Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem… If I did, I would have included my characters in the game.

Summary: Nergal was nothing but a puppet. Another fight lies ahead, but can Eliwood's warriors win this time?

Pairings: :Eliwood Ninian: :Hector Florina: :Jaffar Nino: :Lyn Rath: :Raven OC: :Guy OC: :Sain OC: :Mathew OC: :Legault OC: :Heath Pricilla:

Universe: Post-game.

Status: Complete. Written 01-26-05 - Finished 12-03-08.

Author's Notes: Hey everyone, this is my first fanfic ever so I hope you like it. Please review so I can get better at writing, don't be scared to tell me what you like or dislike from the story. Thank you.

Last edited: 23th of June 2009.

Story's notes:

"Talking"

Thinking

"SHOUTING"

'Emphasis'

-"Flashback"-

Spells

Important voice from the past

"Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength."

-Henry Ward Beecher-

"The beginning of the end"

By: FenixPhoenix

Chapter 1: "The beginning of the end"

Nergal had at last been defeated. The army felt a wave of relief as they wearily -but never the less happily- made their way back to the shore where Fergus' ship awaited them.

Everyone had a big smile upon their faces as they neared the ship that would take them home to their families and friends -except maybe for the ruby-eyed girl who was walking beside Lord Eliwood. Instead, her eyes were as watery as the ocean itself.

She was the only one who could not smile.

It was strange. Though part of her felt happy because she would be able to be with her beloved, the other part couldn't stop thinking about the price she had been asked to pay.

"Ninian… are you okay?" asked Eliwood, even when knowing she wasn't.

"I know 'he' made it back safely," she said. Leaving Nills, her brother, had been one of the hardest and cruelest choices of her life. "But… he was so happy here. I know he would have liked to stay with everyone."

"He is a good boy, Ninian," he offered, "and he loves you very much… and no matter the distance, he will always be by your side." he smiled gently at her while brushing away her tears.

"Thank you, Lord Eliwood… You always know what to say to make me feel better," she smiled back and blushed slightly when she noticed he had suddenly taken her hand in his.

"I love you..," he whispered tenderly.

"I love you too," she replied as she bathed on the warmth of his embrace. New tears began to stream down her face again. Yet, this time they were tears of happiness.

-o0o-

As soon as they reached the ship, they all began preparing to embark on the awaited journey that would take them back home. Everyone felt like talking to each other regardless of their differences.

For instance, Mathew and Guy -who could never be around each other (actually just for sword master's part)- were now together as if they were the best of friends. Well, that was until they saw Guy trying to walk away from the thief, while the latter gave him his usual devilish smile and cut his escape by placing one of his arms around the nomad's shoulders.

"I don't even want to know what he's making Guy do now," stated Hector as he approached Eliwood -Oswin following closely behind.

"I am sure they are okay," replied the red headed Lord happily.

"Lord Hector," Oswin's voice interrupted them, "You should probably get some rest… you must be very weary and we cannot allow the future leader of Ostia to look exhausted when he arrives."

Hector rolled his eyes and ignored the old man. He knew that no matter what he said the knight will certainly reply the same thing using different words.

"Sir," they heard one of the ship's crew members calling Fargus -who had been talking to Dart near were the Lords' stood.

"What do you want?" he asked, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

"There is a stranger on board!" he replied, "we cannot capture her, she is too fast!"

"What! What the heck do you mean by that?" asked Fargus as he approached the man hurriedly.

Eliwood, Hector, Dart, and Oswin immediately followed him.

-o0o-

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Lyn, using her most commanding voice. Her question was directed at the black-haired girl standing in the middle of the deck, arms resting at her side and eyes closed, as if she was deep in thought.

She was not really pretty but rather exotic, the nomad gave her that. Though the fact that half her face was hidden behind a golden mask, may have also added to her alluring mystery.

The young intruder was slim, average height but had skin that was a mixture between light brown and gold. Her hair was short, barely touching her shoulders. However, three thin brads came out of the nape of her head and those reached down her lower back, whipping behind her whenever the wind decided to blow.

