Fire Emblem: Apocalypse
Help for the ExaltLucina sat at the large, beautiful banquet table, caught up in a dreamlike state.
She thought about the man she fought earlier, and the one who sat at the head of this table.
Lucina arrived at the conclusion that they didn't seem like the same person, but she couldn't be certain, perhaps his silence was to avoid betraying himself to the castle staff.
"Cousin, what has distracted your attention this evening?"
"Oh, nothing…I can't believe I'm here…it feels so final."
"How so?"
"I don't know, like I can't go back…like I'm sick, and it's only getting worse."
Morgan raced ahead of Owain, opening as many doors as she could before he reached them, but, for someone carrying an ill princess, he was closing the distance quickly.
"How is she, Owain?" Morgan called out as she pushed a heavy door out of their path.
"She's all red and sweating."
"Who's sweating?" Lucina asked, rising from her chair at the head of the table.
"Oh, it's just Morgan, she's trying to open more doors than she can handle." Owain said offhandedly.
"While I'm grateful for her trying to bring more possibilities to light, she shouldn't overwork herself."
"Not those kinds of doors," Owain waved his hand dismissively, "castle doors."
"Oh…what for, and art thou not speaking in thine usual way?"
"You're dying."
"She's dying?!" Owain slammed his fist into the nightstand by the princess' bed, effectively scattering it, on and around Lucina, "There's got to be something you can do!" he yelled at everyone who held a staff, as they bowed their heads, staring at their feet, "You're unbelievable! You're all healers! You should be able to do something! Or is it that you can but won't?"
"What, Owain," one of them summoned a nerve which was quickly fading, "what can we do but wait?"
"I'm not waiting for Lucina to die!"
"Is she getting better?" Tiki asked, standing in the doorway.
"Lady Tiki, when did you here?" Owain asked, but before she could answer, Lucina began muttering.
Lucina began backing her chair away from the table, and found Morgan pushing a great iron door, black inlaid with gold.
"Hey, Morgan, Owain told me you'd be here."
"Oh, so you know, then…about me."
"What about you?"
"Nothing…you need to see Laurent."
"Laurent?"
"Larry loves brewing teas with curative effects, you should ask for some."
"Laurent…who is Laurent?" Morgan smiled and bent her fingers back, beckoning her to lean in, as though to tell a secret and Lucina leaned her face down. Morgan punched her and she saw darkness all around her.
"'Secret, Morgan' I don't get it," Owain turned to his shorter friend, "what's she talking about?"
"I don't know." Morgan stated plainly.
Owain tilted his head uncertainly, "I don't!" Morgan yelled defensively.
"Then what does it mean?" Owain asked.
"That isn't important," Tiki said contemplatively, "but there's a man who bears the lineage of a powerful and wise mage who fought alongside Chrom, this boy is no older than yourselves, perhaps I might accompany you to find him."
"Lady Tiki," Say'ri protested, "you cannot think to exhaust yourself so soon after your last fight."
"I will do as I feel I must…or is my potential life span to be lesser in fullness than that of humans, though it is longer?"
"I-I understand…as you will, milady, I will join you also."
"Say'ri and I will come with you." Tiki said, with finality.
"Great," Morgan said, "but where is the descendant of the mage, and what if he can't help?"
"I don't know where he is, but if Lucina heard of him, then it must bear meaning…to my knowledge she has no knowledge of any of the children outside her circle of friends." Tiki explained, then stepped to the window by Lucina's bed, "If we want to leave unobstructed, then we must hurry."
Owain stepped up behind her and saw red lights on the horizon, "Doth I spy yonder monsters?"
"Torchlights," Morgan breathed, "we've got to get out of here…of all times to start an uprising."
"An unpleasant odor causes my nose to tingle with an aquatic note." Owain said, lifting Lucina off the mattress.
"Agreed, something is very fishy." Morgan turned to Tiki and Say'ri, "Lucina's current condition and the sudden number of torches is no coincidence."
"What do we do now?" Owain asked Tiki.
"I will distract the insurgents; you have to escape through the tunnels."
"Tiki, it's too dangerous." Morgan objected.
"This is happening, Morgan…you wanted to be a great tactician, sometimes you make a few risks, but if the plan was a success, then it's owed to you."
