Cearbhail:

So, last chapter we found out that Vatu has a twin sister, and that his mother is not his real mother. So, that raises the question, is Mhad really his dad? Spoilers: ... ... ... I'll mention it down on the bottom if you're interested.

=^^= Enjoy...

[Davilia]

We were inside the Imperial City or…what was left of it. It's hard to tell what's real and what's not. I've read about the Oblivion Crisis, I thought I understood what the town went through. I had no idea. And I wasn't prepared for what I was seeing. The Imperial City… it's a pretty big city, right? Some even like to say that the Imperial City is its own separate country inside Cyrodiil, one of the largest countries in all of Tamriel. The Imperial City houses hundreds of thousands of people. I mean, since I've been in this town, I've still haven't seen everything there is to see in the town… but… just knowing how big the town really was, I wasn't prepared to see what I was seeing.

There were buildings on fire, bodies of people littering the streets. I watched as hordes of Daedra Churls, Clanfear, and Scamps ran through the streets. The Imperial Legion, gladiators, anyone with a sword, or anyone that knew anything of magic, were out in the streets doing what they could to stop the Daedra horde. I saw Oblivion Gate upon gate open throughout the town, waves upon waves of Daedra pouring out. And I wasn't just standing here, watching slack jawed. I was too busy fighting the Daedra. I mean… we're not just invisible spectators. We're actively engaged in this world. Nexa and Pra'ja were doing what they could to help, and even though they were still children during this, they were still acting like they were still badass fighters.

"This is stupid!" Pra'ja screamed as she popped in and out of her Shadowports, each time, doing whatever she could to mess with the Daedra currently trying to kill her. The Daedra she was fighting was three times her size, and each punch and kick she did was met with little more than a shrug. I would help her but I'm busy doing whatever I can to keep the Mythic Dawn mages from gaining an edge on me. "I can't keep doing this forever!"

I dove as a wave of fire fell down around me. Three Mythic Dawn mages were fast approaching me, warming up another volley of fire beams. I had to do something fast. Telekinesis… I'm very good at Telekinesis. I stuck my hand up, preparing my mind for what I wanted to do. I just needed one slight thing to move. And I found my target. The lead Mythic Dawn agent had an active Shield up… to protect her team from whatever magic I was about to unleash. Good for me.

Right as her two friends released their volley, I shrugged the Shield woman around, throwing her around just in time for her Shield to catch the attack, not only diverting the attack, but making her Shield shatter. As she stood there stunned by what had just happened, I pulled up my dagger and Telekinetically launched it into her back. She arched her back once my dagger pierced her robes, and she screamed as she fell forward. The other two mages were still trying to summon up their next attack, but even they stopped in their tracks once they saw their friend fall to the ground with a dagger in her back.

Nexa used that time to appear behind the two mages, thrusting two wrist-bound spring-loaded knives into the throats of the mages as she flipped over top of them. Nexa landed heroically as the two mages' necks burst open, spraying blood dramatically into the air behind her.

"This is why Vatu loves me." Nexa declared as she retracted her blades. She walked over to the mage with the knife in her back, pulling it out and cleaning it on her battle skirt. "Hmm… you'd think that as a small and significant child, I would be more traumatized by this."

"Children, stand back!" Hans screamed as he charged behind me. I turned around in time to see a wave of Daedra Churls twice my size coming right for us, their wicked swords raised over their heads. With a quick wave of his hands, a wave of fire washed over the Daedra, but that didn't slow them down, they charged right through the fire like it was nothing.

I snapped my hand out, launching a small wave of Telekinetic Pulse, a move I had been working on while we trained. It was exactly what it sounded like. It was a Pulse of Telekinesis, except I wasn't grabbing something and then controlling it, I was using the Telekinesis to form a Push action. So, it shoved anything it touched. And it did just that. It slammed into the Daedra, throwing them off their feet as they were telekinetically thrown backwards.

"Good initiative, Davilia. Take it one step further though." Hans said as he snapped his hand out. "You're not experienced enough to do this, though, probably." All ten of the Daedra started floating off the ground, unable to move. They were complaining about their situation as they lifted off the ground. "You remember what I did to Vatu? Reconstructed his whole skeletal system with one thought? Well… that same move can be used to debilitate." I heard several snaps and screams from the Daedra. Their legs were mangled. "If you focus your Telekinesis on the body, on the joints, on the bones… the blood vessels… healing can become a weapon. Now our enemy can't walk. I broke all the bones in his legs, ripped his tendons apart, but kept his blood vessels undamaged." Several more pops and screams. Their arms became mangled. "And now they can't fight. Leave them to sit and suffer. If we kill them, they'll just reform in the Oblivion Planes and charge back into the fight. If we leave them in the dirt, they will have to wait until death comes for them once the Oblivion Gate they're from closes." He let the Daedra fall to the ground.

