29Author's Note: Welcome, welcome, welcome! Come inside, kick off your shoes, crash on the couch, have a soda! (Well, I don't have 'em on me, but nevermind.) Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Talking About Anything - Fire Emblem Fates!
So, with Fire Emblem Fates (I just said that) unleashed upon us—with its good and bad parts (I'll talk about that later)—I figured: Why the hell not? This does present some opportunities to play with the Fates "sandbox". So, here we are!
Hope you enjoy! :D
EDIT (9/28): Added character information for the OCs at the bottom.
Warning: Future chapters may include language, dark themes, some graphic descriptions, and other things that likely aren't safe for anybody below teenage…er, age (example for non-US citizens: in the US, you're considered a teenager when you are 13 years old). This won't happen too often. Maybe. Just letting you know where this might go in future.
"How Do I Talk About This?"
Trey
Commercial District (West), Fort Devas, Astral Plane
After letting the waves below lap at the posts of the platform—earthen ground and all—she spoke again.
"S-So, you…have a sister, too?"
I stopped. Then I squinted because the setting sun was a bit bright in my eyes. "Uh, yeah," I replied, picking up the crate again, "but…it's more like I…had a sister. And I didn't know I even had one until after she…well…"
"O-Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"Oh, no no no!" I said quickly. "It's not a problem at all! You didn't dredge up any bad memories." Seeing as I don't have the same excuse as Kamui did, I thought as I set the crate down next to the rod store. Okay, that's everything."Although…"
Sakura looked back at me. "Hm?"
I turned around, walked a few steps south of the store, stopped near the west edge of the platform, and looked over at my 1 o'clock. "…I wish I could get her advice on that."
The youngest princess of Hoshido followed me, then my gaze. "Ah…yes, there is that."
(Don't worry, Trey'll talk about Natalise. Pleasebe patient. —Blu)
While we had been busy helping Kamui with neutralizing both factions across the Fields of Hoshido, something strange happened in the Astral Plane. At Kamui's new castle, a bunch of loud noises had awoken Lilith from a well-deserved rest. Upon floating our of her temple, she was shocked to find that a great swath of the Nestrian-style fort grounds had been completely ripped away, from east to west, and strewn into the ocean's grey waves below.
Needless to say, she was extremely bewildered by this.
And evidently, so were the people stationed in the freaking offshore platform that had "passed through" the castle's front yard.
Weirdly enough, the incident had given Kamui an idea, of all things. After meeting the people on the platform, he decided to give his castle the name "Fort Devas". The first reason for this was that Kamui intended to make the place a "common ground" for both sides—both royal families included. The second reason, on the other hand, was actually rather hilarious in retrospect. It was basically taking the name of the offshore platform that had wrecked the fort in the first place.
It was going to be confusing, sending messages from "Fort Devas" to "Deva Station" and back again.
Yeah, that is indeed the name that was given to the plat.
When we weren't busy learning the truth about our enemy down below, or getting a hostile reception at Fort Jinya (which I found particularly jarring, compared to last time), we were busy rebuilding from the destruction. Thankfully, Deva Station provided Kamui with some personnel and resources to both reconstruct and reinforce the prince's own offshore platform-esque castle. He'd already taken care of the center platform—which had grown in size—as well as most of the remaining grounds…
Ugh, I really don't know how to describe "platforms that also have dirt on top".
Anyway, Bluefield had traveled over to Deva Station again, to assess any damage it might've sustained before finally stopping some stone's throws west from Fort Devas. He'd said he'd be back after at least 2 hours, so for the rest of the day, Dreyza assigned the rest of us Wolves to help Kamui and Felicia with consolidating the "army's" remaining assets.
