Fire Emblem Heroes: Warriors From Across The Realm (Story Collection)

[escotanner]

Part 21: NOW I'm mad! (Mae)

"Gah! I can't believe I have to work alongside you!" Tobin pointed his finger furiously at Berkut. "I mean, you're from Rigel! The guys who want to rule Valentia with an iron fist!"

Berkut huffed. "You and me both! I can't believe I have to work with RABBLE like you! To be defeated by a mere child and his band of idiots..." The prince clenched his fist. "I have never felt so ashamed!"

"Well that's what you deserve!" Clair chimed in. "You preyed on the commonfolk without even considering their feelings! You're a despicable noble!"

Bekut glanced at Clair with eyes filled with anger and rage. "Call me that again..."

"Enough you guys!" Kirian yelled. "We're all friends here! We need to work together to defeat the rising threat, Embla!"

They all glanced at each other and then at the Summoner. Mae just sat off at the side; not wanting to get involved and feeling completely alienated.

"Alright fine!" Berkut huffed. "I will not let go of my hatred, but you did defeat me so...I guess I will obey."

"Great!" Kirian smiled. "So gather around this table! Let me lay out the battle plan for you!"

The four Valentians went towards Kirian. They were meeting in the War Room and were preparing for battle.

"Now listen up," Kirian pointed at a red circle in the northeast of the map. "This is our destination. It's an Emblian fortress that has supplies that we need. The Order of Heroes need you four to go and take it."

Berkut laughed. "You expect us to fight hundreds of soldiers with just the FOUR OF US?"

Kirian shrugged. "Meh. I've dealt with worse."

"So what's the game plan?" Tobin asked.

"Right. Clair will take a squad of Pegasus Sisters and scout out the area. When it's all clear, she'll give a signal and Berkut will race onward with his squad."

"That could work," Clair agreed.

"An attack from the land and the air..." Berkut nodded. "A reasonable tactic if it works."

"Where do we come in?" Mae asked.

"Mae and Tobin," Kirian said. "You two will infiltrate the fort with a small force while the others are busy holding off the enemy."

"That'll be easy," Tobin laughed. "Just watch Kirian! We'll take all of them out in a few seconds!"

Clair rolled her eyes. "Honestly Tobin have you forgotten who is also on the enemy side? Alm and the others!"

Mae looked down at her boots. She remembered what Kirian said when they found her dueling some Emblian soldiers on her own after she accidentally stumbled into Zenith. Mae had heard descriptions of people that strangely looked like Celica and the rest working with the enemy, but...

Berkut huffed. "It does not matter to me. I'll gladly take the life of Alm."

"Hey..." Tobin warned.

"You're not killing Alm Berkut," Kirian said. "I'm giving you orders to wound him. Understand?"

"Pah! Like you can tell me what to do!" Berkut yelled. "I am Rigel's proudest son! You cannot-"

"Oh shut up!" Tobin shouted. "It's not like you can hurt Alm anyway!"

"What did you say?" Berkut grabbed Tobin's collar. "You dare question my power?"

"What power do you have?" Tobin scoffed. "Not like you fight for anything worth fighting for!"

"You barnbred worm! I'LL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!"

"Uh guys..." Kirian raised his hands. "Would you two please-"

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone turned to see Mae surrounded by lightning with her clenching her fists and an annoyed expression on her face. "Gods can't you get along for like two seconds? Kirian needs us for this mission and it's not like you two will be working side by side together. I don't care if you don't like each other, but if you even THINK about picking fights with those who are supposed to be our allies then I will fry BOTH OF YOU!"

Berkut let go of Tobin and folded his arms with a huff. "A grand speech from a petite girl."

"Watch it...." Mae warned.

Kirian cleared his throat. "Well, now that we all have calmed down..."

Tobin nodded. "This plan could work. Then again, I don't know anything about plans."

"It does seem like a reasonable tactic." Clair smiled. "Let's do it."

"You already know how I feel," Mae fist bumped the air. "I'm ready to rock!"