"But I don't want you to go out there; we'll all be quicker together."
"I don't think so, if I slow them down you will have more time, I can rejoin you outside after destroying the gate outside the town, I'll fly above and search for you. It's a risk, but if you were making the calls, my plan would have the better chance…you have to let yourself take that risk, to be afraid, to persevere regardless."
"Fine…we'll escape through the underground tunnels and come out of that tunnel you used to find me in, I know those tunnels well, it won't take but maybe ten minutes, so you won't have to stay there for too long, seven minutes should be long enough for us, and short enough for you."
"Let's hurry, then, I'll be back, Morgan, don't worry." Tiki promised.
"Pray, milady, permit to go with you." Say'ri requested, bowing her head.
"I think you should take her with you." Morgan said abruptly.
Tiki motioned for Say'ri to follow her.
Owain turned to Morgan, "Where are these tunnels?"
"I think there was one in an old painting study here." Morgan informed, searching through her mind, wander the castle halls for the escape route.
"Was that the secret Lucina muttered about?"
"Owain, drop it."
"I'm curious, though," he said, lifting Lucina off the mattress, "what's this secret?"
"I don't know, dreams are weird, maybe even prophetic ones are weird…I wouldn't know."
"I know!" Owain exclaimed, "It's a secret she's afraid you'll find out about, after all, you always wanted to be a tactician, and you have developed your powers of detection to quite an extent."
"I'm sure I'd know if she was hiding a secret…though I was surprised at my birthday present last year…do you think that while I've gotten better at uncovering secrets she's been getting better at hiding them?"
"It wouldn't surprise me."
"Now that I think about it, she could."
"It's only a matter of time, you know." Morgan said to Lucina as she strained to open a door leading out to town.
"A matter of time until what…Morgan, where are you?!" she turned about several times, then found herself in utter darkness. Suddenly the torches flickered on and she was in the grand hall, leaning against one of the large doors leading out, Morgan was leaning on the other door.
"It's only a matter of time…until Grima gets the Fire Emblem." Morgan answered confidently.
"Don't tell me you think that's a good thing." Lucina remarked, crossing her arms challengingly.
"Well, you should have done as you were told, stay away from my filthy people, rather than trust me as your friend…but you couldn't just leave me by the river, Father might have come back for me, you thought, you thought he and I were foes…you messed up."
"Morgan, why tell me this?" Lucina asked, confused.
"To convince you…to make or let me die, Lucina. Death…it's the easiest way, the best way."
"If you say so." Lucina said as the door opened completely. A bright, blazing fire over took them and left a desolate landscape behind, it was so real, but it was too much, she fell into a hole in the ground, into a network of tunnels she thought seemed familiar..
"Morgan, break, I need a break." Owain said, trying to keep Lucina in his strained arms.
"The study is behind this door." Morgan urged, turning around she saw the small group of soldiers they brought with them, the rest begged her to guard the doors, "Death…was it the easiest way, an escape from future travails?"
"Morgan," he began, in a pained tone, then shook his head, "if only I could say or do something…whoa, this door, look at the etchings, I put that there to keep track of everything, there was this really stupid book back there, it vanished one day and the guards locked it up, it's an active crime scene."
"Well, we both know what this door is, then."
"Yes—but no, the door…it's good and locked." He said as Morgan rattled it.
"Hmm…there has to be a way inside." Morgan saw a supply cabinet next to study and looked through the clutter, knocking various things over.
"Oh, Morgan goes for the almighty ka-boom, I see!"
"Not quite, paint supplies aren't good with fire, but there's a good chance—bingo, paint scraper."
"I don't get it."
"There's nothing to get." Morgan slid the scraper end between the door and doorframe, and jiggled it until it wedged the door free, "Don't tell anyone how that's done, alright?"
"Yeah, sure…I didn't realize artists had so many sharp pieces of equipment."
"You never heard of sculptors or lutenists, then." Morgan said dully, putting the scraper in a paint can.
"A lute, isn't that like a violin?" Owain asked, following her into the room.
"Alright, it's blunt, but I've trained myself to recognize potential weapons of opportunity," she searched an old, crumbled fireplace and pulled back a wooden block on the outer frame, and picked up a paintbrush next to her and set it into an impression in the wheel inside, and spun it around. Morgan envisioned the small gear attached to the wheel, turning another larger gear, which pulled a set of weights off a balance that lifted the door with a pulley system; then she turned to the newly open doorway and gestured to Owain to follow her.