Luckily, Kamui's private treehouse, Lilith's temple, and the library had been untouched, so we didn't have to worry about fishing out beds or books out of the blue. However, other areas weren't so lucky. Example: Sakura, Hana and I were gathering up the scattered wares from the nearby rod store, which now had a cracked-open storeroom and wrecked roof. Only a third of its wares were above sea level and were easily retrieved, and even then, some of the rods and vulneraries had been smashed up (as we'd discover later). We'd probably need to get help from a supplier for restocking. (Fortunately, Subaki was gonna take inventory as soon as he possibly could.)
Ring-ring! Ring-ring!
That sound made us turn around from the sight of Deva Station on the horizon.
Drifting up to us on his black bicycle, an icebox mounted on the back rack, was Kyoku, our resident cynical Zero. On refreshment delivery.
"Hello, Princess," he said before nodding to me. "Hey, Trey."
"Uh, h-hello." "Hey."
Engaging the kickstand, Kyoku dismounted before stepping to the icebox and opening the lid. "You've gotten a lot done," he commented, nodding towards the crates. "How many did you gather up?"
"10 crates of rods, 7 crates of vulneraries, 3 of tonics." I shrugged. "We haven't applied a crowbar to them yet, so no telling where we stand on actually usable inventory." Kyoku handed me a can of Coca-Cola. "Thanks."
"Anytime. What about you, Your Highness? Would you like a carbonated soft drink?"
"O-Oh! uhm, al-all right…" Sakura took the second can from him. "Ah! It's cold."
Kyoku shrugged. "Yeah, well, soda tastes best when kept chilled. And when the consumer is sweating under the sun. Speaking of under the sun," he looked around, brow furrowed, "where's Hana? I thought she was gonna help you today, Princess."
"I-I asked her to check the northwest for any of the s-scattered inventory," she replied, a little meekly. I wouldn't blame her, though. Kyoku's grumpiness could be scary, even if he didn't mean to. "Y-You must've passed her on the way here."
"Huh." Kyoku shut and locked the icebox. "Guess I'm becoming more like the idiot that Bluefield is if I missed your friend."
"Kyoku," I said.
He looked at me as he mounted his bike again. Then he sighed. "…Right, sorry, man." Click,went the kickstand. "Alright, I'll let Dreyza know how far you've gotten. Thanks for your custom, enjoy your sodas. And don't litter. I'm notdealing with a damn landfill, okay?"
"Y-Yes, sir!" "Sure thing."
Kyoku nodded. "All right, thanks." And with that, he was off.
KSHHHT—! I looked over to Sakura. "…Uh, you open it by pulling the tab towards here."
"O-Oh, uh, thank you." KSHHHT—!
Putting one hand under the can—holding it like a Hoshidan tea cup—she took a sip, and her eyes brightened up in surprise.
"It's…sharp," she muttered, "but…also sweet…"
"Do you…like it?"
She took another sip. "Hm… It might take a while to get used to it. But it's not bad."
I nodded as I sat down on the ground, with Deva Station far away in the distance.
Sakura followed suit, a safe distance from my right.
This…feels so strange, I thought.
"…d-does Kyoku have something against Bluefield?"
I looked at her. "Uh, well…Kyoku's been bitter that his big sister is dead and that Bluefield isn't. He's getting over it, though. But…the thing he hates more is the legacy that his—" I stopped, then used air quotes. "'legacy'—his sister left him."
"I-I see…"
"Me, on the other hand, I…well…" I raised my hands in slight exasperation, at a loss for words. "I don't know what to think of my sister. I mean, I do want to know about her and all, and Bluefield told me everything he could, and yet…I feel like I don't know what I'd do if I met her if she was alive."
"Why?" Sakura looked rather concerned. "Was she horrible?"
I shook my head. "No, not really. She was jaded, sure, but also compassionate. Of course, being the Zero of Death, compassion doesn't equate to being nice. Many people made that same mistake, and fell to her scythe for it. In fact, if she were alive right now, she'd make the Nohrian army look tame in comparison."
"She'd…be worse than…?!" Sakura was so surprised, she couldn't finish that exclamation.
