Ahoï!
I… have nothing to say. Really.
Enjoy the reading and enjoy the summer!
"Chrom! Look!"
Many days have passed since we left Ylisstol.
"I see him…"
We beat up some Risens, we forced our way through the doors of Ferox...
"Marth! One question before we begin?"
We "diplomated" with the East Khan and got ourselves into an arena fight to gain the Feroxi's support in a possible future war against Plegia.
"… Fine, then."
So far, everything is going according to the time-line. But…
"Our swords can speak for us!"
What is Undyne doing at "Marth's" side!?
"… Where did you get that?"
I mean, I'm not mistaken. It is the same dragoon that I met back in that burning forest!
"There's no way…"
The spear woman walks toward me. Because of her dragon-shaped helmet, the only feature on her face that I can see is the smirk on her lips.
Her pace quickens steadily…
She is definitely targeting me.
"Tell me- Who taught you to fight like that?"
Running at full speed, she suddenly jumps in the air.
I raise my dragon stone, and swiftly turn into a dragon to counter the attack.
"MY FATHER!"
…
Father?
I jump back and escape Undyne's landing.
…
I look Undyne straight in the eyes, while mines are wide opened.
She dislodges her spear from the ground and takes a fighting stance.
"Don't run away!" she says. "This arena is way too small for a dragon to escape."
"You aren't from this era, right?" I reply.
The question wipes off her confident smile.
"Are you, perhaps…?"
…
Will she really answer me the truth?
Right now, she is biting her lips and crisping her fingers on her spear.
Perhaps I can learn more about her through the action of the battlefield.
"Let's dance."
I jump in the air and dive at her.
I use my technic of landing in front of my target instead of charging directly at it.
Usually, that would make my adversary either try to attack me or jump out of the way.
Surprisingly, Undyne hasn't moved from her spot.
As if seeing through my bluff, she strikes and hits me in the shoulder.
Ignoring the pain, I then spin to hit her legs with my tail to make her trip, but she does a backflip and avoids the attack.
I finish my technic by spitting a fire ball at her, but she rolls on the side and charges at me.
I try to escape the attack, but throwing my breath at people tends to leave me exposed at my opponent.
Her spear strikes at my other shoulder.
"Guh!"
We both jump back.
I transform into my human form and while I reappear, Undyne had jumped in the air.
"Crap!" I shout out loud while I jump back again to avoid the incoming "dragoon-jump".
As she is about to dive at me again, she spins herself in midair.
Somehow, the gesture makes her body land right in front of me instead of ON me.
Her body continues to spin and her spear hits my legs, making me trip.
Wait… that's…
She gets in position to strike at me while I am still in midair.
I can see her grin at me.
"This time, I'll win!"
"GET OFF FROM GIM!"
That screech!
Undyne and I turn toward Minerva who's flying at the dragoon.
Cherche strikes at my opponent with an axe.
The attack is blocked, but the shock sends the spear woman flying a few feet away.
She gets back on her feet.
"Ow… Not fair!"
Minerva lands on the ground while her rider is staring at the dragoon.
"Now, now, darling. I cannot allow you to hurt my good friend any further."
Cherche's stare is cold, but…
Oh Em Gee! She cares about me!
"We were having a fair dual!" Undyne replies.
"Too bad" answers Cherche. "Now, I'LL be your adversary."
The two woman stare each other in the eyes.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to stand in-between in case of getting electrocuted by the friction of their gazes, but…
"Thank you, Cherche. But I've got this."
The wyvern rider looks at me with an eyebrow up.
I press my hand on my bleeding shoulder while facing Undyne again.
"Gim?"
"She is quite the adversary. But I really hate to not finish something I started."
I look at her with a confidant smile.
She looks at the dragoon for an instant and then rests her axe on her shoulder.
"Mff! Is this a matter of 'man pride'?"
I'm about to deny it, but…
"… I guess so. Yeah."
Cherche's eyes widen.
And then, she chuckles.
"At least, you're strong enough to admit it."
The compliment makes me blush and smile.
"Fine! She's all yours."
"Thank you, miss Cherche."
"Burn her to a crisp, Gim!"
"I'll… try not to do that."
Minerva and Cherche fly away to their next opponent/victim.