She pulled a lever that pulled the weights back to their platform via another pulley system, which also lowered the door, as the door fell a large gear that the chains ran over kept it from crashing into the floor.
"Let's get out of here." she mused to herself as she. Suddenly loud crashes were heard all around them, and shouts echoed through the halls.
"Milady, the insurgents have come, destroy the secret door here, we'll have mages set the room ablaze!"
"That's not happening!" she yelled, furious, "Lucina, forgive me, I know these are your people…but—Owain, have the men hide in there with your, I'm going for the almighty ka-boom!" she went out into the halls and set paint buckets in various parts of the room, a nearby soldier watched on, perplexed, "General, sound your horn for a retreat, scout the area for our friends, but if you hear the enemy—you may engage."
"Milady, are you sure?"
"It's your duty to serve the Exalt, she's in no condition to fight, and there's monsters roaming our land, we have to fight off these people to keep as many troops as we can get, for the people who can't fight back…even if it means killing these people."
He nodded as she turned away, a pained expression on her face.
Minutes passed and with ragged breathes she scanned the room, her ears on alert for every little sound, and suddenly she heard heavy footsteps, "Milady, all troops have been cleared!"
"Good work, now go to the escape route!" she took a deep breath and tried to still her nerves, it seemed like hours to her, but after a final whisper of a pray to Naga and she heard many footsteps echoing down the halls, with bloodied spears and scars of their own to bear, they blocked the exits, pointing the weapons at her up to her, "Surrender the Exalt!"
"You can't just barge in here and start flinging unreasonable demands! Thunder, thunder!" she turned after the first bolt hit a paint can, causing an explosion behind her, and sent the second bolt, the enemies closed in on her, the next can was closer to her, she predicted the necessity of it, and after the walls of flame were constructed, she threw bursts of wind their way, sending smoke away from her and fanning the flames, paint cans past where the enemy came from exploded, walls crumbled, her plan had trapped them, the fires now sealing their fates.
She left, shortly afterwards, haunted by the reality of what she had just done, she stared at her fingers, her vision blurred as tear welled up in her eyes; the smoke from the paints burned her nostrils.
She heard their screams, tears streaming down her face as she ran to the door, suddenly the ceiling gave way, trapped under a small squad on the debris, she turned her wrist so her hand was facing up, and blasted lighting, shattering the broken structure, freeing her and scattering her foes. Arrows picked them off behind her and she slung fire onto the edges of the hole in the ceiling, and then cast a wind spell into the opening, spreading the flames, taking more lives, she was sure.
She gritted her teeth and ran.
The door fell behind her and she gasped for the breath, the odors from the other room were still present here, though.
"Morgan, what happened?" Owain asked, concerned.
"We're safe for now, but we have to hurry." She said, avoiding as much of the topic as she could.
"Morgan-" he began, cut off abruptly by the tactician.
"There's no time, Owain, we have to go!" she yelled, and stared bitterly at the group around them.
She led them through the tunnels. They heard yelling from above, ordering to find any survivors.
"Look!" she pointed towards a faint golden light, "That is that the way out, Owain."
"I do espy the same; what are your orders?"
"Knights and archers, follow me, we'll scout out a safe path to Tiki…I see flares in the sky, beyond the hill, we'll go there. Owain is to be guards, as he's carrying our Exalt, if we don't fall back, then follow us, if we do, set up a wall of knights, with mages and archers ready for battle." Morgan dashed outside and looked for any enemies, while knights set out even further, archers hiding in bushes and searching for enemies, while Owain's group followed after.
"What is this place?" Lucina was in some sort of tomb, behind her was a faint light, Marth stepped forward, smiling at Falchion's new wielder.
Suddenly a flash of light appeared and his winkles vanished, his clothes were kingly, and the brooch on his cape reflected light off its red surface.
The light was somewhere between as bright as it first appeared, and as radiant as it was when Marth transformed, out of the light stepped heroes, she was sure, heroes who's names had been lost to history.
On the left side she saw, emerging from the glow, a bright red haired woman with long strands of hair falling off her shoulder, she stood straight up and threw her hair back.
