Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn
Authors: Xan and Vallen

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: This story involves Marth and Roy in a relationship with one another, and other yaoi/slash/shounen ai themes. So if you have a problem with that, violence or torture, go read another fic. Also, we highly suggest that you read the first Fubuki no Kaen before starting this. Original characters.

Disclaimer: The characters of Marth and Roy, plus "Altea," do not belong to us. We just use them for our pleasure.

Feedback: Yes. (That means we would love to hear from you and what you think.)

Notes:

Xan: bows repeatedly So sorry that this is out sooo late! It's also kinda short, but it's a VERY important chapter, as you'll soon see... By the way, the thank you's were done by me this time.

Vallen: First of all, I would like to apologize for the huge wait that you guys endured. We hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Thank you to: Jennie (;; Aw, obsess over it for days? That's so cool!! We have dedicated fans!), Ice Prince Marth (…I can't tell you how horrible I felt after I killed Cloud. I practically went to a confessional and did the whole "Father forgive me for I have sinned… I have killed the horse in one of my stories." And then the priest went, "Xan, you're going right to hell." ;; It was pretty much what I had expected.), Persian Kittie (Heh… They're both getting abused!! Don't play favorites! And I'm going to eat you anyways, biznatch. Gr.), Dragon and Sword Master (;; Well, at the rate we're going, you may actually have to wait until the end of time! But hopefully, our writing style will stay the same, or even better, improve! Please keep reading!), Felik (Nope, no dead Roy! Horray!), RavenGhost (;; We're updating, we're updating! But thanks for reading!), Zenah (Sorry this is so late but hopefully you'll like it too!), Pannybaby123 (I feel bad for the horses too… I'm going right to hell for that, I know it. But glad you think we're doing great!), Crocgirl13 (Yep, Roy's back! much cheering and rejoicing), Rayestar Ikina (;; LotR fanfiction? I could possibly be talked into it, but Vallen's anti-LotR, so probably not. Nope, no FNOK3, but hopefully there will be other stories, although they may not feature Marth and Roy. We hope you'll read them though!), PikaPower ( glad you liked it!), Caranril (huggles them both and tells them everything'll be okay ;; Hopefully it will be, but who knows?), Demon Cat Fury (Sorry to hear that you're grounded! Trust me, I know how that is. But don't worry, being on a houseboat isn't that bad! And don't worry, you can ALWAYS find a way to love something more!), Deity of Sorrow (is in mourning for Cloud TT So sad, but we're glad you liked!), MintyDreams7 (We loved the shields! I thought they were especially cool myself!), Evui (XD lemony-fresh, that made me laugh! Yeah… we wrote it a long time ago and looking back, it could be MUCH more intense. ;; Maybe we should revise it. And yes, the Necromancer is bad! EEEEVIL!), Sinnatious (Oh man, don't tell us that FNOK should be its own genre or it'll really go to our heads. We did try to convey the fatigue and exhaustion that the characters feel into the writing, so it's nice to hear that it worked! Marth is such a better person than I would be in his situation. ;; Anyways, I'm back now… I exist! And hopefully in wrapping this up, our writing will stay consistently up to standard!), Alexandrayea Nightblood (Oh good! It's so great to hear that people are spreading the word about FNOK! Please keep checking back for our work!), Pichu Star (Hooray for no more school! It's always a great feeling. TT Unfortunately, this has taken so long to get out that school STARTS for me in two weeks. sob ;; And about Marth being willing to beat the snot out of Roy… he's a very goal-oriented guy. He doesn't care what it takes, just as long as it gets him to where he needs to be.), Jeana and Annie (XD We're senseis!! That's the most awesome thing ever!! Great Teacher Xan and Great Teacher Vallen – the fic masters!! ;; Sorry, I'm way too amused. Thanks for liking our work!), Smoky (;; yes, about the lime… It was written long ago and could definitely use some citrus-ing up. But until we get around to editing the fic sometime in the future, y'all are just gonna have to use your vivid imaginations. ;; And yes, the zombies were gross, but what can we say? A little gore is fun to write now and then.), Nikki J. ( Hey Vallen, we have a sidekick! That's too cool! ;; and no worries, you are definitely not the only Trave and Gaimen fan), Trigadon (Cowsome… Moo! ;; Sorry, I'm somewhat hyper. ;; sorry the update is so late, but I hope you like it anyways), Of Fate and Destiny (Cool handle, by the way. Glad you liked!), Powrpuffchik (;; Hey I'm back now!! But thanks, we love writing together and we're glad y'all like it too! And thanks for the support – sometimes it's really needed!), lilshaun05 (As a matter of fact, our work does have its own site! if you wanna go!! Stuff still needs to be uploaded, but there it is. Sorry, no FNOK3 though!), Lionheart (Yes, we're quite dedicated to our Marth/Roy! And that's exactly how this started – we were playing SSBM and we thought "Hey, this is great! Marth/Roy, whee!" And yeah, the snapshot function is… ahem… fun. Glad you liked it and nononono, this is not a dead fic!! Just neglected since we don't live together anymore!! But we still get an update out when we can!)