Undyne spins her spear above her head and takes a fighting stance.
"Alright! Round two! Come on!"
I look at the spear woman…
But… I think it's time to address my hunch.
"That was a nice technic you just used."
Her confidant smile once again disappears from her face.
"And… even though you use a spear, it was eerily similar to the one I just used in my dragon form."
She crisps her lips.
"… Tell me… Who taught you to fight like that?"
I see her gasping.
She is taken aback.
"Chrom asked this question to Marth, earlier… perhaps…"
…
"You have a similar answer?"
…
Undyne is just… looking at the ground.
"Yes."
"Mh?"
She raises her head and stares at me right in the eyes.
"Yes! My fallen manakete father taught me those technics a long time ago!"
…
"Despite being unable to transform like a dragon, he showed me how to fight like one with the help of a spear! 'Just like a Dragoon'!"
… Ah…
"And… this fight reminds me of those memories I hold o so dearly… So, I'm begging you…"
… are those tears on her cheeks?
"Grant me this dual!"
…
"You… are so strong…" I answer.
I have never been so proud of someone else before…
"And so beautiful…"
How I wish I could see her without that helmet…
But… the moment I see her hair…
…
No.
This fight…
… is the only way for us to bond closer.
I raise my dragon stone and change in my draconic form.
We both jump in the air and spar -Wait, is that Marie-Pier in the audien-?
THUNK!
Years ago, I made a bunch of friends.
Among the bunch there was Charles-Oliver, the one calling himself "Cirus" in this world.
And another one of those friend is Marie-Pier.
We call her "MP".
Since "MP" stands for "Mana Points" in many fantasy fictions, it's pretty common for her to call her avatars in video games "Mana".
"Well, that bump on your head isn't severe. How are your shoulders?"
Everyone. Meet Mana.
A swordswoman who joined the West Ferox army.
"It will be fully healed in three days." I answer. "No worries."
"You say that as if you were used to it."
Yeah.
Bedridden.
Body covered in bandages.
I turn my head toward Cirus, who's standing against the stone wall of the infirmary with his arms crossed.
We both share a look, thinking about the same events that happened on Donnel's island a while ago.
"He just needs to choose his battles more carefully" answers Cirus.
"Oï! First of all, I fought on that bridge to protect Donnel's village! I knew I was outnumbered, but I didn't had a choice in the matter. Second, this dual was against…"
…
Cirus and Mana look at me with a confused look.
"I think…"
Should I really share my intuition?...
I mean… it's not as much an intuition since Undyne pretty much half confirmed it.
"I think Undyne is my future daughter."
Both of my friends' jaw drop.
"Dude! Pour vrai!?" (Dude! Really!?) exclaims Mana while getting closer to my face.
"Well, I- I think so."
"Oh my gods! That's incredible!"
The swordswoman turns toward Cirus.
"Are you sure of that?" asks the knight.
"Well… she told me that she learned how to fight thanks to his manakete father… and, well, you know… there are no male manakete in 'Awakening'."
"Huh… If I had known she was your daughter beforehand…" says Mana. "I would have tried to socialize a bit more with her."
Cirus shrugs at me.
"So, who's the mother?"
I can feel the blood rush through my face.
"W-Well… her helmet was hiding her hair" I answer. "It's as if she knew that showing her hair color would give out who I am going to marry! So… How should I know…?"
"Well, so far you're getting along just fine with Cherche" points out Cirus.
"Sh-Shut up!"
"Aw. No S-Support with Lucina?" asks Mana.
"Please! No!"
Like I said earlier, my love for Lucina isn't unbeknownst to my close friends.
"In any case" continues the swordswoman. "Marying a future child sounds WAY too creepy. Especially now that we are in this world!"
Yeah…
In any case, Lord Black Knight was specific in not developing a romantic relationship with any of the future children…
"… Oh crap" I calmly exclaim. "Lord Black Knight!"
"Eh?"
Right.
There's a lot that Mana needs to get caught up with.
"There's a guy named 'Lord Black Knight' that seems to be taking care of the future children."
"You mean, like…"
"No" I answer while making an "X" with my arms. "Not the Black Knight from Path of Radiance?"
"Oh."
"Not only he comes from the future, but Cirus and I came to the conclusion that he comes from our reality."
