Fire Emblem Fates: Gamer of Grima

Chapter 6

It took a while, but we finally managed to make it to the Bottomless Canyon, and it's as creepy as I remember it…from what little I can remember anyway.

"Wow… Is this it? The Bottomless Canyon?" Kamui said.

"Yes. It's the Natural Boundary dividing Nohr and Hoshido." Gunter responded.

"It can't really be bottomless, can it?" Kamui asked out loud.

"Want to toss a rock and see if you can hear it hit the bottom?" I joked, getting giggles from Kamui and a chuckle from Gunter.

"Joking aside, let the eternal darkness below be your answer. Those who fall in never return… I truly despise this place." Gunter said with a grimace. "Something about the land around here just isn't right. The sky here is always dark and foreboding, and lightning strikes all who fly across. This is clearly a place us mortals were never meant to enter. Normally we'd go around… But the fort that King Garon wants surveyed is right over there." Gunter pointed out.

"Oh it's not so bad. Or perhaps I'm just happy to be outside in the fresh air! Compared to the inside of that fortress, this is downright exciting." Kamui said with a smile.

"Ha!" Gunter laughed. "That certainly puts things in perspective, Milady. Come, let's proceed." Gunter said, about to ride off, when I heard something.

"Wait!" I said, getting everyone's attention (and the ire of Hans). "I hear something, it sounds like someone is approaching us!" I said, since I can hear things due to being a Half Manakete, and having Grima with me certainly does increase my senses.

It was at that moment that Hoshido soldiers started appearing out of the fortress.

"Blast! It looks like this fort isn't as abandoned as we thought. Why the devil is this place crawling with Hoshidans?" Gunter said.

"Hold on! Do not advance any further, soldiers of Nohr!" a random Hoshidan Samurai, who I identified as Krillin with my Gamer ability, said…wait, Krillin? Uh oh.

The ninja with the name of Omozu then said, "Crossing that Bridge is a violation of our border treaty. Turn back at once, or we'll be forced to attack!" He commanded.

"What should we do?" Jakob asked.

"We're not here to fight." I said. "We have to turn back and report to King Garon before something happens."

"My thoughts exactly Mark, the sooner we report to Father, the better." Kamui said.

"Wise decision Mark, Lady Kamui." Gunter praised.

"Who asked you, old man?" Hans suddenly said.

"What!?" Gunter asked as he was pushed aside.

What followed was Hans charging at Krillin and killing him…I hardly knew ya. Hans clearly had this planned as well, as the moment they noticed he killed him, they sounded the alarm.

"Ah ha ha! Die scumbags!" Hans yelled.

"You'll pay for this!" Omozu said.

"Hans, what are you doing?! We had no reason to engage these troops!" Kamui said surprised, to which Hans snorted. "We should have tried diplomacy first. We weren't sent here to fight!"

"Speak for yourself, weakling!" Hans said rudely.

"Oh? And what EXACTLY do you mean by that?" I ask, giving a smile that threatened pain.

Before Hans could answer, Omozu spoke. "Soldiers of Hoshido, hear me! Do not leave a single Nohrian alive!" Then a random Hoshidan said "Prepare to attack!"

"Argh! Looks like there's no getting out of this now. Get ready to fight!" Gunter said.

Once everyone got into position, I decided to take Gunter's job at explaining this, except with my own little spin. "Kamui, Gunter! I'm sure I don't need to explain to you two about pairing up, so I'll keep this short. If you pair up with someone, you can cover the weaknesses of your ally while trying to find an opening to strike after your ally does, perfect use of pairing up is one of the keys to winning battles!"

Kamui and Gunter both nodded, then we went southward while Hans got himself beaten after reaching the fort to the north."Bwahaha! Looks like I've done enough Damage for the time being. Time to lay low and see how this all plays out…" too bad none of us heard that…

"I'm afraid the enemy's position across that bridge may be impenetrable. We've got to look for another way across. Lady Kamui! See if you can find a Dragon Vein around here!" Gunter suggested.

I could sense one right by me, however, me using it would cast suspicion on me, luckily, Kamui noticed the Dragon Vein, and used it, causing a bridge to form straight to the Fortress where Omozu was at.