Sweeping her with her green gaze, Lyndis noted that her outfit reminded her of one a spy or thief would wear.

She was clad with a black short-sleeve jacket, reaching just below her breasts and opened on the front. Below it, she wore a crimson, tight blouse. Her dark skirt -with golden-trimmed edges and red short underneath- was opened on the sides, revealing her long shapely legs. Twirled around her neck was a long, red scarf that floated like a cape behind her when caught by the wind.

Two red with gold belts, crossed each other loosely over her hips. Each was holding a sharp killer edge. As Lyndis continued her inspection, she noticed that –apart from those knives—the stranger also had twin, double-edge, short swords tied to her back.

Further gracing her body was an incomplete golden armor worn above black bandages to avoid damaging her skin. The golden, thin pieces protected her shins, forearms and her right shoulder and had strange runic designs running though the polished surface.

On her feet she wore not the regular boots, but leather-sole sandals that served as further proof to her guessed profession.

"What is happening?" asked Hector upon arrival, his puzzlement evident.

"Who is she?" enquired Eliwood before Lyn could answer the previous question.

By then, almost everyone was present. Even the ones who had gone to sleep had woken up when hearing the scandal on the deck.

Raven and Jaffar had been the ones who'd arrive first, just after the stranger had jumped from out of nowhere and onto the deck. Both had their swords in hand and were looking at her intensely, waiting for her to make the first move. But the expected movement never came. She stood there silently with her eyes close, clearly unperturbed.

Ninian was one of the last ones to get there followed by the shy Florina. Both were waiting expectantly for something to happen, as were the rest who composed the huge crowd that had gathered.

The dragon-girl's first thought when hearing about the commotion, however, had been that her beloved might be in trouble. With effort, she'd made her way through the bunch of warriors until she reached her Lord. She'd scanned him quickly and, once she was sure nothing had happened to him, she'd fixed her gaze on the stranger aboard.

Florina, on the other hand, was now standing behind Lord Hector's broad back, hiding herself from the stranger's sight. Hector felt her small, gentle hands touching his back. Unable to resist, the blueheaded smiled warmly at her and promptly reassured her, with that gesture, that he would protect her with his life.

"Well, tell us who you are already!" yelled Farina from within the crowd, evidently sick of the growing tension.

"Farina!" scolded her older sister, landing beside her perched on her beautiful pegasi.

"Everyone is finally here," the stranger said in a neutral tone, void of any and every emotion.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Serra in her loud, childish and piercing voice.

The girl slowly opened her eyes to revel…

"What the hell!" gasped Hector softly with a mixture of surprise and concern.

Everyone's eyes were wide open, their faces showing either plain confused, open vexation, or building fright.

Raven and Jaffar, for their part, had unconsciously lowered their weapons and were now staring at her unblinkingly.

Why?

Because the woman's eyes were golden, just like those of a Morph! Yet, she couldn't be one…! After all, her skin was not the usual pale color that could be considered an unchanging characteristic of Nergal's servants.

Nino, undaunted, stepped a bit closer to inspect her eyes. Heaving a sigh, she stated loud enough for everyone to hear, "She has a little red in them... they look… kind of 'cute', actually".

Jaffar was snapped out of his thoughts by that. He turned to look at the short fourteen-year-old girl who was now standing beside him with her usual sweet smile. How interesting that the youngest member of their army was not scared at all. Naturally, this served to put the anxious ex-black fang member at ease.

"So, what's your name?" asked Rath who had been quiet all this time.

"Kaida," she answered, fixing her gaze on him for a few seconds before closing her eyes again.

Raven, who had sheathed his sword was now and was standing with arms folded across his chest in his usual stern poise, studied the woman intently.

"Are you an enemy or a friend?" he enquired with that cold baritone that most people regarded as rather unfriendly.

"That depends," she said, opening her eyes and staring right at him. Raven raised an eyebrow and she elaborated, "It depends on your decision."