You know… there are moments when you see how a person really is. A small glimpse into what makes or breaks them as a person. For the longest time I've known Commander Battle-Born, I've never really… seen him as a bad guy. I've only seen him as the trainer, a strong warrior. But… we're in wartime, and I just watched him cripple his enemies for a slight tactical advantage. The Daedra, however evil they were, did not deserve to suffer on the ground, their arms and legs shattered. Surely, they'd bleed out soon enough, but to have to suffer through that… I don't think I could allow myself to do that. I wonder though… I'll be a battlemage soon. How long until I become jaded enough to do that?

Of course, I'm not that innocent either, am I? I just finished a long campaign of raiding one of my friends' personal thoughts, all to get an answer to a question I could just ask. Because I don't really value myself, or think that my friend will turn against me if he knew what I really was. I mean… I'm trying to change, to become a reliable friend… and here I am, still using him in some way shape or form. I mean… I am here, I am trying to heal him, but now I knew too much about him, stuff he doesn't even know he knows. And I'm going to keep it from him? How fair is that? No wonder why only trained Illusionists were allowed to raid minds for comatose patients. One wrong step and it all ends for Vatu. One wrong door, and I learn something I should never know. And if I die in here… I think my subconscious merges with Vatu. I'm not sure though. My soulic mind has to go somewhere though.

Right beside me, Primrose was clutching her staff dearly to her chest, snapping her head to every corner we passed. She looked absolutely terrified at everything happening around us. "Dav?" She asked as she walked closer to me. "Why would Vatu grant you armor and your weapon, but leave me with robes and a staff? And a staff that doesn't even do anything but light up?"

I couldn't answer that. I mean, I know she and Vatu didn't really talk much other than their small conversations during lunch hours, but I didn't even see a Primrose in that Garden of First Impressions, or whatever it was called. I shrugged at the question, looking back at Hans. "Sir? Mind if I ask a question?"

He didn't look back at me, but he did nod. "Go ahead. I think we're in the clear for right now. I just watched Sosia charge into an Oblivion Gate. Shouldn't be too long now. And… Gate's closed."

I watched as a heavily armored short Breton appeared through an exploding gate. She didn't even look bothered over the idea as hellfire rained down all around her. She glanced at Hans, smirked, and made her way over to us, carrying three staffs on her back. Her face was covered in blood that probably wasn't hers. Her rich auburn hair was disheveled, half of it was burned away. "Hans Battle-Born…" Sosia said as she crossed her arms. "Don't just stand there, looking stupid. Take out your staff and join the push for the main gate. Wait… didn't I already talk to you?" She looked over her shoulder. "I could have sworn you were up there…"

Hans shook his head. "Sosia, there's no time for this. We're in a memory… deep in someone's subconscious."

"Unconscious, sir." Nexa piped in from the back.

Hans shrugged. "Yeah… that part of the mind."

Sosia smirked, almost laughing at the thought. "Oh, that explains too much. Ok, so… if what you're saying is true, then this battle has long been over. Did… did I survive?"

Hans nodded. "Yes. But… how did Vatu even know you were in this battle?"

She arched her eyebrow, smirking as she said, "You… don't know? You're a mind… inside a mind. When you enter a memory like this… a memory you also have… it takes information from your mind to help fill in the gaps of someone else's memory. Think of it as a group project. One person begins the foundation, one adds something to it, and another brings in whatever you forgot. So, while whomever you're looking for has supplied their grounds, you entering this area will have updated whatever information is missing. So…" She shrugged. "What I don't understand is why I know this if you don't."

"I do." I heard behind me. I snapped my head around to see another Sosia walking up behind us. This one must be the one we knew, because she had the same short hair I've seen her sporting since I met her. And she had the same mage armor she wore when she left to train one of the other groups of battlemages.

Hans snapped his head around too, surprised to see the short woman approaching us. "Mage Commander? Why are you here?"

She could barely control her growl as she charged up to us. "My son is comatose! Why wouldn't I be here?" She asked as she walked over to us. She stopped short, looking at her memory self. "Ugh… is that what I looked like?" She gave her memory self a once over glance.