"Gods! Did you see what just happened to the cliff? What are we dealing with here?" Omozu said…was that panic I heard in his voice?

After Kamui used the Dragon Vein, I got attacked by the Hoshidans that were guarding the gates to the fortress. I managed to avoid both strikes and countered, defeating both of them, and I chose not to sacrifice their lives.

Level Up!

Level: 4

HP:22

Strength:6

Magic:8 (+1)

Skill:6 (+1)

Speed:5

Luck:4

Defense:5

Resistance:5

"Ugh, got to do better than that." I mutter. Guess this is what I say when I don't get a good level up…

Kamui returned to me and we paired up, with her taking the lead before we confronted Omozu.

"Do you even realize what you've done here today? Hoshido won't stand for unprovoked attacks like this. Revenge will be ours!" Omozu shouted at us. Oh how badly I, and Kamui, want to say it wasn't our fault, but Hans' fault, too bad I don't think that would work, so we attacked him with the intent to knock out.

When we finally defeated him, he said, "Damn you! This isn't over…" as he slipped out of consciousness.

"This isn't what I had in mind…but at least I've completed Fathers mission." Kamui said with a sigh.

"Kamui…I'm hearing more people approaching!" I tell her after I hear footsteps. Soon afterwards, more of the Hoshidan Army appears, with Saizo out front.

"You're the leader of these troops? Pah. You're nothing more than a girl." Saizo spat. If I didn't have control over myself, I would have charged at him for such an insult, but even if I did manage to kill him for that, Kaze would most definitely resent me for it.

"Who are you?" Kamui asked with a sweatdrop.

"My name is Saizo. I've come to claim your life." he stated.

"Hey! Everyone! We're still under attack!" Kamui yelled.

"Destroy them!" Saizo said simply.

"I won't allow it!" A familiar voice said. Who revealed himself to be Xander as he blocked an attack that was aiming for Kamui.

"What?! This must be their real commander…" Saizo muttered.

"Kamui, Mark, what's going on here?" Xander asked.

"Xander! You're here!" Kamui said with relief in her voice.

"Hans went berserk and attacked one of the Hoshidans, causing them to retaliate!" I reported.

"He did, did he? I knew something was amiss, but for this to have happened…" Xander said, muttering at the end.

That's when Camilla, Elise, and Leo appeared…is his collar inside out again?

"We've made it just in time. Your luck never runs out, does it, sister?" Leo said with a smirk.

"Leo, your collar's inside out again." I said smugly, which caused him to panic when he realized I was right, causing a few chuckles from the others.

"In any case, are you both alright? I was so worried about you both!" Camellia said to Kamui and I.

"We're all here for you, Kamui, Mark!" Elise said cheerfully.

"Thank you everyone! Um, but before we get too carried away, we ARE under attack." Kamui said with a sweatdrop.

"Who dares attack my Beloved Kamui? I'll have their heads on a platter!" Camilla yelled.

"I'm not hurt Camilla…" Kamui said.

"But darling…it's the thought that counts!" Camilla said as she attacked two of the surrounding Hoshidans.

"I never knew Camilla could be so ruthless…" Kamui muttered.

"Heehee! That's right, you've never seen her on the battlefield before." Elise said with a smile.

"This is not going well…" Saizo muttered.

That's when another Ninja, who I identified as Kagero, appeared. "Saizo! What's wrong? What's our status?" She asked.

"I Misjudged the situation. We're outnumbered, Kagero, do we have anyone else on the way?" Saizo asked.

"Affirmative. Lord Ryoma is right behind me." Kagero stated.

"Ahh… Then I think this battle is as good as won." Saizo said.

"It looks like more Hoshidan reinforcements are on the way." Xander said.

"Indeed… What should we do?" Leo asked.

"Well, Kamui is safe, and the fort's condition has been evaluated. There's no reason to engage Hoshido further at this point. Kamui, you and Mark take the lead with Gunter. We'll follow close behind." Xander told us.

"Will do. Thank you Xander." Kamui told him, before we left to make our way back to the castle.

After a while of running, Kamui spoke up, "Gunter, Mark? Have either of you seen Jakob? He was here a second ago…" she asked, worried.