Prick. Prick. Prick.

What felt like a sharp needle was pricking at Marth's mind, a blade of malice and ill will. The King of Altea stirred slightly, his fingers tightening around blankets, coming into contact with warm flesh.

Warm flesh? Marth's eyes opened and he found himself lying with Roy curled tightly against his body, his own arm draped across the general's chest. Roy was still fast asleep.

Marth kissed his lover's shoulder and then throat lightly, his lips as gentle and soft as winter snowflakes. He gazed upon Roy, his fingers petting Roy's silken-flame hair and caressing the smooth face. If anything happened to Roy… Marth traced Roy's soft lips with a thumb. He would never be able to bear it.

But something was calling Marth. He could feel it tugging at him. He could not stay here and abandon his duty, no matter how much he desired.

Carefully, so not to rouse Roy, Marth extricated himself from the bed and quietly pulled on his full battle armor, piece by piece. Falcion was sheathed at his side, gleaming and ready for combat. Marth walked over to the bed, looking down upon Roy once more.

"I'll see you on the battlefield, Roy." He whispered, kissing Roy. And then he was gone.

When you fall asleep with the person you love, you expect them to be there when you wake. Roy opened his eyes to the bloodcurdling sights and screams of war. He jumped out of bed, remembering the conversation with Marth last night, and ran to the window.

"Marth!" He screamed but his voice was lost in the wind. Frantically, he ran around and dressed himself, grabbing his sword. The King of Altea could be anywhere by now, or even dead. He flung the door open and his heart stopped… then the blood started to roar in his ears. It was a miracle he could hear Trave and Gaimen, the disgusting zombie pair, greet him there.

He barely had time to draw his sword and block against Gaimen's swift blow. But he was no child now. Gaimen would not knock him around like before… but Trave being there certainly put a different spin on things. The former slave-owner was not the greatest warrior, but he could definitely cause problems.

"You were sent to keep me out of the way, weren't you?" Roy snarled, shaking with anger.

"How ever did you guess?" Trave answered, smiling with a gaping grin.

"Tell me what he's doing to Marth or I'll burn your carcasses to ashes right here and now!"
It was Gaimen's turn to grin along with Trave.

"You can't. For one, you don't have to strength to do it and two, we're both protected from your magic by our master," he sneered.

The general's eyes narrowed deeply. Now there was absolutely no way for the zombie servants to be destroyed, unless he found a lantern or found another solution. Highly unlikely.

"Then I guess I'll have to hack at your bodies till there's nothing left!"

"Just try it, boy. Your sword is as useless as a needle against a pair of dragons." Trave smirked, swinging his sword at Roy's head. Roy ducked, only to be hit from behind by the flat of Gaimen's broadsword slamming into his back. He fell forward, but caught himself with his hands, just in time to catch a glimpse of Trave's sword coming straight at him. Roy dove out of the way, rolling on the floor and springing acrobatically back up to his feet.

"Enough of this!" He growled, hacking at Trave furiously, knocking away the former slave-owner's sword, with decaying hands still attached.

"Bad Pet. Gaimen told me that you were a good fighter. You're disappointing me."

To Roy's horror, Trave's hands were raised from the ground as if by strings and flew back to rejoin their respective wrists.

"I told you his bark was worse than his bite… the little bitch." Gaimen sneered.