Everyone turned to Berkut who faced the floor.

"I will put my feelings aside...and help this plan to succeed..." The prince muttered.

"Alright," Kirian grinned. "Looks like we all know what to do then!"

"Yeah," Mae smiled. "Let's get ready to fry some foes!"

[escotanner]

Part 22: Know your place! (Berkut)

Berkut sat atop his horse facing off against a mounted group of Emblian soldiers led by a blonde paladin whose wearing a red coat and wielding a black sword.

He's not Alm Berkut smiled. But I can tell that he'll give me quite the entertainment.

Off to the Rigelian Prince's left was the Prince of Nohr Xander and off to his right was the Pharae noble Eliwood. Kirian thought it best that Berkut be partnered with other nobles so that he'll be able to focus better in battle...and socialize with the "commoners" off the battlefield.

"The enemy appears to be advancing," Xander huffed. "This will be an interesting battle."

"It'll just be a mere exercise," Berkut huffed. "These dogs aren't worthy to witness my full might. Leave this to me men. I'll crush these dastards!"

"Careful," Eliwood warned. "Kirian warned that their leader is Eldigan, King of Nordion. He wields the mighty Mystletainn and thus is more powerful than all of us combine."

"Weapons hold no sway if the wielder is not strong." Berkut replied. "It doesn't matter if the sword can cleave gods in half. If the person cannot control the weapon, then they might as well be wielding a stick."

"An excellent choice of words," Xander agreed. "Unfortunately, he seems to know how to wield his sword fine." The Paragon Knight nodded to Eldigan twirling his sword as if it were a baton. All around him, red energy flowed from his demon blade.

Berkut tightened his lance. "He is nothing. We are EVERYTHING. " Just then, the cry of the pegasus echoed throughout the sky. Hearing this, Berkut then turned toward his men. "Follow me warriors of Askr! These worms have no right to crawl onto your soil!" He pointed his lance at the enemy. "CHARGE!"

Like two massive tidal waves, the opposite sides crashed into each other and a roar of blood and blades began. Berkut stabbed people left and right as he slowly made his way to Eldigan. He could see Xander taking on many mounted enemies on his own and Eliwood leading his squadron against axe wielders. The prince remembered his orders: to keep the enemy occupied while slowly dwindling their numbers.

I musn't get ahead of myself now, Berkut thought. I must hold back...as much as it pains me.

The prince continued to fight against the masses yet held himself back; not losing his self control and going all out against these whelps. He was so focused on handling the ones coming at him, Berkut almost didn't notice that the so called "King of Nordion" was charging at him. He saw him out of the corner of his eye and raised his lance to parry the blow.

Berkut backed away from Eldigan. "You nearly chopped my head off knave!"

Eldigan pointed his sword towards the young general. "That was the idea."

"You can't beat me you fool," Berkut pointed his lance at Lionheart. "My power outshines yours."

"We shall see. I may be at a disadvantage, but that doesn't matter to me. You will fall here." Then, almost like magic, Eldigan began to glow.

"So that's how you want to do things?" The prince laughed as he himself began to glow. "You know, I was holding back this entire time, but now..." He smirked. "You die."

The two horsemen charged each other with blazing speed. "You will die here princeling!" Eldigan roared as he raised his sword.

"Like I'd use to you!" Berkut yelled back. "I AM RIGEL'S PROUDEST SON! KNOW YOU PLACE!"

 

[escotanner]

Part 23: Shut up Tobin (Tobin)

Tobin remembered the time when he met Kirian. He was traveling through Zofia looking for his friends who mysteriously disappeared when he came across the Order of Heroes. They claimed that the Emblians led by Princess Veronica was behind this...probably. They did mention that they noticed the Emblian princess acting strange as well as her supposed older brother Bruno who is a big fan of masks. This also got Tobin thinking: What's up with the mask? Everybody knows that he's the Emblian prince so why all the secrecy? It just doesn't make sense to Tobin at all. Neither does the whole Order of Heroes, this whole war, royalty, man the list goes-

"Tobin!" The Clueless one snapped back to reality by the sound of Mae's high pitched whisper as they walked through the tunnels underneath the fortress they were to attack. "Stay focused! We have to keep our hands in the game and you're acting like you don't have a care in the world!"