"I'm sure he's right behind us. Now hurry up. I can't stand being on this bridge a moment longer." Gunter stated.

Unfortunately, Hans chose this moment to appear in front of us. "Don't worry, you won't have to stand there much longer."

"Hans! Where did you go?!" Kamui asked him.

"Why be an idiot?" I asked.

"What is the meaning of this?" Gunter asked.

"Less talk, more death!" Hans said before he attacked Gunter, causing him to fall into a hole with his horse. With him barely holding on.

"Gunter! I'm coming for you!" I said, only for Gunter to push me out of the way when I got close enough to him, as Hans had threw a Hand Axe, and it would have hit me if Gunter didn't push me away, unfortunately, the Hand Axe Hans threw happened to land where Gunter was holding on, causing the rest of the plank to fall.

"Hans, no! Why are you doing this? Your own ally…" Kamui asked, tears forming in her eyes… Hans made Kamui cry, he will not live if I have anything to say about it. Taking this opportunity, I tried to look at Hans' stats, only to be shocked at what awaited me

Stats Unknown; Person needed for plot to advance

Cursing my terrible luck, I had no choice but to watch things go on and assist Kamui.

"Aww, did I knock your babysitter into the ditch? Here- you both can meet up with him at the bottom!" Hans said, laughing.

Unfortunately for him, Kamui's arm transformed, she is instinctively using Dragon Fang without even knowing it. "You'll pay for this!" she said.

"What?! What kind of…freak…are you?!" Hans said, shocked. He immediately gets attacked by Kamui, and I jumped in after she shot the water ball from the maw-like part in order to get a shot in with my magic, so I fired a Flux at him, barely hitting him.

"It can't be…beaten by two kids?!" Hans said, shocked.

"I want answers Hans! Why are you doing this? Why did you provoke Hoshidans? And why did you kill Gunter? Answer me!" She asked, fury in her eyes.

"Grr…I was just following orders. King Garon's orders!" Hans answered.

"What?!" Kamui asked, the anger in her eyes diminishing. "You lie!"

I'm ashamed to admit it, but with Kamui slightly distracted, Hans took the chance to take me hostage…Grima will most definitely scold me for it later… "Sorry Princess," Hans began, "But my orders are clear! Tell ya what, I'll give you a choice. Come after me…or HIM!" Hans said as he threw me off of the bridge…

I wasn't going to fall down without one more spell! I prepared a Flux, and felt the rush of a critical hit, causing me to smirk, "It may seem bad, but I can still Tip the Scales!" I yelled, however, due to me using a spell while falling from a potentially dangerous height, I was knocked unconscious, I did manage to faintly see Kamui jump down willingly to get to me, and faintly hear the critical Flux hit Hans…I don't think that killed him though…Darkness.

Kamui POV

As I saw Hans throw Mark off the bridge as he made his escape, I knew what I had to do.

For a second, it almost seemed as if Ganglari was glowing in approval…odd. But I still jumped down into the Canyon to save one of my first friends, possibly crush, no doubt I am blushing a little right now thinking of it.

As I fell, I noticed some sort of Dark Spell fly past me, and if I heard correctly, it managed to hit Hans…I hope that man got what he deserved.

Still, I've been falling for a while now, and still havent seen a sign of Mark anywhere. I honestly was ready to give up hope, until I saw Mark in the distance!

From the looks of things, Mark got knocked out, probably the combination of using a spell while falling or something. I extended out my hand, trying to reach him as I got closer, but I had to bring it back as my hand almost hit a sharp rock…that was close! I mustn't give up though! Mark needs me to save him! Still, we must be close to the bottom, I'm seeing a lot of those sharp rocks everywhere.

"I must save Mark! Please! Give me the power to save him!" I asked whomever may be listening.

Then suddenly, as if answering my prayers, I sprouted wings…what? No Kamui! This isn't the time to be questioning this! This is the time to be using these wings to save Mark!

Thanks to the wings, I was able to catch up to Mark easily and bring him into my arms bridal style. (That should be me!)

Glad that I managed to get him in time, I started to fly back up, I won't stop until we are back on solid ground!

