There's grass at my back. Huh.

I open my eyes.

I appear to be lying in a meadow on a beautiful summer day. Birds chirping, butterflies flitting from flower to flower, poofy clouds lazily drifting across the sky, the works. Which is weird, because I remember it being winter. And sleeping in a bed, come to think of it.

I freeze, close my eyes and try to think where I was last. The more I reach, the more the memories seem to slip out of my grasp, like a half dissolved dream. I... am a student, at a university. Philadelphia? Yes. America. Good. Biology, evolution. Darwin. C. elegans. Computer games, Mass Effect. Fire Emblem. Right.

I reach for my pocket, and my hand hits a sword hilt.

Well, that definitely wasn't there before.

Breathe. Slow down. Concentrate.

Resisting the urge further investigate the sword, I find my pocket and attempt to find paper or something. Unsurprisingly, I find nothing. I guess I'm just going to have to do it the old fashioned way. I'm somewhere I don't remember being, and forgetting where I last was seems to be a great way to get permanently lost. If I let myself get distracted, I have the nasty suspicion that I'll forget everything.

UPenn, cold, winter. Soft blankets. Piano. Violin but out of practice. Bit of ballroom for fun. Lots of video games. Wait, don't get distracted thinking about that. Name: Renee. Age: 19. Chinese American. Parents. Brother in Germany.

Satisfied that I probably have enough to go off of for further recall, I stand up to look around. I'll probably have to do that periodically to keep the memory fresh. My clothing looks familiar, so I assume that didn't change. I don't have my backpack or purse with me, so I suppose that it's a blessing that I favor jackets with large pockets. Wait. I definitely wouldn't sleep with this jacket on. Hm. That's interesting. Wearing boots, definitely wouldn't have been wearing those in bed. And I don't have my winter coat on, which I probably would have put on if I was outside. Sleep walking? Uh, probably not. It would have been cold, and I probably would have frozen to death. Kidnapped? Kinda unlikely. For one thing, they probably wouldn't have left me with a sword.

Outside of a fencing foil for a few beginner's fencing lessons and kitchen knives, I haven't actually held anything remotely resembling an edged weapon. This one was pretty light, though still a tad heavy for me and my stick arms. Bronze? It's an odd greenish hue that I don't normally associate with swords. I cautiously touch a finger to the edge and immediately cut myself. Sharp, at least. No crossguard, and it's double edged. Roman gladius? No, there's a weird curve in the middle. Strangely familiar looking though. Where have I seen this before?

Bronze Sword. 50 uses, E Rank. 350 gold.

What. Oh no. Nononononono.

I'm in a bloody self insert.

Hm. Does that mean I magically know how to use a sword now? I give it a practice swing and I almost lose my grip and drop it on my foot. Oops. Deeeeep breaths. That could have been really messy. I guess not. Damn, that would have been cool. Still, that rules out a few things. I'm not the Avatar, thank god. I don't think I could strategize properly if it didn't involve save scumming.

I root around my pockets. No electronics, that makes sense. So whatever dropped me here left me with a sword and changed my clothes. How thoughtful. Though with Outrealm Gate here... Huh. There's a thought. Did I fall through the Gate? If so, how the hell did that happen?

I start walking, hoping to spot a path or something. My best bet is to reach people, since sword or no, I'm pretty much inept at defending myself from anything. I've got little muscle, and am pretty uncoordinated. As much as I have resisted my friends' attempts to get me to join the track team, I admit it probably would have helped in this situation. If nothing else, at least I could have run. And knowing Fire Emblem, bandits will probably pop out at some point. Urp. Let's try not to think about that, shall we?

It was a long walk. There were way too many bugs. I figured out why I didn't go hiking like I always promised myself I would. I'm tired, my feet hurt and way, way too many places itch. I don't do physical activity. Bluh.