As hazel eyes bore into his wine ones, Raven felt something inside his stomach twisting, not in a painful way but simply in a 'different' way. Somehow, he found himself unable to break eye-contact, and a huge part of him dreaded the moment she would close her eyes or look at something or someone else. Hell, he even had to suppress the urge to walk towards her and remove her mask to see her face.

How odd a feeling…

After a second, though, her attention did shift towards the man who –unarmed- was approaching her calmly.

"What decision will that be?" asked Lord Eliwood kindly as he closed the distance between them without hesitation.

Kaida was impressed and confused by his actions. This man had, not only, approached her unafraid, but he had done so unarmed. So, naturally, she couldn't help but wonder whether the redheaded was, either too confident in his abilities and strength, or if he was simply a fool.

"Don't you think it is dangerous to approach a stranger without a weapon?" she voiced that which she could not understand, intrigued by what his answer would be.

"I do not think you have come here to fight us," he confided and, with a smile, continued, "Not to mention that if you wanted me dead you could have already killed me."

His reply was so frank, that it was notably surprising. Kaida was forced to admit that this man was a lot harder to understand than she had originally predicted.

"Just the answer I would have expected from one of the strongest Lords," she complimented, a smirk forming behind the golden mask.

"Care to explain why you are here, intruder?" requested Lyn, frustrated by the tension in the atmosphere that was rising by the second.

"I have come from a faraway place to inform you of an event that will endanger all humans in this world if not prevented," she explained, closing her eyes again as if searching for the right words to proceed.

Everyone was quick to exchange nervous and puzzled glances. They had just saved the world not even a day ago, and now this woman popped out of nowhere telling them that the future of the world would once more rest on their shoulders! How could they not feel devastated at the mere suggestion that their fight had changed absolutely nothing?

"Nergal has already been defeated," commented Pricilla, hoping she was referring to that event.

"Nergal was nothing but a 'puppet'… He is weak compared to the master of this new scheme," countered the stranger coldly.

"Are you saying that what we did—all our troubles- changed nothing?" hissed Lyn furiously. "We risked out lives out there! He was a challenging foe!"

"Maybe… for you," Kaida offered.

"How would you know!" seethed Lyn, her hand clutching the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it at any moment. "You weren't even there!"

"I was not needed," she answered, not intimidated by the nomad girl or, if she was, she did not show it. "My job was to see if you could defeat him first. Had you failed, I would have gathered my team and defeated him… It would have also meant that you were not fitted to fight this new foe."

"What the heck is that suppose to mean!" Lyn was getting fed up with this nonsense. Her emerald eyes were burning with such rage, that Rath had to restrain her from charging at Kaida.

"This was a test," she confided, her voice calm as she locked her gaze with Lyn's unwaveringly. "You are weak if you let emotions control you so easily."

"How dare you-"

"Now, now Lyndis," Eliwood began with a merry tone in an attempt to calm her fury. "Let's just hear her out first."

Again Kaida felt intrigued by the way this Lord handled the situation. She knew he was placid and nice to everyone, but she wouldn't have expected him to keep order in such a 'tender' way. But then again, Hector –she had gathered- was the one who tried to keep everything in control by using force and as a result, she figured, together they made the perfect balance.

"Please," came Eliwood's voice when Lyn had cooled out a little, "continue with what you were saying."

"Yeah, what do you mean Nergal was nothing!" growled Hector, "Maybe you are right about him, but then what about the 'DRAGON' we just annihilated back there, huh!"

Eliwood turned around and looked at his friend disbelievingly. He had just settled Lyn down, and now it seemed he had taken her place on raising the tension between their army and the newcomer.

"Now, now Hector," said Eliwood with the same tone he had used with the Lady of Caelin.

"Now, now nothing, Eliwood!" he replied loudly, "She has no right to speak of something she does not know!"

"The dragon was weak," she argued. "That girl," with a sharp jerk of her head, she indicated Ninian, "had easily decreased more than seventy percent of his life force."

Hector crossed his arms and closed his eyes trying to compose himself. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. How could he have spoken without thinking about that 'small' detail a little longer? All of a sudden, he felt a hand slipping around his arm. He glanced at the owner of the limb and found Florina looking at him with her eyes full of concern.