However, while I did manage to fly most of the way back, my wings suddenly started to ache, as if I'm using them too much. I just need to go a bit farther…the problem is, it seems like Ganglari is increasing in weight as well, almost as if it's trying to drag me back into the depths of the Bottomless Canyon.

"Just…a little more!" I panted, I could see the bridge that I jumped from. Sadly, it seems my wings chose this time to give out and disappear, and without anything holding it back, Ganglari made me float for a second, before plunging me back towards the depths! "Noooooo!" I yelled. Cursed Sword! If I had known this would happen, I'd have thrown this away after leaving the borders of the castle!

I was close to losing consciousness, but before I could I saw a bright blue glow and something approaching me fast…Is that Lilith?!

"My kin, my gods, my blood…Dragons, give me strength! Great Moro! I beseech you!" Lilith shouted, and after saying that, she suddenly turned into some sort of bird…dragon thing! She looked blue with some red scales here and there. She also held some sort of orb and somehow had the cutest looking eyes. Said eyes still hold the kindness I know Lilith has!

I was in awe, so much so that I didn't notice at first that I, along with Mark who was in my arms, was scooped up by some sort of force.

After I regained by barings (and checked if Mark was safe) I looked at Lilith and asked, "Lilith…? Is that you? Wh-what ARE you?" She just looked so cute! If I wasn't floating somehow, I would have pet her lots!

Lilith, seeing my expression, smiled (that looks hard considering she seems to be some sort of dragon thing now) and said, "Lady Kamui, I knew this day would come eventually. This may come as a shock, but I'm not human, I never was to be honest."

Shocked at this, I couldn't give Lilith an answer, so she continued speaking, "As you can see, this is my true form. You've actually seen it before. Do you remember?" Lilith asked.

After thinking about it for a moment, I knew exactly where I saw this form. "You mean you're…"

Lilith nodded. "Yes, I was that same little 'bird' you saved in that cold winter."

"I'm assuming you had a reason to not tell me?" I asked, a little hurt.

"I do, Lady Kamui. If the other's back in Nohr knew what I was, who knows what could have happened, I could have been treated as an outcast, or worse, forced to become a servant of the king, and seeing what he is like these days, I could not allow that to happen." Lilith finished, then smiled at me. "Besides, I've always liked serving you Lady Kamui."

"I…see" I said, a little happy that Lilith sees me as a sister. "Ow!" I said, not feeling pain till just now. "Looks like all of that fighting and flying made me a little sore…"

"I can help with that!" Lilith chirped. Then a greenish sort of light surrounded us before I found myself somewhere else, with Mark still in my arms.

From what I can tell, there was a pretty throne, many beautiful trees, and what looks like some farms, but I can't see what it is at the moment

"Woah," I say, "Lilith, this is amazing! But…where exactly are we?" I ask.

"This place is one that is parallel to your own world, it's called the Astral Plane."

"If that's the case, then getting here must be pretty difficult, how did you manage to get us here?" I ask Lilith, confused.

"I managed to get permission from the First Dragons for us to inhabit this place," Lilith said, looking proud of herself. "Under their protection, we are safe here."

At this point, I decided to bring up something that's been bothering me once I noticed it. "Err, Lilith? You said this was a Parallel Dimension right? Where is everyone?"

Her face fell, "Ah…about that, there's nobody here, not anymore" She said, grimly.

I would comment on how I accidentally made her sad, but then I yawned, drawing her attention.

"Oh, that's right! After an experience like that, of course you would be tired! Give me just a moment, Lady Kamui!" Lilith said excitedly.

What followed surprised me, somehow, a treehouse appeared right in front of me! "Wow, was that a Dragon Vein?" I ask.

"Yup!" Lilith chirped. "The First Dragons powers flow freely here, so doing something like that is easy, oh yea! Also time works differently here as well."

Lilith then shook her head, "In any case, you and Mark need to get some rest. All of the basic necessities are in the Treehouse, and I've taken the liberty of adding a bathhouse right over…there!" Lilith said, as a bathhouse showed up a bit behind the treehouse.

"Thank you for this Lilith! Ill treat Mark, and once I'm sure he is healed, I'll take a quick bath." I said.

"In that case, once both of you are freshened up, meet me at the shrine I've set up, I can send you back once your." Lilith said, looking at Mark.