A whip appeared in Trave's rotting talons and writhed through the air with a sharp snap, curling tightly around Roy's throat. The general gagged and tried to cut the whip with his sword so that he could breathe again. But Gaimen ripped the blade out of Roy's hand, claiming it for himself.

"Ah yes… This is the blade you beat me with. Oh that was so long ago, wasn't it Roy? Of course, it doesn't seem so long to me, considering I've been dead for most of the times." Gaimen looked down at Roy's choking face and stroked it with decaying fingers. "Pity we never got to play while I was alive. But Master is playing with your lover right now."

Roy spat at the grotesque hand, jerking his head away. But that only seemed to make the leather wrapped around his neck coil tighter.

"Give me… back my sword, you dog…" Roy choked, clawing at the whip.

Trave chuckled, yanking Roy to the floor.

"Yes, quite a pity, Gaimen. They were both wonderful. I had such a lovely time with the two of them until I was so lovingly choked to death."

"… And that's what you intend to do to me?" the general gasped.

"Yes…" Gaimen hissed, "But not before we have our fun."

Roy watched as Trave knelt down and began to undo his armor with nimble bony fingers. The whip around his neck had been dropped, but a sharp elbow was now digging into his neck. He was weak, his body burning for oxygen. The slimy feel of undead hands on his own skin was the last thing he felt before the black spots erupting in front of his eyes turned into pitch-black unconsciousness.

"Gwen, hurry… You must hurry…" Rowen grabbed the young servant girl's hand, pulling her down the winding staircase faster.

"Sir Rowen… What about the king?" Gwen questioned breathlessly.

The pair stopped and Rowen put both his hands upon her shoulders, staring into her eyes.

"Girl… For once, think of yourself instead of others. The child you now carry is the only hope for this country if we get out of his alive," he said, his voice containing all the seriousness in the world.

They moved on, going further and further into the depths of the castle. The weather mage handed Gwen a sword and hid her in a dark corner.

"It anyone approaches you, call for me with your mind. I will come."

Gwen sat down on the ground, hugging her knees with one hand and holding the sword in her other.

"Yes, sir… Be careful, please."

The battlefield was little more than a sea of blood, fire, the corpses of Altean soldiers and also those of the zombies too mangled to revive themselves yet another time. Soldiers dying from mortal wounds cried and stretched out their hands to the gods, to Marth, to anyone who may be able to offer them salvation. Marth ignored their pleading and ran past them through the ocean of death. He couldn't help them now- no one could.

A black cloak billowing in the wind over the red field caught Marth's keen eye. The Necromancer stood on the rise of a small hill, surveying the carnage below; a demonstration of the glory of his power. The smirk on his lips conveyed such arrogance, such sickening pride that Marth felt his cold blood boil.

"I will kill you this time," hissed the king as he made his presence known to the Necromancer by launching a barrage of icicles at the evil mage.

Marth's opponent merely raised a hand and created a shield to deflect the ice easily. He bowed his head, consumed by cruel laughter, before lifting it again and giving the king a level stare with his eyes shrouded in the shadow of his cloak.

"You've come to attempt a coup de grace of sorts?"

"I've come to destroy you. There is no attempting in my plan," snarled Marth. He readied himself to attack again and reached deep within himself to his core, where his magic power resided.

"Wait…" The dark mage faltered for a split-second. "There's something different about you now. I sense… more power!" His body stiffened and his fists clenched at his sides.

"It's because I've discovered something, Necromancer. I've kept my emotions under the ice for so long that I've forgotten how powerful they can be." Ice blue flames enveloped Marth's body. "You've woken them up, but you won't live to regret it. Not for long."

"It doesn't matter to me – I am the most powerful mage in the world and there is no way you can dent my success here. Your backwards little country and everything in it will be mine, after your dead." The Necromancer drew his sword, crackling with dark energy.

The Ice Mage did not respond to the threat and merely touched his fire-in-ice stone around his neck. For Roy. For Gwen. For Rowen. For his country. And finally, for himself. He was going to kill the Necromancer right here and now for all of them. The blue flames jumped higher and raced along the ground to explode at the enemy's feet.

He ran as fast as his legs would take him, leaving behind the bits and pieces of zombie flesh that had once been Trave and Gaimen. His entire body ached, reeked, and felt of the slime from their fingers, but his mind was focused solely on Marth.