"Umm… I-It is a-alright Lord H-Hector," she strutted, "t-the dragon… he w-was very strong… e-even if he was n-not fighting at its f-full capacity."

He felt his anger vanishing and couldn't help but smile tenderly at her. "I know," he said, holding her hand and squeezing it in gratefulness. She always said what he needed to hear.

Eliwood sighed with relief when he saw his friend had regained his usual cocky face. He turned around to look at the stranger again, who had walked to one of the edges of the deck, near where Raven stood, and was looking at the ocean.

-o0o-

Raven had felt, yet again, his stomach twisting when he saw her walking towards him. She looked at him for just a couple of seconds, before her attention shifted the endless sky that was kissing the deep, blue ocean.

Hands made of wind combed her hair and touched her skin gently, lovingly. Before he knew it, he found himself wishing it was his hand touching her skin, his fingers digging into her dark locks.

"She's a very intriguing person, is she not?" asked Lucius, looking at his friend with a childish grin adorning his face. "It's hard to avoid looking at her."

"Indeed," replied the mercenary unconsciously. But once he had noticed his slip, he quickly tied to fix his answer, "I mean… it is wise to keep an eye on a warrior who has not yet declared her alliance."

"Of course," agreed Lucious, smiling widely as he saw his friend's cheeks turn a pale shade of pink. "I didn't mean anything by it."

-o0o-

"Such companionship," Kaida thought as she walked towards the edge of the deck, her head filled with doubts and ideas that had never crossed her mind before. "Hmm… could this be envy I feel? Or is it just anger at not understanding their links, 'his' unexpected actions and words?"

She closed her eyes, allowing the wind wash away those strange feelings. Slowly but surely, her mind emptied, shutting down all her senses except that one of touch.

Apart from 'Golden', the wind was the only company that had remained constant in her life. For her, there were no friends only clients; no family only guardians; no games only missions; no peace only fights; no wisdom only knowledge; no feelings… only thoughts…

Sometime later, she realized that everyone was silently waiting for her to continue. All eyes were upon her as if expecting something to suddenly happen, but nothing changed. How uncharacteristic of her to slip out of reality, even if for a moment, while in company…

She turned around to face the redheaded Lord. His blue eyes still showed nothing but kindness. It made her feel at ease somehow to be among them. She found herself thinking that she wouldn't mind working under his command, but dismissed the thought just as soon as it had cross her mind.

"His name is Keres Blood," she began. "Or at least that is what he calls himself."

Her voice had regained her cold and distant tone, her eyes unemotional.

"He is… very strong," she said after a pause, sweeping them all. "He manipulated the man you called Nergal and convinced him into opening the portal for the dragons. He was also the one who gave him the essence needed to create the morphs you fought on your last mission and taught him how to create them."

"Why didn't he help Nergal with the fight, then?" interrupted Vaida, who had dismounted her wyvern after sensing no more threat from her.

"He had no use for him anymore," explained Kaida. "As I told you before, he was nothing more than a puppet -a worthless tool that could be replaced by anyone else. More importantly," she paused, "this man has become tired of waiting and has decided to make the first move. According to our information, he has begun to make his own army of Morphs and is recruiting the strongest of thieves, deserters, pirates, mercenaries and every other outlaw you could think of."

"An army of… morphs?" echoed Hector in disbelief.

"That is correct."

"What is he planning to do with the army?" asked Kent clearly concerned by the news.

"We are certain that he will attack one of the Lycian territories, yet we are not sure which will be attacked first. Our guess is that they will target Ostia, since that is the strongest force in Lycia," she looked at Hector as she said this. The man had suddenly turned ghostly pale.

"You are not serious!" exclaimed Oswin, who looked as pale as his Lord.

"Like I said before, it is our guess," she replied calmly. "But it makes sense, doesn't it? The biggest threat is, after all, Ostia."

"We… we have to do something, Eliwood!" Hector turned to his friend, his eyes filled with fright and concern.

"Don't worry, my friend," replied the redheaded, "Rest assure that Pherae will stand by your side."

To be continued…