"Oh right," Tobin rubbed his neck. "S-sorry. I'll be more attentive from now on."

Mae rolled her eyes. "Yeah right," She then turned to a dark-green haired boy who was staring at them impatiently. "Sorry about that Soren. We're ready to keep moving."

"I hope so," Soren mumbled. "I trust you all remember the plan? The Order is counting on us to make sure that this plan works."

"Don't worry it will," Tobin grinned. "I may not be good for us, but at least I can handle myself in a fight."

"I sure hope so," Soren muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Soren turned to a red haired man who seemed to have a taste for sweets as he was eating some at the moment. "Gaius, do we keep going down this path to reach the inside?"

Gaius looked up and continued to munch on some coconut brittle. "Yeah. If we keep going straight, we'll reach the inside in due time."

"Alrighty, let's get going," Tobin drew out his armorslayer. "There might be some people ahead of us so we might want to be careful from henceforth."

"Got it," Gaius wiped his mouth and drew out his daggers. "Let's get going. Follow me if you will." As the thief began to walk, Mae tugged on his cape to grab his attention.

"Hey wait a second," The hyper one said. "Where does THAT path lead?" Mae pointed to a dark hollow path that had the sounds of pained voices echoing in there.

Gaius scratched his head. "I'm guessing that leads to prison cells. Those guys sound like they could use some help."

"I'm down for helping them," Tobin said.

"Me too," Mae pumped her fist in the air. "Come on, we can't let these guys suffer while we're nearby! Let's be heroes!"

"No," Soren said. "We're not going there."

Mae folded her arms. "And why not?"

"It's not part of our mission. We shouldn't involve ourselves with manners not concerning us."

"Are you serious?" Tobin asked. "Are you seriously just going to stand by and let innocent people be hurt?"

Soren scoffed. "I'm surprised that YOU'RE talking like this Tobin. I thought reckless acts were against your character."

Tobin shrugged. "Maybe being here has changed me. There are a lot of people who are depending on me to be the hero they believe I can be and I can't let them down. And I know that deep down, you don't want to either."

"Are you kidding me? Please tell me not all of you are..." Soren looks around and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If this comes to bite us in the back..."

"We got this," Mae giggled. "Alright gang, let's move out!

***

The group continued to walk down the long dark corridor and kept at it as the voices grew louder.

"Whatever is at the end of this..." Tobin muttered. "We have to be ready for."

The others nodded and they suddenly came across a big red door that was nailed shut. Tobin's Dad dabbled in carpentry when he was younger so having him here might have helped.

"Well..." Gaius said. "Anybody got any ideas? Normally I would use my excellent lockpicking skills, but-"

Just then, Mae blasted the door open with her magic.

"That works too," Gaius muttered as they entered the massive prison compound. As they looked around, they saw prison cells stacked on top of prison cells with the rows circling the entire room.

"This place is huge," Soren sighed. "And we have to free everyone?"
"Well yeah," Tobin said. "We can't leave anyone behind!"

"Okay. And how are we going to get everyone out of here? I'm sure the people here have guards somewhere and they might have heard the blast from above."

Mae put her hands on her hips. "I didn't hear YOU coming up with any ideas!"

"Hey don't start yelling at me! I'm not the one who wanted to throw away our plans and-"

Just then, a voice echoed from one of the nearby cells. "T-Tobin..."

Tobin's heart stopped cold right there. "That voice..."

"What is it Tobin?" Mae asked.

The Clueless One quickly began walking around the room looking for the owner of the voice until having his eyes fall upon a young man with tattered clothing. As the man looked up, Tobin suddenly felt his whole body become increasingly hot with anger against Embla.

"Gray..."