'He's going to do something foolish… I know it! Marth, don't!'

Roy remembered regaining consciousness suddenly and grabbing the sword from Gaimen's scabbard. The two zombies, caught off-guard while trying to relive their bodily pleasures, were ripped to shreds until they were no more than chunks of rotten flesh scattered on the wall. It would be an amazing thing to see them try to pull themselves back together now.

He ran through the battlefield, his sword out and ready. He felt Marth's presence- this was the path that his partner had taken! The general felt the ground rumble, the source not too far away from his current position…

'Never use more energy than you can afford to lose.' Rowen's voice echoed in Marth's head. 'If you exhaust your magical powers, you'll start draining directly from your own life force.'

Marth tried not to think about that as he threw himself at the Necromancer. If he was going to defeat his enemy, he couldn't allow himself to be inhibited by anything, even the fear of death. Mustering all the strength that remained in his weary body, Marth gathered all the power in his body. He felt his hands become cold, colder than any ice as they blazed that particular combination of ice and royal blue that signified his magical powers. He ran towards the Necromancer, preparing a huge ball of energy between his hands. This time, he would kill the Necromancer, no matter what.

'No matter what, Marth? My, that is quite a tall order. I'm ready.' The darkest mage braced himself, gauging how much energy Marth held in his hands. 'You have gotten more powerful, but it will take more than that. Come on, give it to me.'

Marth's face was utterly grim as he threw the glowing, crackling sphere at his enemy. The power hit the Necromancer directly in the face and chest and then exploded with a gigantic blast of blinding blue light. He stood back, panting slightly, but his hands continued to blaze, just in case the initial hit had not finished the job.

It hadn't, but the Necromancer's cloak had been blown to shreds. Gone was the enigmatic hood, revealing a shock of long blonde hair blowing in the wind. At last Marth could see the beautiful face of his enemy; the snarling lips, arched eyebrows, and blazing purple eyes.

"Nicely done," He said. "But what do you intend to do now? You've used all your energy for nothing. I gave you my offer to join me in my conquest, yet you refused. How are you enjoying your choice?"

"You'll find that I'm not out of options yet... Necromancer..."

Although Marth was swaying unsteadily on his feet, he managed to take a few faltering steps towards the Necromancer. His face was littered with bleeding cuts from the blast, but the determination in his darkened eyes and clenched jaw made him a fearsome sight despite his weakness. No... not yet... he was not done yet... he would not give up now...

'I will not give up until you are destroyed!' Screamed the young King. He seized the Necromancer's face, holding it tightly between his two glowing, bloodstained hands. All the power he possessed was poured into the Necromancer, burning the Necromancer's mind and destroying him from the inside out. Marth felt his knees become weak as his life-force was drained from him.

'Roy... Forgive me...'

Marth screamed as he closed his eyes and forced every speck of energy within his soul to be forced into the corrupted mind of the Necromancer. There was another explosion at least five times as large as the first and a violent blaze of blue.

Roy stopped in his tracks, falling down to his knees as he felt his soul being ripped from him. The wave of the explosion rocked him back, forcing him to lie sprawled on the bloody ground. He couldn't get up. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a trace of Marth… anywhere. His vision blurred and the tears that wouldn't stop coming soon blinded him. There was nothing left now.

'Marth, you… You can't do this to me. I could have protected you…' He thought to the spirit of his lover.

"He failed," came a dry cackle behind him.

Roy turned his head slowly, looking at a version of the dark mage he hadn't seen before.

Gone was the image of youth and vitality, replaced with old skin hanging off ancient bones. He looked like one of the zombies themselves, his sunken purple eyes staring out at Roy from their sockets. The Necromancer stood a few feet away from Roy, holding up the fire-in-ice stone.

"He left you a present." He threw it at Roy.

The general was too broken to move, so he stared at the stone with dull eyes as it sailed through the air to land on his chest with a soft plunk. It was insignificant compared to the pain he was feeling inside. The stone glowed fiercely, emitting a bright light that cleared Roy's vision and dried his tears.

"Now to finish you off like I should have done a long time ago," the dark mage croaked, raising his frail, bone-thin hands to collect energy, but nothing happened. No power began to form in his grasp. "What?!"