The sun was close to setting when I finally gave up and flopped down under a tree. I had been following a dirt path, but that seemed like a worse and worse idea as it led into a forest. What had been a beautiful day turned into a strangely ominous night. Nights in a forest are scary. Strange sounds everywhere, shadows, mysterious rustling - basically everything you don't want when you're lost in the dark. But at this point, I was a bit too tired to care much. I curled up and feel asleep, and hoped to whatever deity may be listening that I would wake up if I was in trouble. My track record with waking up in time wasn't too good in general, so I figured that I'd need whatever help I could get.

I woke up to the ground pitching and rolling beneath me. Give how deeply I sleep, and how many alarms and minor earthquakes I've slept through in my life, this was intense.

Woom... woom... woom... woom

RRRGGGGGHHHH!

What the crap? Still sleepy and sore from sleeping on the ground, I struggled to my feet. Blinking furiously, I tried to wake myself up. My legs buckle as I try to get up, and I end up falling over and smashing my shin on a protruding root. Well, I'm awake now at least. Hopping around, clutching my shin and cursing under my breath, but awake.

RRGH!

Fssh..

Thud. Thud.

Wha- Risen. Of course. Should have seen this coming. Shitshitshitshit. Shit. aso;dfijasdfal;;faji sodfoi; Why me?

Ok. Calm down. They're like zombies right? A bit? They seem pretty slow at least. Remember the Zombie Survival Guide. Stay calm and I'll be fine. Judging by the volume of the growls, they're still a little ways away. Hopefully.

RRrrrrr... Rrrrrrrr...

STAY CALM! I'm going to be calm damn it! Hahaha... haha. Yeah, I'm really not going to be. My heart feels like it's going to pound itself out of my ribcage.

Ok. Ok. I take a few deep meditative breaths in attempt to slow my heartrate and manage a fast walk in the opposite direction of the growls. No point in sprinting; I don't have enough endurance to keep it up for long enough, and from what I remember in cutscenes, I should be able to outpace them even walking. At least when they're not charging. If they charge... Well, I'm just screwed then I guess. Gonna need endurance if I actually need to make a break for it, or, god forbid, fight. If it comes to that, I'm probably dead anyways.

...Let's not think about that.

The weird humming continues, and the tops of the trees above me are bathed in a purple light. I glance up, and see the sky filled with an enormous glowing symbol. Dark blobs separate from the sky and fall earthwards at the rate of several per second .

Fuck.

Worse still, the treetops glow a dull red. There was a forest fire going on in the cutscene. I really hope that it burns itself out, or I'm even more screwed if it comes this way. I hear that being burned to death is one of the worst ways to go. You'd be lucky if you died from smoke inhalation, but if this forest is dry, then I'd probably just get burned to a crisp in an instant. I really hope that it hurts less. What would it be like to feel your skin cracking and turning black? Would you be able to watch, or would the vitreous humor in your eyes boil before that happened? What would that feel like...?

I should probably stop thinking about this.

Well, it looks like I can't really do much more than I am right now. I force myself to keep my walking pace fast, but regular. That symbol covers a lot of area, so with a little luck, I can avoid the Risen altogether.

RRRRRRrrrrGH!

Ok, that was definitely wishful thinking on my part. As I reach a clearing, dozens of Risen come into view. Thankfully, they're still at least 150 yards off, so I have a little bit of breathing space. Draw sword? No, making a break for it is probably still my best option and I'd really rather not run holding a really sharp object. That would be just asking for me to trip and impale myself. Wow, my chest almost physically hurts with the pressure my heart is putting on it. Nerves, most likely. Probably the most apt time I've had them, really. Facing down a horde of zombie warriors who could all probably kill me with a single blow, while having no combat experience, and no endurance? I'm so screwed.

That's when I see the bolts of lightning and hear the clang of metal on metal. Someone's fighting this horde. Good? That gives them less focus on me, hopefully. I would help them, but really, I'm more of a liability than an asset, and they'll probably be fine without my "assis-

SHIT!