I nodded. "Yeah. But the weird thing is, she'd always do a bit of good here and there, as well. Especially when she had to work alongside…I'd suppose you'd call them 'antagonists'. She'd drop a coin into an orphan's hands. She'd drive off bandits who'd harass bystanders, no matter where they stand in society. She'd sabotage one or two pursuit vehicles before she had to partake in the upcoming chase. She didn't want to fight for the bad guys, and she never hated the people she fought. Especially not Bluefield."
I wasn't looking at Sakura now. I didn't see her expression.
"She was probably the most frightening Zero you'd ever encounter…and she'd go out of her to do a little good every now and again. Even if it would never matter…"
"T-Trey, are you…crying?"
"…huh?"
Soda forgotten, I reached up to my cheek. Something wet.
"…heh…it happened again." I chuckled in spite of myself. "You know, I haven't always been able to tell when I'm crying. Dunno why. At least, I think it helped this time."
"Wh-What do you mean? The crying?"
"No," I said before looking back up at her. "Talking about it with someOne."
KREEEEE!
The dragon's distant roar got our attention. We turned back to face Deva Station.
Against the sunset, a moving blotch of shadow flew away from the offshore platform, and towards Kamui's damaged bastion. I could see more details as it came closer. Long neck. The reptilian wings. Four legs. The people riding behind the wing joints.
"Is that…?" Sakura said, awed.
"Bluefield." I stood up, offered my hand to her, and, after she got to her feet, grabbed my soda. "Come on, let's meet his new acquaintances."
"…walked a few steps south of the store…"/"…completely ripped away, from east to west…" - As the Astral Plane appears to lack anything resembling a "planetary polarity", we're using the main castle in the back of Fort Deva (top of the map screen) as the pointer for north (if you were to stand in the center of the fort grounds). —Blu
"…from Fort Devas to Deva Station and back again…" - If the Wolves' previous record missions could be summarized by the words Retaliation and Revolution, then this mission—by nature of its circumstances and unforeseen factors—could be described as Devastation. Is this a coincidence? —Vaire
* …Vaire? —Blu
* Yes? —Vaire
* Didn't I tell you two to freak off? —Blu
* …As you wish. —Vaire
* That said…Fire Emblem Fates: Devastation…fitting, don't you think? —?
"…getting a hostile reception at Fort Jinya (which I found particularly jarring, compared to last time)…" - Right, I forgot: you didn't attack Fort Jinya with Dreyza, did you? —Skulden
"…we were busy rebuilding from the destruction…" - Let me elaborate: before we arrived at this castle, an unknown event altered the nature of the Dragon Veins in the Astral Plane—more specifically, anything within 500 kilometers of Fort Devas. This event occurred somewhere between Kamui's first departure from this plane (i.e. before Rinkah "said hi again") and his second arrival about two weeks later (i.e. after both sides went full moron). It's possible that the unknown event was Deva Station showing up—something no One and noZero saw coming—but I have my doubts. —Blu
"…Kamui's private treehouse, Lilith's temple, and the library…" - Add to the list of Things that weren't saved: food and ore harvesting sites (albeit temporarily). —Kyoku
"…she'd make the Nohrian army look tame in comparison." - As long as you didn't piss her off, you'd be able to have a constructive discussion with her. And from my experience with her, she's among the few individuals whom I can safely say are logically sound. If you did piss her off, though…well, you likely wouldn't be reading these words by now. —Blu
"The people riding behind the wing joints." - That was kinda surprising, actually. —Burna
* Really? Why? —Blu
* You hardly ever give strangers a ride on dragonback. Let alone other SAF soldiers. —Burna
* Ah, right. I guess part of me wanted to mess with them? A little? —Blu
* Okay, that I might be able to picture. —Burna
50 72 6f 6a 65 63 74 20 42 6c 75 65 66 69 65 6c 64 20 61 2e 32 30 31 32
Information:
There are currently 5 Zeros—"those who do not exist"—active during 2016. They are listed below:
017 "Bluefield", also known as "Blu" to his colleagues and friends, is the advisor of the Ashen Wolves, a squad consisting of the only five Zeros in existence. A reluctant individual, he sees the Ashen Wolves as a second chance to make up for a past failure.