"Thanks again Lilith! See you later!" I say… 'I noticed that, Lilith. So, my sweet Mark has already gained the affection of a Dragon. Perhaps this plan of mine could be put into effect sooner than I expected… although, it would be a bit awkward if she stayed in that little Dragon form, so hopefully she will be able to change back eventually.' I thought, with a slight nosebleed

Mark POV

…The darkness has cleared up a little, I see a figure, what is…?

I jumped up in surprise as I saw Grima's copy of my face up close to me, nearly got myself stuck in the ceiling, and I didnt know this place even had a ceiling!

"HA!" Grima laughed. "Your reaction gets me everytime! Serves you right as well, letting yourself get taken hostage like that. Oh yea, not to mention NEARLY GIVING YOURSELF A ONE WAY TICKET TO VALLA, what do you think would happen if we end up there too early? I'll tell you what, we will quickly be killed, and then forced to become puppets to a Dragon who has lost all sense of self, and I will NOT become Dependent, that is NOT how the Fell Dragon works." Grima ranted at me.

"To be fair, the guy had taken a lot of damage, how was I supposed to know he was still able to move enough to grab and throw me over the edge?!" I told him.

"While you made a fair point, you need to be more careful, if it wasn't for that manakete girl of yours, you would have been trapped in Valla with no way out. I will say though, that was a VERY nice shot with that critical Flux." Grima said, then complimented, and that's high praise coming from him.

"In any case, where are we? If we aren't in Valla, that means we are in the Astral Plane, right?" I ask him.

"Yes, we are in the Astral Plane, in some sort of Tree House, and your little girlfriend left to go bathe after she treated your wounds." Grima said.

I blushed a little at Grima calling Kamui my girlfriend, and even more when he said she went to bathe. "Something thats bothering me though…how will Kamui deal with the events in Hoshido? It's going to happen soon after all." I mutter.

"Fleshling." Grima grabbed my attention.

"Hm? What is it Grima?" I ask, staring into those eyes of his, a pure black one, with some sort of red dot in the middle that glows when he moves, and a crimson one.

"Tell me something, what does the girl mean to you? And why?" Grima asked, genuinely curious.

I had to think about it, but afterwards, I said, "It's because I see myself in her, we both are a bit naive about the world around us, and would prefer to avoid killing if possible, we both also come from the Silent Kingdom…though for some reason, i can just feel this…bond?" I saw, recalling how my C support with her was me confessing to being from a different world to her.

"You humans and your bonds," Grima huffed. "Just what's so special about them?" he asked.

"Well…bonds are what keep people together during rough times, they can help us reach seemingly impossible strength in the pursuit of protecting one's loved ones…I'm sure, if you had given it a chance, you would have experienced this yourself."

Before I could say anymore, my vision gets filled with a White light, and I heard Grima say "Huh, looks like your waking up." I could tell he went to look at me, and he then said "Bonds, huh?"Before I woke up from that.

To Be Continued!

Mark TGoG: I am SO SORRY for this being late!

Grima: Calm down Fleshling! It's hard to keep track of time in here, so of course it would take a while!

Mark TGoG: While that's true, it doesn't help the fact that I've kept these people waiting for so long! About a year and a half I think. Oh yea, I also have to apologize if this chapter is a bit too on the Script of Fates, sometimes stuff like this happens

?: What's the point of doing this anyway?

Grima: Ahh, that's right, you're a recent arrival, so of course you wouldn't know…I'll explain later.

Mark TGoG: ...didn't I explicitly tell you NOT to interrupt us when we are doing this?

?: yea, yea, but can you really blame me for being curious? Who, someone who managed to a-

Mark TGoG: THAT'S ENOUGH OF THAT, ANYMORE THAN THAT WOULD BE SPOILERS

Grima: …since Mark won't say it, I will, if you're curious on who she is, we aren't telling…at least, not yet. I will say this though, she will become VERY important to the story later down the line

?: hehe, aww, I'm blushing Grima

Grima: you wear pink all of the time…how am I supposed to know?

Mark TGoG: Ok, to prevent further Spoilers, I'm going to end it here. We hope to see you in chapter 7 of Fire Emblem Fates: Gamer of Grima!