Followed by her was a young woman with dark purple hair held back by a chain ornament around her head, and a feather in the decoration she clung to her bow as though it were her life, eyes downcast as she acknowledged the Exalt.
A dark blonde haired girl with a determined smile, and a spear held high stepped out behind the archer; she waved it in the air as she brightly smiled at Lucina.
After she appeared a black haired knight stepped out, hair short and armor bright, she held a hand up to wave in acknowledgement.
She was followed by a short, bright yellow haired girl with pointy ears and a calm demeanor, as she noticed the Exalt's presence she allows a small smile.
Behind her and to the right stood a long eared warrior, his arms crossed expectantly, a tuff of white hair between them.
He was followed by a smiling silver haired boy, one hand carefully holding a daisy between his fingers, the other hand on his hip, after tipping his nose to the plant he offers it the Lucina.
In front of him stepped a reddish brown haired youth with a pointy hat on his head, a book in his hand, calmly observing the men behind him, and the women on the other side, then noticed Lucina and politely bowed.
A blonde haired boy with a scar over his eyes a staff in one hand and a violin in the other stepped out in front of him.
In front of him stepped a masked man, dusky pink hair on his head, and an expressionless face, a stark contrast to the angry looking red head girl behind him.
"Who are these people, Marth, you're old allies?" she looked at him, but his clothes were tattered, and his face was her father's, behind him stood, in order of the above mentioned heroes, Cordelia, Tharja, Sumia, Sully, Nowi, Panne, Olivia, Miriel, Maribelle, and Cherche. She looked back and Chrom was no longer standing, instead she was, Falchion held with two hands, held so the tip of the ancient blade was pointed down, the warriors she thought to be Marth's old allies standing behind her, the rings on their fingers suddenly threw off a gold light that made her feel…empowered? Who were they, and why were they here? She turned and saw Robin, grinning.
Lightning flashed and six red eyes, three on either side of the great monstrosity's face, glowed before them, then a familiar voice pierced the air, "Mjolnir!" lightning flashed again and Morgan crouched low, on two feet, one hand on the ground for support, she rose slowly and held out her hand, "Thoron!" Lucina staggered back, a lightning bolt stuck in her chest, as though it were a dagger and not magical energy.
"Morgan?" she gasped, and fell on her side, staring up at the grandmaster before her.
"You were just like your father," Lucina was shocked by the words almost as much as she was shocked by the second voice who joined in Morgan's taunt, but soon Robin's voice alone was heard, "always wanting to believe that fate can be cheated…you'll never cheat fate of its dues, and it has chosen Grima, to devour this world!"
"Morgan?" Lucina whispered, holding out her hand before she passed out.
Morgan could not only use Thoron, but Mjolnir, Lucina's thoughts swirled as she felt an intense heat, as though she was in a volcano. In the letters Chrom and her mother sent her, they described it as a mountain with a heart of liquid fire.
Morgan and Owain had found Tiki and Say'ri and they ran from the city, eventually wandering into the forest.
In the early morning hours, when it was Morgan's turn to watch out for the camp, Lucina muttered something about the river, upon a repetition, Morgan understood the ominous message, "Beyond the river…hurry…beyond."
Morgan waited for more instructions, then woke the camp.
"Everyone, Lucina said something about the river, that we must hurry…Laurent might be nearby!" she lead a group deeper into the woods and Tiki stayed behind, transformed, and flew Lucina out of the woods, the Manakete watched the battle below, and saw a lone mage, slinging fire at the monsters she once battled, "Risen?!" Tiki gasped.
Laurent was sure the time of his death was upon him; having expended his magical energies on the more powerful spells, experimenting with different spells to get the maximum use of his powers and changing his position several times left him mentally and physically.
"Mother, I'll be joining you in the great literary and scientific treasure trove in the sky!" he gave a pained glance at his ring for a moment and felt goose bumps on his skin, and something stirred in his heart, with a tear in his eye he opened his tomes again, "Yet shall I tarry a while longer!"
He shouted and fire streamed from his hand, roasting the monsters around him. An archer shot at him, but a blast of wind knocked it out of the air, he turned around and saw a shorter mage close her tome, she pulled out her sword and charged for the monsters behind him, while the man behind her attacked the ones in front of them and the woman behind him charged to a point between them.
