Tactics Ogre: The Squire of Ivalice. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing (except some minor OC's). This disclaimer applies through the entire story.

Notes: Basically, this is what happens when I get bored and drop my end game party (except for Reis. She's here to make Beowulf interesting.) into the world of Knight of Lodis. It'll mostly follow that storyline, but with Ramza and co (once they get back together) accompanying. Might expand from there, but I doubt it. And to stop the FFT's being overpowered, I've given them a cool-down period to make them stop being ultra-veterans who oneshot everything. 5 years between this chapter (the world-switch) and the next (Alphonse's arrival). And yes, I do realise my fight scenes are pretty bad. Any tips to make them good would be appreciated.

"Foolish child. I will kill all of you!"

The demon blurred forwards almost faster than Ramza could see before it even finished talking. Ramza parried and attempted a riposte, only for the demon to vanish at the strike and reappear behind him. It's eyes flashed, and a blast of magic sent the squire flying almost off the edge of the airship. His head slammed into the railing, and for a dreadful second Ramza could barely move. A cry from Alma awoke him from his stupor and he rose, shaking of the last of his paralysis to see the demon looked in combat with both Agrias and the Count. Working together, the two master swordfighters managed to push Ultima away from the torn body of his sister. Beowulf flanked the demon, and it easily gave ground before the Templar. Too easily...

Ramza swore with the realisation, legs already moving. Reis was locked in concentration, and was unaware of the creature that was subtly moving towards her. Cid had noticed the ploy, and alerted Agrias, but both were too far away to prevent the beast latching both claws on the sorceress and tearing. Reis dropped, bloody, to the ground, and Beowulf went mad. He charged the demon, which this time instead of retreating merely blocked the berserk attacks with one arm, and backhanded the swordsman at least three meters away with the other. The demon stalked towards the downed knight, while the battlefield was lit by holy magic as Ramza revived his sister and Agrias reached to her belt pocket and dropped a phoenix feather on Reis, staving of crystal death for a while.

Ultima gave what seemed to be a smile and launched itself at the now out-of-position Beowulf. Cid was there in an instant, catching its claws on his blade before turning the blow down into the deck of the ship. Claws caught in wood, and the fallen angel's smile transformed into a snarl. Cid, with the brutal practicality gained over a hundred battles, kicked the trapped enemy in the chest before following up with a massive blow of his sword, stealing the health of the being before him. Ultima's eyes flashed, and a massive magical blast caught the veteran, sending him down to one knee. The fallen angel raised both claws over the warrior, but suddenly two spells caught it by surprise, and the Flare and Holy combination bowled it across the deck, right to Agrias, who somehow summoned a rainbow blade from the heavens which struck Ultima from above. Whirling, Ultima missed Ramza with its attack, nicking Agrias on the arm. Ramza launched himself up the massive arm and swung Durandal and Valhalla in two arcs, biting into the right flank and wing of the creature. This time, it was the demon that went down on a knee, an action that made it look as if it was kneeling to Ramza. It struggled upwards, but was met by a massive burst of magic from the seemingly defenceless Alma, hammering it into the deck. The demon still moved, twisting its head towards the girl, eyes lighting like before.

A blade slammed through the jaw of the creature, biting deep into the wood beneath. Ultima gave a gasp, coughing up what passed for blood, and a second sword pierced its head. Both blades withdrew and Ramza bounded backwards, staring at the fallen angel with a mixture of fury and pity. Even as he watched, the eyes burnt out, and the searing hatred in the face vanished.

It was over.

"More...Power..."

Or not.

The words were soft, almost unheard over the sound of healing spells and items being passed around, but the effect was immediate. All the warriors twisted as one, with Alma a moment behind the practiced fighters.

The seemingly dead fallen angel was hovering in place, surrounded by green energy. As the party watched, the eyes snapped open, fixing Ramza with the same hateful stare.

"I need...more power"

Ramza was the first to wake from the shock, and leapt towards the demon with both legendary swords striking. A mere inch away from the head, the green light sped outwards to engulf Ramza first, then the party.

The six allies opened their eyes almost simultaneously. The ship, the entire graveyard and Ultima were all gone. They were floating over infinite blackness in a strange orb of thirteen colours. Somehow, they stood in mid-air, and looked around.