An arrow flew out of the darkness and planted itself into the ground near my foot. I drop down, hoping that was a stray shot. Luckily, the grass is rather tall, and I'm pretty small. Guess that means I'm crawling. I inch forward on my hands and knees and try to skirt around the edge of the mob.

As I draw closer, I make out two figures virtually dancing through the Risen, firing lightning and slashing through them with deadly precision. Two shadowy riders wheel around the mob. Totally fine without me. Is that another person over by the side? Why would she be in a poofy dress of all things? I mean, even if there wasn't going to be fighting, who would go hiking in that dress? Fire Emblem logic... Wait, that means -

Risen coming up behind her, she doesn't seem to see it. Axe wielder. Arghhhh. The others aren't close enough, there's Risen between them. Only I am. If I sprint, that is.

And what will you accomplish exactly? Trip and get yourself killed? You're weak, can't use a sword. How exactly would you help with anything? You'd just add another corpse.

That's true. I'm probably not going to be able to do anything, even if I get there. It's probably best if I just slink off and forget-

No. I mentally smack myself. I'm not going down this line of thought. There's a person there, who's probably going to die if I don't think of something. I'm not living with the guilt.

I stand up, wrestle the sword out of the scabbard and start running. Hold the blade to the side, so if you trip, hopefully won't fall on it. Two hands, definitely need the extra power. Just a few more feet.

"AIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Wow, Lissa screams loudly. Well, she finally noticed the guy with the axe raised behind her. Unfortunately, she's just kinda cowering with her staff over her head. Great. I was kind of hoping for a lucky dodge. Of course, her speed sucks at early levels, so I guess I shouldn't be - Gah! Concentrate!

Plant feet for stability. Stab-

That got its attention at least? Saved her life, now have to save mine. Unfortunately, I think my sword is stuck in its chest. Uh. Shit shit shit. I frantically try to tug it out. Thankfully, I attacked from the back, but - HOLY SHIT. Crap, I forgot about that creepy 180 degree head turn. Wait, it's still swinging at Lissa. Wow, how low is her health that it prioritizes her over me? And how can I stop her from getting cut in half? Wait, levers. Push the sword, mess up its aim. I threw my weight behind the sword. The axe thudded to the ground next to Lissa, instead of slicing her head into pieces. Awesome, that actually worked.

More Risen. Sword still stuck. Great. Apparently, I didn't need to worry about living with guilt, I'm not going to be living shortly.

Wait, I have a meat shield. HRGH, pull! Haha! I managed to maintain a death grip on the sword, even though I feel like I have rocks on the ends of my wrists currently. It worked though! Friendly fire is the best. I guess there is a actually small advantage to having your sword stuck in a zombie. And good thing it's not smart/agile enough to kick me or something.

Wait, there's one from behind -! Not gonna be fast enough to turn this bugger around-

Crrshh!

Lightning. Ok, the cavalry has arrived. Can I collapse and pretend I'm dead now? Crap, the Risen from before recovered from their first attacks. Pull! Well, there goes my shield. Ew, the dissolving stuff is disgusting. Took three hits for me though, so I suppose I should thank it? Lance! ARRRRRGHH! Painpainpainpain - AXE, shiiiiiiiiiiitttttttimgonnadiesodeadsodeadsodead.

Clang! Oh hey, blue hair. Reaaaally blue hair. It's Chrom. I think I'll just lay down. For a bit. And pretend there's not a lance sticking out of my side. Hey, it doesn't hurt as much anymore? Ah. Lissa. Cool.

Tired. Sleep.

"Chrom, we have to do something!"

Ngh-

"What do you propose we do?"

"I dunno..."

Mrh?

"I see you're awake now."

I crack my eyes open gingerly. Ugh, they feel like they're full of sand. There's a bunch of blurry blobs crowding my field of vision.

"Hey there!"