He couldn't believe his eyes, they were on his side…after he stumbled through a secret passage way and found his way in an old art studio, stole his mother's journal from said room, and got caught by some guards…who didn't listen to his explanation, to avoid capture he fled, and found his face on wanted posters for days after…and that mark on the young man's arm…the Brand of the Exalt? So he stole from royalty and they're helping him…or maybe they're really to sight these beasts to save him, perhaps they want to conscript him, or the monsters were on the way…maybe he should creep into the shadows.
"You!" the mage shouted, catching him by the shoulder and turning him around, "You can't leave yet-"
"I'm so dreadfully sorry, but there's been a misunderstanding, you see…this was my mother's book, so I had-"
"What? I'm not here for a book, the castle's got plenty of them…though we have to flee now because of an uprising…Lucina's been poisoned, you need to save her, we need you to mix something to help her!" she said urgently.
"Ah—of course, well, first I need to see what the poison was, I assume, though, that no one thought to bring along a sample, though you can hardly be blamed, where is Lucina?"
"The Exalt's with Tiki right now."
"Lucina…Exalt—that Lucina?! This is a travesty! Likely it was a political act, though there's no competition as the throne is passed through the family…so I must conclude the act was to disrupt the chain of command, I smell war."
"The uprising I mentioned…rebellion? You only smell war?"
"Ah, right, in the wake of that shock, learning our beloved Exalt was poisoned…no doubt it was supposed to take her out of action, but there's nowhere they could easily obtain it…what are her symptoms?"
"High fever…umm, it was pretty instant."
"Then maybe…oh…hmm…there's yet time…I will aid you in your battle, and join your cause, there's no use wandering alone, I almost died that way…if you would have me, I mean."
"Any help we can get!" she said, and he fought alongside the group, mostly supporting and taking out the weaker foes, given his weakened state.
After the fight Tiki flew down and Laurent gasped when he saw the Exalt. She was in terrible shape, almost as red as his hair, he noted.
"She muttered something about you and a tea."
"Ah…I do have a tea with me…I take it she wasn't specific?"
"No, why, should she have been?"
"Not at all, I have only one tea…what a strange mention, though…me specifically, or did she reference Miriel, my mother?" he asked, using a small spoon to transfer the tea to a container.
"No," the mage replied, "she called you by name…what is your name?" she asked suspiciously.
"Laurent, may I ask yours?"
"Morgan." The mage replied, watching him drop the container in the teakettle , and set the kettle over the fire.
"It's good to meet you, Morgan…suspicious still?"
"No, that is the name she spoke."
"Well, who is your friend, then, the one with the Brand on his shoulder?" he gestured towards the man from earlier that had piqued his curiosity by bearing the Brand.
"Owain…you've never heard of him?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes, but I didn't know she had siblings."
"Cousins…they're not siblings."
"Truly? Hmm, wait…Lissa's son…Chrom's nephew?"
"You know Lissa?" Morgan asked excitedly.
"Only as much as the next person, she did make quite a name for herself…her name is on the Wall of the Shepherds…a list of those fallen in the fight that took place, against an unknown enemy, though their activity in Plegia would indicate a strong likelihood of the Grimleal as their contender."
"Wasn't Walhart their enemy, after the fall of the Mad King?"
"Yes, but according to the journal of my dear mother-"
"Hey, Morgan!" Owain pranced up to the two, briefly waving at Laurent before noticing that book he held, "Hey, there's that stupid book I told you about. You stole it, seriously? The Earth revolving around the Sun, honestly, who comes up with this?"
"My grandmother made observations and hypothesis based on her finding in the natural world," Laurent was speaking quickly and fiercely, alarming Morgan and stunning Owain, who was now quite pale which my mother, my her soul rest in peace, translated into laws of nature, which I then attempt to find practical applications for, but the findings of daring, fresh thinking minds is often underappreciated, so I will not be overly harsh with you, my good sir!"
As he finished ranting furiously at the ungrateful young man, the kettle whistled sharply.
Author's Notes: next one!
I do hope someone's reading these…I try to do a good job, so if someone likes these stories, tell me…if not, I'll listen to the reason why and attempt to correct whatever blunder I may have made, though it might just come down to personal taste.