Appearing as a 21-year-old thin caucasian/Japanese-American male, Bluefield has inch-long brown hair and brown eyes—at least, the left eye is brown. His right eye is actually a shade of blue, but turns red in certain situations. He also wears a pair of thin glasses. Blu is often seen in his favorite grey jacket, and he tends to wear brand shirts (e.g. Quiksilver), long cargo pants (or cargo shorts that cover the knees), sneakers, and (occasionally) fingerless gloves. He is also known to carry around a backpack.
Bluefield's first weapon, the ZeroSword, is a katana; Bluefield's body—specifically, the area where the human heart should be—acts as its sheath. His second weapon, the ZeroHand, is a grey sleeve-and-glove combination that replaces Blu's right arm. It has various forms, including a paw-like thing with blade-like fingers that double as a buzz saw on a wire ("Ursa Blades"), and an undulating mass of water ("Extension Flood"). He also carries either a FN Five-SeveN pistol or a USP .45 w/ tactical knife. Some of Blu's abilities include (but are not limited to) the power to "rush through time", "bullet time" during combat, and the ability to transform into a dragon.
Miscellaneous:
Currently likes: alone time, anime, the color #005075, computers, Japan, Japanese food, his iPod, jokes (well, some), listening to music (e.g. soundtracks), philosophy, pockets, reading, staying up late, video games (both good—Kingdom Hearts II, Xenoblade Chronicles—and interesting—Dark Sector, MagnaCarta II), walking, writing, YouTube (e.g. Extra Credits, Markiplier, Matimi0, theRadBrad, TotalBiscuit, RWBY).
Currently dislikes: being bothered for paltry reasons, the F-word, game developers that try to censor opinions, the idea of getting his stuff soaked, hypnosis, jokes that he'll misconstrue (e.g. parody, tongue-in-cheek), Konami (not to a rabid degree), losing contact of others, playing the part of a god, snooty folks, spinach, "taking the lead", tea.
Currently hates: heights (acrophobia), himself (probably due to PTSD).
Plays drums.
017-R "Dreyza" is the leader of the Ashen Wolves. Recently discovered to be Bluefield's sister (it's complicated), this determined young woman quickly proved herself as a capable swordfighter and leader for a group of nobodies. Though she understands Bluefield's reluctance to lead the most, she still looks up to him as a brother and senior Zero.
Appearing as a 17-year-old "Japanese-American" girl, Dreyza shares Bluefield's brown hair and eyes. Her hair features an asymmetrical braid, but is otherwise cut "boyishly" short. Her eyes, on the other hand, mirror Bluefield's: brown for the right, blue/red for the left. Her wardrobe mainly consists of jackets, T-shirts, jeans and other pants, and footwear that includes sneakers and mid-lower-leg-high boots. Hates carrying purses.
Dreyza's weapon is a katana known as the Glint Sword; just like her brother and his sword, her body is the sheath for this weapon. She also carries a USP .45 handgun. Some of Dreyza's abilities include (but are not limited to) accelerated reaction time, inhuman agility, and the ability to transform into a dragon.
Miscellaneous:
Currently likes: anime, culture, dragons, having a living sibling, iced coffee, movies (e.g. Princess Mononoke), music, poking fun, reading, singing, snark, video games (e.g. Portal 2), YouTube.
Currently dislikes: being the only sibling with a living sibling, isolation, makeup, overly-popular memes, tyranny.
Plays guitar + vocals.