"By the gods..."

"Everyone...everything...gone?"

"How... are we still alive?"

One by one, their gazes turned to the orb, and especially the thirteen stones floating on the rim.

"Ramza..."

"The stones protect us? But why?"

"We are power, no more, no less. In the hands of some, we are monsters, and in the hands of others we protect. Ramza Beouvle, your desire to protect is strong. We will save you with the last of our powers."

"The last of your powers?"

"This world is destroyed. Ultima's death throes have removed it from existence. And the gate to your world has been cut. We will only be able to place you in a similar universe, and as such we must cut a hole in the universe to save you. After that, we shall be but empty vessels, devoid of strength. We can but hope that you survive."

Before anyone could reply, the stones began to spin around the outside of the sphere, and the colours begun to blend. Ramza reached out and grabbed the nearest hands, holding on tight as the orb split and compressed. With a noiseless implosion, the rainbow spheres collapsed and the powder that once was the zodiac stones begun it's infinite fall through the empty dimension.

Ramza awoke to the sound of waves on a beach, and the cries of gulls overhead. Wincing, he looked to his left and right, revealing his sister and Agrias. A small smile on his face, he fell back on the sand, unconscious even as a man dressed in a priest's habit hurried down from the small church built on the seashore.

Ten years ago, the Lodis Empire began its imposition of Lodisism.
Troops from Galius advanced into the regions that resisted.
It was more of an invasion than a reformation.
Many conflicts erupted as these territories were conquered.
But, some countries submitted and accepted Lodis' conditions.
Although supervised by Lodis, they were able to maintain autonomy.
The empire also pledged support if problems were to arise.
Some rulers chose to surrender to avoid pointless sacrifice.
It was no surprise that they made that decision...
...although that did not stop small conflicts from occurring.
However, compared to the rest of the era, it was a time of peace.

Heya. First long story, so yeah. Might not be all that good. Also, have lots and lots of exams coming up, so writing will be sporadic at best. I'll try, though, and reviews will make me try harder.

NOTES: YOU SHOULD READ THESE

Next chapter (set 5ish years after the end of this chapter), the ages of the major characters will be:

Ramza: 24, Alphonse: 18, Alma: 20, Agrias: 26, Eleanor?: 17 The 6 characters from WotL were chosen for story purposes. Also, all but Reis was in my final party.

I will be mostly following the game of Knight of Lodis, as I haven't played any Tactics Ogre games other than this. I do know the switch from hero to villain and all that stuff. I have done some research etc, but don't expect perfect knowledge of the world of KoL.

Eleanor inclusion: I have a poll up, (or you can review and leave an opinion and such) about whether or not to include her. If you want closer-to-the-original KoL story, Eleanor is Alphonse's love interest. However, I could try and replace Eleanor entirely with Alma, and actually give her some romantic depth (as opposed to "that younger sister who you have to save. Again. And again")

BACKGROUND To Knight of Lodis

Just for the people who have not played KoL, I'll give some background now, and try and make things simple through the story. Heck, Ramza's going to be as new to this as you are (well, he gets 5 years between the next chapter, but meh).

The major world power is the Holy Lodis Empire. It is based in Galicia (main continent of the world.) Used to be a kingdom, but Pope lead a coup d'état and since then has been under the control of the church. Many military branches, most prominent in relation to Ovis (where the story is set) is the Order of the Sacred Flame. The Order is from Felis, one of the founding countries of Lodism. The Order is dispatched due to the cultural policy of mutual support described above. Alphonse is a member of the Order, along with his friend Rictor. Both were born into high-ranked nobles (but Alphonse does not wish to only advance on birth), so received military training (similarities to Ramza emerging yet?). This is Alphonse's first mission, and while Rictor has been sent on other lesser ones this is still his most important.

So yeah. Once again, a church is trying to screw everybody over, and Ramza just arrived. Sucks to be the church...

Review/Message me if you have questions. I like to know that I'm not alone in the world. Tips on writing, formatting, etc etc are also welcomed.

Yay for first chapter of the first Ogre Battle crossover. Pity it had to be mine...

HR