Pigtails. Blonde. Lissa, right. She's a little too chipper for having almost gotten killed a few minutes ago, isn't she? Wait, how long have I been out? I'm still on the ground, and the sky is a big blur of red, probably from the fire. So I'm guessing it's not been too long. Long enough to take care of the Risen at least though, since no one has weapons ready.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know."

"So, do you use that line on every girl you find sleeping in the middle of a field?"

Avatar. Water. Fire. Earth - no, bad joke. Blinking rapidly, I attempt to clear my eyesight enough to get a better look at the speaker. My eyes seem to be more concerned with producing tears than allowing vision at the moment though. Goddamn ash. She's female at least.

"Milord, if I may, you do seem to have a talent for this."

That would be Frederick.

"This is only the second one..."

"The second one today, milord."

"My, my! Such lovely ladies. Fortune truly smiles upon me this day!"

Oh god, its Virion.

"So. Sully, who's this?"

"Aw, hell if I know. Just some creep that decided to follow me. Seems handy enough with a bow though."

"Indeed, I am the archest of archer-"

"Here, take my hand."

Oh, Chrom was talking to me. Heh, and thoroughly ignoring Virion. Looks like I really am in Fire Emblem. Wow, firm grasp. And he pulls me up like I weigh nothing. Well, I kinda do weigh nothing, but I usually don't feel like I'm flying when people pull me up.

"You saved my sister's life, and for that you have my thanks. Tell me, friend, what is your name?"

I blink a few more times and try to take it in. All six of them are gathered around me in a rough semicircle. Guess the unconscious girl was the most interesting around at the moment. It's strange to be among people who you've only seen as drawings, let alone people you've thought of as fictional. Somehow Virion's hair is still as gravity defying as in the game. I wonder if he uses gel or something? And the colors. Blue, bright red, teal. And all natural hair colors too, since they're inheritable. Huh, I wonder what the heritability is for that-

My eyes settle on the Avatar. Medium height, probably 5'5, dark blue hair in a ponytail. ... That's my Avatar. Which means that her name is probably Renee as well, as I named her after myself. This could be problematic.

Frederick coughed and said, "Let me guess. You also conveniently have amnesia?"

Oh, I was supposed to be answering a question. Great first impression there. I was probably staring like a stunned fish.

"Sorry sir, I'm a bit disoriented. I, uh, don't exactly fight zombie soldiers and get stabbed every day. Sir."

I grimaced and looked down. What I assumed used to be gaping hole in my side had turned into a mass of scabby soreness. I guess that Lissa doesn't have the necessary magic skill to completely heal that yet. But hey, I saved Lissa at least? I guess in the grand scheme of things, getting a stab wound that can be magicked away is better than letting someone die a preventable death, right?

Hm. How should I deal with this? ... I think I got it, but- Oh well, time to take a dive.

"My name is Rei'ning."

Not exactly lying there, since that's my Chinese name. And it kinda sounds like it's Chon'sinese, which is convenient. I just hope no one asks how it was there. I might be able to get away with saying I'm an immigrant though? Hopefully? Wait, getting ahead of myself. I hope to god that the Avatar's name isn't Renee, so I can say that's my nickname or something. Probably should introduce myself a bit. Uh.

"I'm not exactly a soldier, as you probably could tell. I'm a student actually. On... sabbatical at the moment, wandering around collecting samples, you know. Studying nature in the field and... stuff."

Wait, why didn't I want to say my name was Renee? Seriously, I think that the One Steve Limit isn't actually in effect in FE. My brain is weird. I mean, I think that Frederick would be weirded out, but it's perfectly natural to have more than one person with the same name? Though I guess Chrom commented that MU's name was strange. Seriously, I gotta stop-

"But you can fight."

I gaped at the Avatar. What would have possessed her to make that comment? She saved my ass when I couldn't get my sword out of the Risen, so I mean, she saw that I got my damn sword stuck.

"Er. Ms-? I'm sorry, what's your name?"