016-R "Vespyr" is the designated gunner of the Ashen Wolves. Recently discovered to be the sister of one of Bluefield's late squadmates (it's complicated), this mischievous young woman proved herself to be the best of the current Zeros in terms of handgun application in combat situations. Though more cheerful than her elder brother, she can get scary when necessary—enough to make a buff dude back off and run away.
Appearing as a 17-year-old "British" woman, Vespyr has wild, inch-long, dirty-blond hair. She also has green-and-yellow-and-orange eyes (think a faint orange-and-yellow flower against a backdrop of light green), and slightly dark skin. Her wardrobe includes T-shirts and long-sleeves, super-effective "magic skirts" and jeans, sneakers and boots. Doesn't like purses.
Vespyr's weapon is the Glint Magnum; it is stored in her head (yes, think of Persona 3). Some of her abilities include (but are not limited to) "bullet time", "weak point detection", and the ability to transform into a gryphon.
Miscellaneous:
Currently likes: being a foil to/messing with Kyoku, coffee, flying, jokes, lampshade hanging, movies (e.g. The Princess Bride, Star Wars series), teasing Dreyza, video games (e.g. Nidhogg).
Currently dislikes: bigotry, disrespect (not to people), fops, makeup, negative parts of society, tea (I know—blasphemy!).
Plays guitar or violin.
015-R "Kyoku" (no, not as in the Japanese word for "song") is the reconnaissance expert and medic of the Ashen Wolves. Recently discovered to be the brother of Bluefield's squad leader (it's complicated), this cynical young man found his "mickle might" (not sure what that means) with the bladebow, a lethal weapon at all ranges. Kyoku tends to mope about other things—namely, his sister's legacy—even when Dreyza and Bluefield reassure him that he needn't bother with such things.
Despite his "heritage" as a 17-year-old "Japanese" male, Kyoku speaks with a noticeable Cockney accent (as opposed to Vespyr's Estuary). He has short black hair and dark-brown eyes. Kyoku tends to wear a down vest (Uniqlo brand) over a long-sleeve shirt. His wardrobe also consists of light pants, multipurpose shoes, and fingerless gloves.
Kyoku's weapon is the Glint Bladebow, which is stored in his forehead. Some of Kyoku's abilities include (but are not limited to) "bullet time", enhanced vertical leaping, and the ability to transform into a pair of shīsā ("lion dog" from Okinawan mythology).
Miscellaneous:
Currently likes: anime, basketball, horror, music, reconnaissance, YouTube.
Currently dislikes: alcohol, Bluefield, bubbly personalities, disrespect (not to people), overly-popular memes, s**t that "tastes like diabetes".
Plays piano.
013-R "Trey" is the youngest member of the Ashen Wolves. Recently discovered to be the brother of a rival Zero squad leader (it's complicated), this uncertain young man quickly found his best weapon in a gardening tool—also known as the scythe. He reminds Bluefield of himself in the past—part of the reason that he and Dreyza decided to take him under their wings.
Despite his "heritage" as a 16-year-old "British" individual, Trey speaks with an accent that one could easily mistake for American. He has messy, inch-long jet-black hair, and poison-green eyes. Trey's wardrobe includes T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, and jackets, among a few things.
Trey's weapon is the Glint Scythe, which is stored in the side of his neck. He also carries a USP .45 pistol. Some of Trey's abilities include (but are not limited to) accelerated perception and reaction time during combat, and the ability to transform into a [ Information Redacted ].
Miscellaneous:
Currently likes: anime, history, ice cream, reading, video games (e.g. Final Fantasy X, Xenoblade Chronicles), walking.
Currently dislikes: arguing, death (ironic), fighting, losing someOne, isolation, "reaping".
Plays guitar + vocals.
The "main character", as it were, in this timeframe.
And that's drabble number 1! How did I do? Was it good? Was it bad? Did I screw up? Please leave a review, minus the flames. (EDIT: Also, I hope the information about the Zeros helps clear some stuff up.) Other than that, have a nice day! :D
—017Bluefield