Fire Emblem: Axed

Chapter 1: Cocky

A tranquil and rare silence gave the Mercenary Fort a calm aura, until...

"Ike... Ike! Ike, where are you?!" Mist yelled as loud as she could.

"Urg... Yes, Mist?" Ike groggily exited his quarters.

"Ike, something's happening at the east barracks! Ike, you've got to check it out!" Mist stammered, clearly worried about something.

"Ok, ok... I'll go. Just simmer down." Ike yawned. Mist was acting a lot more impatient and bouncy lately, just like Jill was. Gah, Jill was annoying, always acting in such a firey manner. She was a bad influence on Mist indeed.

As Ike slowly walked over to the east barracks, he found Boyd with an axe on his shoulder. Shinon was there too, along with several other new recruits.

"What's going on, Boyd, Shinon?" Ike asked.

"Ike, you pay us way too little." Boyd began.

"So?" Ike yawned.

"So we're not going to help you anymore!" Boyd yelled.

"What's that supposed to mean? You need my pay to feed your bellies." Ike snickered.

"Well, we don't care, cuz we're going on strike!" Shinon snapped.

"Wait..." Ike began, but before he could do anything, Boyd shouted and the entire assembly behind him began to draw their weapons and cheer. They surrounded the east barracks, and refused to let Ike enter it. Ike, nonchalant and cocky, yawned and walked back to his quarters.

The next morning, Ike noticed that there was much less food set on the table. "Oscar, Soren, do any of you know why breakfast seems so mediocre?" Ike asked.

"Boyd raided our granary, and Shinon convinced many of the cooks we hired from our winnings in the last war to defect to their place." Oscar replied matter-of-factly.

"Wait, what place?" Ike asked.

Soren sighed: "A third of the fort is their's. They've taken the east barracks and our armory. They've even given themselves a new name."

Ike's eyes widened: "What?"

"The Shinon club."

Ike burst out laughing: "And Boyd's their leader?"

"Well, let's just say that Shinon had to have it his way in order for him to remain Boyd's advisor."

"Oh, well, we'll beat them anyways. I took down Ashnard. What makes you think I can't deal with losers like them? I mean, I already have control over all you nobody's!" Ike laughed as he pointed at several of the new trainees.

Of the nine that were there, five stood up and walked out the door.

"Good going." Soren sighed.

"Now, Ike, Commander Greil would never let this happen. You have to be like your father and reunite our two camps. Otherwise, the Greil Mercenaries have fallen apart." Rhys spoke.

"Yeah, yeah. Shinon could never beat me." Ike rolled his eyes.

"Ike! That attitude is what made our two groups split in the first place! Pull yourself together!" Titania scolded him.

"Oh, you're right, Titania. Let's give Boyd and Shinon a good whooping." Ike yawned again.

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Boyd and Shinon were leaning back in their chairs, toasting the many former members of the Greil Mercenaries who joined them. "That whelp paid you lousily and he can't lead, so I'll do it for him. Now I..." Boyd glared at Shinon, who snapped his mouth shut.

"What Shinon meant to say was that I, the founder, would, uh, make you guys richer by stealing whatever we need from Ike's side of the fort. I mean, we will have to move out later, since Ike's so close, but, what the hey, we can still freeload off of them!" Boyd raised his axe.

"And we better get us some women too." Gatrie snickered. "..." Nepheene glared at him. "What, darlin'? Say, mind if we go to the back later and..." Nepheene slapped Gatrie, forcing him to be silent.

"Anyways, I would not be here had Ike not tried to contact me. I had errands to run in Daein, but no, he had to ask for my help. But when I come, he treats me like a mindless soldier, and has me risk my life just for a few gold coins. Seriously, who does he think he is, some major hotshot? We're the ones who worked hard and thus made him famous, not him alone!" Zihark sighed.

"I shoulda' went back to farm, but I fell for his trick too." Nepheene sighed in agreement.

"Why did I fall for that... that beorc's pathetic ploy? He asked me for his help, then steals an article of my clothing and threatens to blackmail me, saying that I had an affair with Rolf when I was here. I can't go back to Gallia now, people will call me a harlot! Curse that hu... Beorc! I'll be glad to help you tear his head off!" Lethe snarled.

Shinon smirked: "And with you guys, we can make that whelp pay!"

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"Ike? Nine more of our members have ran off to help Shinon."

"Oh, great, Soren, ruin my day, will you? Buzz off, I'm playing chess with Oscar." Ike yawned.

Soren shook his head and muttered something about 'incompetence' as he walked away.

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Three hours later, Ike was still playing another game with Oscar.

"Ike, I'm leaving." Mist spoke.

"Huh? Oh, it's you, Mist."

"Why don't you even care anymore, brother?!"

"Well, because I know you love me." Ike smiled.

"You're such a jerk, Ike! You think that because you led us to victory and made us all heroes, we'd be glad to do whatever you ask. Well, you're wrong, and I'm going to prove it! I'm going to help Shinon!" Mist yelled.

"You wouldn't dare!" Ike snapped back and rose from his chair, interrupting his chess game.

"Oh, yes, I would." Mist smirked. She turned and walked out the door.

"Whatever, she wasn't that useful, anyway. I still have Rhys." Ike shrugged.

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Isn't Ike a major jerk? That's all going to change next chapter!

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