eyes returning to normal slowly. He moaned, closing his eyes, feeling absolutely numb. The blood underneath him dried up.

“What…?” Micaiah gaped.

“…Truly…” Nolan wondered.

“I…” Leonardo trailed.

Edward reopened his eyes, sitting up by himself. “What just happened? I felt like I was…going to sleep for a very long time.” His friends shook from their dazes and hugged him—well Micaiah and Leonardo.

“Edward! You’re okay!” The girl cried happily.

“We were worried.” Leonardo added.

The brunet simply blinked but shrugged and hugged them back, clueless. “I’m sorry if I worried you then.” He looked at Micaiah. “Thank you for saving me.”

“It wasn’t me. It was him.” She nodded to the blue-haired warrior, who Edward was clueless to who it was first.

“Who’s he—wait. He’s that former Begnion soldier, isn’t he?”

“Yes, the very same one.” Nolan replied. “He and Leonardo finished off that man that attacked you, then he healed you like Micaiah does. It’s almost as if he possess Sacrifice.”

“That’s odd. I thought I was the only one with such ability.”

“You do.” The blue-head said, sighing very lightly. “That, which I used, was a healing spell. It is called Restore. As far as I can tell it as strong, if not stronger, than the maiden’s Sacrifice.”

“I…see…” Micaiah said, then gaped. “Oh! You’re wounded! Would you—”

“No. I’m fine. We have to get out of here, or else more Begnion soldiers will come.” He stood up, admitting he was a little weak, but kept valiant. The others stood up as well, Edward feeling rejuvenated and brimming with newfound energy.

“Agreed. We have to get moving. Sothe may be waiting for us.” Nolan agreed. “Let’s head for the marketplace everyone!”

The group proceeded quickly, almost running, with the blue-haired man and Micaiah somewhat behind them. “I want… to know your name. I know you said after we got out of that mess, but I…”

“…Ryu.”

“Pardon?”

The blue-haired swordsman turned to her and smiled clearly. “My name. My name is Ryu.”

Apologies for not being able to post here sooner, but it took some time to finally get down and read the fic.

To be honest, I never really played any of the Fire Emblem games (so I couldn't associate it as well as I did with your Smash Bros. fic); however, you definitely got me interested through this fic. I love the amount of details you put into the descriptions of each character and how you visualized what events were occurring at certain points of the story. The story on its own was very interesting to read even though it was more of a build up for what was coming.

Great job as always Hylia, and I'm definitely looking forward to more of your works as well as the remainder of this fic. It's obvious to see that you put a lot of effort into this fic, so good job.