"What!? So, like, he played Awakening and everything?" asks Mana.
"Seems that way" answers Cirus. "Also, he sent Severa and Nah to train Gim."
"WHAT!?"
"Oh yeah. That too."
"Okay" sighs the swordswoman. "You need to tell me everything that happened to you guys…"
And so, we do just that.
I tell Mana about my stay on Donnel's island.
Cirus tells her about his adventures with Virion.
And finally…
"So… all of us appeared underwater?" asks Mana.
Huh?
"… I… woke up in an icy-cold river in the western region of Regna Ferox."
"Wow" exclaims Cirus. "And I thought I had it rough with my full-plate armor."
"Well, I wouldn't had made it out… if Lon'Qu hadn't shown up."
…
Something doesn't add up.
"Wait. Lon'Qu saved you?" I asks.
"Yeah" answers Mana.
"… the guy… who's LITERALLY afraid of touching woman-"
"Gynophobia."
"Thanks, Charles. Actually pulled YOU out of the water?"
"Oh. Well, he was still recovering from the trauma when I came to my senses."
"… Figured."
The swordswoman sits on a chair next to my bed.
"When he came up to, he brought me to the West Khan, Basilio. They trained me, I joined their ranks, fought off a bunch of Plegian invasions, was asked to participate at the arena tournament, I refused and here we are!"
"Wait, you refused?" asks Cirus.
"Well, yeah! You think I would willingly join a losing fight? Especially against Chrom?"
"Is that what you said to Basilio?"
"Nah. I told him that if Lon'Qu wasn't up to the task, I sure wouldn't be... which is kind of true?"
I chuckle.
"Well, meeting you in the middle of the arena would have been quite awkward..."
"Isn't that how you usually recruit people in Fire Emblem?" asks the swordswoman.
The three of us laugh at the reference.
Mana smiles peacefully.
"Yeah… and it's good to see you guys… But…"
"Mh?"
"So, there's the three of us here… but are there anyone else?"
I look at my toes sticking out from under the sheets.
"That's a question I've been asking myself for a while now… But if it were the case, no matter which country they appeared in, they would know how to cross the path of the Shepards."
"Oï! Plegian Mage. You think pursuers off our tracks?"
"They would be if we had croaked them in the first place! Kyah hah hah!"
"Too many, even for Gregor's blade."
Gregor and Henri are hiding behind a wrecked stone wall, observing the horizon.
"So, other Plegian Mage. Was good fortune that you and friend found us out of troubles."
A mage with black hair, wearing a robe made of black and gold color is drinking from his leather flask. At his belt, he carries a sword and a red tome with intertwining snakes on its cover.
"Hah… It's no problem!" the mage says. "If anything else, I REALLY hate slave traders. Especially those who abuses young and cute thousand years old manaketes."
The young blonde manakete, Nowi, steps closer with a surprised look on her face.
"Wow! You know about manaketes?"
"A thing or two."
"Well… thank you for saving me! But now, aren't you guys considered traitors to your own country?"
"Actually, Plegia isn't really my country..."
"And I carry no sentimental value to my country in the first place! Heh heh!" answers Henri.
The group of four stands in a circle.
Gregor crosses his arms.
"Is good so far, but Gregor think we overstay staying in desert land. Dangerous place. Too many fanatics."
"Well, I know of a safe place we can go" answers the mage. "However, we'll need to time it at just the right opportunity. Something BIG is about to happen out there and if we play our cards right, we might shorten the upcoming war."
"Oï! Those big claims! How do you know?"
"Because my friend can see the future!" exclaims Henri.
"Whaaat!?"
Nowi beams her sparkling eyes at the other mage, who passes a hand in his hair with embarrassment.
"Look, I'm sure that you have many questions, but for now, we need to get at the frontier between Plegia and Ylisse."
…
"Gregor think sounds like too dangerous for free service."
"If we make it through, we'll be able to join the Yllisean armies. I heard they pay well!"
"Gregor think sounds like good investment!"
"Alright. We head east!"
As the mage pulls out a compass out of his purse, the little manakete yanks on his robe.
"So, mister, what is your name?"
The mage stares and smiles at Nowi.
"Neil. My name is Neil."
NEIL
MY WORLD IS FIRE AND BLOOD