Fire Emblem fanfic: "Sneak Attack" by Avi Linus, the "Rabid Hound" of the Four Fangs, stood stock still, with his back flat against a pillar. Behind him, he could hear a pair of voices speaking, and he did not want to betray his position to them. With care, Linus glanced around the pillar. Across the courtyard before him, stood two figures, one male, one female, deep in conversation. They spoke in a light, casual tone, unaware that they were being observed; Linus even caught the faint sound of laughter. Linus shook his head. They were all the more fool for letting down their guard like this. Still... Linus's grip tightened around his weapon, and a wicked grin played across his lips. He knew he had to strike soon, while the pair was still absorbed in their conversation. Swiftly, Linus stepped out of his hiding place, and struck out at the nearest target. The male, being the closest, must've sensed the movement, for he turned towards Linus just as he attacked; because of this, the weapon only grazed his shoulder. However, the second attack caught him full on the chest. And then Linus struck him again. And again. Over and over he struck, until his opponent was completely overwhelmed by the barrage of attacks... So much so, that the victim's body finally fell to the ground, and lay still. The felling of her companion seemed to startle the girl into action; as she let out an inadvertant scream, she finally ran off, in search of cover. But Linus had noted her presence previously, and already began to track her whereabouts. As he knelt down to pick up his weapon, he slowly walked over to the other side of the courtyard. There were small footprints left in the ground, from the girl's passage. Linus shook his head at this, but he could feel no remorse for his enemy... As he followed the footprints, they led to one of the pillars surrounding the courtyard. When Linus looked at the stone floor around it, he saw the damp footprints leading to the pillar, but not past it. A slow smile spread across his face. As walked towards the pillar, he could almost taste the girl's fear... Then suddenly, he felt something strike him, from behind. Linus found himself reaching for the back of his neck, in disbelief. He could feel something wet dripping across his back... As he realized this, the grip on his weapon slackened, and it fell to the ground... Then finally, he fell over and lay still, as well. *** Noticing that her attacker had been defeated, the girl slowly came out of her hiding place... Edging forward carefully, she approached Linus' fallen form. As she crouched over the body, she leaned forward, to examine it more closely. "Hey... Are you okay?" she whispered. Linus sat up suddenly then, nearly causing the girl to fall back, startled. "Nino, you should really know better than to walk up to a fallen enemy, like that," he told her. "They might still be alive." Nino stood up, and placed her hands on her hips. "But Linus, you were acting so silly! You were only struck once! Why did you fall over?" "Because it was a good shot. Don't you think so, brother?" Behind him, Lloyd sat up, and dusted some snow off his shoulders. "It wasn't bad," replied Lloyd modestly, and got to his feet. "And you should better than to turn your back on an opponent, litttle brother." Linus shrugged. "Well, considering how many times I hit you, I was pretty sure you were down for the count." He then grinned. "Although, I did think your so-called 'death' was a little too melodramatic..." Lloyd looked down at his clothing, which was still covered in snow. "And you don't think that your little 'barrage' was a bit of overkill?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow. "I've got snow in places I'd care not to mention, especially in front of little Nino." Lloyd brushed off yet another impacted snowball off of his clothes. Linus casually dusted off the snow on the back of his neck. "It was a sneak attack, just like yours," he replied, with a grin. "You should be proud that your impulsive brother finally came up with a battle plan of his own." Lloyd shook his head. "Nino's right. Now, you're just being silly," though he said it with a smile. "Oh, that reminds me..." Linus turned towards Nino. "Since you don't think that snowball should have killed me, then our battle shouldn't be over yet, should it?" At this, Nino's eyes grew wide, and she ducked behind Lloyd. "Eek! Lloyd, aren't you going to protect me?" "Oh, I don't know..." He fell backwards, into a deep patch of snow. "I'm dead, remember? That snowball I threw was my last ditch effort to save you... Now, you're on your own." And with that, Lloyd gasped out a couple of falsely choked breaths, and fell still. Nino watched him curiously. "I think Linus is right," she observed. "You're not a very good actor, Lloyd." Lloyd cracked open one eye. "I think you have other things to worry about," he replied, grinning. At this, Nino turned, to see Linus kneeling down to form yet another snowball, with a mischievous look in his eyes. Letting out a squeak of dismay, she ran across the courtyard to look for cover, as he followed her in hot pursuit. *** As the sound of both pairs of footsteps pounded away, Lloyd settled into the pile of soft snow. Perhaps it wasn't so bad, being covered in snow, he thought. And after a suitable amount of time, he could make a 'miraculous' recovery, and save Nino from the clutches of his wicked younger brother. Lloyd sighed to himself. Too bad real life doesn't actually work out that way... he thought. END ***** Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2007. Fire Emblem and all related characters are property of Nintendo et al., and are used without permission.