Might as well get the introductions out of the way before I mess up and say someone's name. That would be awkward. And Frederick would probably have a minor heart attack. Two mysterious women who came out of nowhere knowing Chrom in one day?

"Right. I'm Chrom, the leader of the Shepherds. This is Frederick, this is my little sister Lissa. That's Sully over there, and this is Renee, our newest member and tactician. I have actually not been introduced to this... gentlemen as of yet," he said, gesturing at Virion.

"Ah yes, forgive me for my temporary lapse in etiquette. Virion, at your service." Virion gave a sweeping bow to the rest of us.

I feel like I know them all, but I've never actually seen them in person. Best to not let on that I spent hundreds of hours listening in on conversations between them. Especially since they're conversations that everyone has yet to have... This is going to be really awkward isn't it. If I were smart, I would be booking it out of here already. I know that these guys are going to go through hell and back. I was there.

"Both of you have my thanks. You have proven your courage and skills, and we could use your help."

Huh. Not completely unexpected, but still. Even though I "know" what Chrom is like, it definitely is something else to hear that good-natured earnestness in person.

I responded without thinking. "I would love to help you, but I think you're asking the wrong person. I'm fairly useless in combat, as you have seen. And besides, are you sure you can trust me? Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered, but how do you know I'm not some Plegian spy sent to get close to you in order to assassinate you?"

Suddenly, there was a blade tickling my windpipe. I found Frederick's stare leveled at me, as rock steady as his lance arm.

"Are you?" An innocuous question and his tone betrayed no menace, but he just laid out the hugest threat I've ever had on my life.

"N-no. I... was just worried." Holy shit, I feel like my knees are going to collapse. I reaaaally hope they don't, since I'm pretty sure this lance will take my head off if I fall over.

"How did you know that milord is someone important enough to warrant Plegian attention then?"

Oh dear. Frederick wouldn't really kill me would he? Would he? Ohgodohgod aaaaaaalkjfasdfadfa.

My throat doesn't seem to be working. WhatdoIdoohshitohshit uh uh um. Brain! Cough, clear throat. I think I just nicked myself on his lance. Ohgod. Deep breaths. He's not going to kill you. I hope. No. It's not happening, there's no "I hope" about it. You got this. I think.

"I have heard of the Shepherds sir, and know that they defend locals against brigands, as well as ones Plegia sends to incite war. Anyone could see that the leader of such a group would be rather... inconvenient... for Plegia's goals. And Sir Chrom here did introduce himself as leader of the Shepherds." My voice is shaking a little more that I wanted for a cool, calm and collected answer, but let's face it, that was a bit much to ask for.

Chrom chuckled. "Frederick, lower your lance."

He complied. I let out the breath that I didn't know I managed to hold in. My legs feel like they're made of jelly.

"This is not how we welcome new Shepherds. You ask me how I can trust you with so little proof of your intentions? I say that you showed intentions enough when you decided to save my sister's life. What do you think, Renee?"

I almost answered that. And then I remembered that I'm not Renee here. This is going to take some getting used to.

"Rei'ning here seems to think well on her feet, and is able to leverage bad situations to the best of her ability. We could definitely use her. But if she doesn't want to join, it's not a great idea to force her."

Chrom clapped me on the shoulder, nearly bowling me over. "There you have it. Both my gut instinct and my tactician tell me that you would be a valuable asset to our team, Rei'ning."

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I would be a valuable asset? Really? Uh... I'm really not sure how to feel about this. On one hand... Oh screw it. I'll bite.

"If you really think I'd be of use to you, I would be happy to help. And please, call me Rei." It's a little too weird having people call me Rei'ning without the proper inflections. I would have been in a constant state of wince.

"Welcome to the Shepherds, Rei."

I really, really hope I won't regret this.

AN: Whew. I finally decided to start posting this, after sitting on it for months. I'm hoping to do weekly updates, so stay tuned. Please leave reviews with constructive criticism. I'd appreciate any advice, as this is my first fanfiction. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy my writing :)