Roy slowly got to his feet, staring at the ground with a faraway look in his eyes. He clenched the stone in one hand and his sword in the other. He took slow steps towards the man who had been responsible for Marth's death.

A look of true panic crossed the Necromancer's aged face. Without his magic, his true age was revealed and he was powerless. He tried to lift his own sword, but found that he was too weak to even hold it up. Marth hadn't failed. The young king had killed the magic-wielding Necromancer, leaving behind the shell of a weak, old man.

Roy wordlessly thrust his sword into the ancient man's chest, jerked it downward, then upward, with the vicious strength of a silent, night predator. Black blood spurted from the huge, monstrous, gaping wound and the body fell over once Roy shook his sword free of its victim. He cleaned his sword with the edge of his tunic and walked away, numb to the bone.

He found his way to the epicenter of the explosion and collapsed, holding the stone to his face and sobbing brokenly. At the top of the hill, you could see everything. All the destruction, all the death… With the Necromancer dead, there was nothing left to fuel the undead soldiers, so they had collapsed the moment his powers had been ripped away. The few remaining Altean soldiers silently gathered themselves and stood in the battlefield, collecting themselves. With the fight over, the castle gates opened and the survivors were let out. The castle still stood, a little worse for the wear, but retained its regal appearance.

A familiar voice shook Roy out of his shock when Rowen knelt down next to him and wrapped his arms around the young man.

"I tried to get here, but… it was.. too late. We were both too late." The weather mage said, his voice hollow and choked up. "You did it, Roy. You both did."

Roy turned his face and buried it in Rowen's chest, clutching at the older man's shirt helplessly. His entire body shook as he let out sob after sob; the pain was too much to bear.

"Marth knew that it was what he had to do. I heard his thoughts as he did… it," Rowen said solemnly. "I know there's nothing I can try to say to ease your pain, Roy."

"It's over. Everything is over."

"Roy, I'm sure Marth meant to tell you this, but he has an heir. Gwen will start showing signs of being with child in the next month. It's not all over- This country has a future."

"I'm… glad." The general whispered.

The news came as a bit of a surprise to Roy, but he didn't blame Marth for it. Marth knew exactly what he had been doing all along. He felt himself begin to calm down, but the knife-like pain in his chest did not ease up. Rowen frowned and pressed a hand to Roy's chest, closing his eyes and concentrating. After a moment, his eyes snapped open and he shook the auburn-haired young man by the shoulders.

"Roy, wake up! You can't let yourself waste away like this! The country still needs you." Rowen said, then thought: 'His heart is stopping. He doesn't want to live.'

"I am awake, Rowen," Roy answered softly. He held up one closed hand and slowly opened it to reveal the fire-in-ice stone. Rowen picked it up out of his hand, knowing the stone very well. It was usually ice-cold with a strong flame burning inside it, but now the flame was gone for good.

The ghost of a smile flickered upon Roy's lips and he allowed his eyes to close. His body grew limp and his head tilted over to rest against Rowen's chest gently.

Tears slipped down Rowen's eyes as he clasped Roy's hand, the warmth of life still lingering in it. He looked at the hand of the young man- the hand of a child was not supposed to be calloused, its fingernails crusted with blood- They had been too young to go through what they did, but it was what fate, the strange mistress, had planned. The weather mage placed the fire-in-ice stone in Roy's hand and closed it.

The End of Fubuki no Kaen: False Dawn

Epilogue coming soon.

Xan: ...I hate to tell you guys this, but we've been planning this ending for about a year now. We hope that all of you can understand why this had to happen, but if you look back at all the shit that's happened to Marth and Roy over these two monstrous pieces of fiction, you'll understand that it was the most humane thing to let them rest. If you're angry at us, we understand, but we hope you'll stick around for the epilogue and any other Xan-Vallen works to come. lights a candle for Marth and Roy

Vallen: No, we did not kill them off just because we were tired of writing the fic. We love this story and we planned this all along. Sorry… I was practically sobbing when I wrote the end of this chapter, but it had to be done. I'm sure they're happy now. They deserved a good ending. If you guys aren't too mad at us, we hope you'll stick around for the epilogue, where we tie everything off. sniffles and lights a candle too