"Ugh… is that what I currently look like?" Memory Sosia stated back, giving Mage Commander a once over in respect. "Wait… am I pregnant?"

Sosia nodded. "Yup, with a stubborn girl that loves pickles for some reason."

Memory Sosia gagged on the thought. "Ugh. I hate pickles."

"Yeah, it's not fun, let me tell you." Sosia rubbed her eyes in anguish. She stopped short and turned to look at Hans. "You should have called me."

"I had someone call you once we found out." Hans pointed out. "So… how long have we been here?"

Sosia shrugged. "Six hours." Six hours? It felt like we've only been here for like… two at most!

Hans nodded. "I seriously thought we passed the second day mark."

Sosia shook her head. "Vatu won't last that long, and you know that. His mind is already shutting down. I rushed down here as fast as I could."

"Who did you travel with?" Primrose asked as she looked at Nexa and Pra'ja. "I mean… I don't see a memory version of anyone with you."

Sosia chuckled. "Oh, I don't need guides to travel in people's minds. I'm pretty used to this by now." She looked over to Hans, nodding to him. "Ok, so… if the two of us are in here, then… we're probably going to have a full memory to contend with. Shall I invite Adam or … um… jeez, I swear I remember this guy we knew…" Sosia rubbed her temples in frustration.

Hans only shook his head. "Mage Commander, if we're already running out of time, then we can't waste it thinking of people whose identities have been erased by Daedra magick. You have a class to prepare for their final exams, and I have my own to get started."

Sosia nodded, clearing her throat. "Yes, I agree. So, to start, we need to find Vatu. Think he would be in the obvious place? Hiding in his house with his sister?"

Hans shrugged at the question. "It's worth a look. Where did he live?"

Sosia pointed down to the western route. "Elven Gardens. This way."

"Yes!" Nexa screamed, pumping her arm. "First, I'm going to drag Vatu to his room and then…"

"Nexa, in this reality, you're both like eleven years old." Primrose said with a shake of her head.

Nexa stuck out her forked tongue. "We hit sexual maturity at twelve." Nexa winked at the wood elf. "Not at five like wood elves but…"

"Hey! We do not! It's more like… well…" She looked away.

"Enough chatter." Commander Battle-Born said with a sigh. "Let's go." Sosia was already sprinting across the battlefield. Right beside her was her Memory double. They were both clearing the streets using their staffs to blow enemies away.

I chased after the charging sprinting battlemages, and I was becoming quickly aware of how outclassed I really was. How outclassed everyone in our troop was. Sosia was a goddess here. Magicka just rolled off her fingertips as she charged through the waves of Daedra. Streams of what looked like a combination lightning attack made up with Fire, Frost, and Shock rolled through the battlefield, hitting with an explosion that threw everything it hit up into the air where it hovered until the body expanded and exploded into glittery dust explosion. Crap… that was one heck of a spell. And Commander Battle-Born was no different. His claymore was tearing through wave upon wave, lava magick rolling off in a controlled beam of destruction as it sliced through buildings and Oblivion Gates alike. That's one way of closing them, I guess.

And on we charged through the streets. Nexa and Pra'ja were doing what they could to charge through the surviving Daedra that tried to surprise us. Pra'ja was more or less useless, and wished she was older so that she could use her Shadowportals, or so that she could just Shadowport anyone other than just herself. As it was, she was just too weak in Shadow magick to do anything else. Heck, I'm surprised she's managed to go this long without needing a break. I really need to sit down and ask her how Shadow actually works sometime.

"Incoming!" Primrose screamed as she tackled me to the ground. I wasn't really ready for the fall and I landed hard on my right side, Primrose almost pressing herself over top of me as she kept me lying still. Blasts of Fire and Frost rolled over top of us, slamming the stonework, barely even missing her. I looked over my shoulder to see six Mythic Dawn agents rushing over to us, waves of Daedra behind them. Oh… that's a lot for us to fight. And there was already another wave of Fire heading right for us.

I was scrambling to prepare something to protect us with, a Shield spell probably. But then Pra'ja popped up in front of us, spreading her hands in a protective manner. I almost screamed as the spells collided with her, and I expected to see her fall to the ground, smoky and broken. But… it just… slammed into her and nothing happened. Pra'ja's arms twitched a bit, but that was it.

She actually smiled as she stuck her hand out. "Thanks for that." A giant purple fireball formed in her hand, and she unleashed it onto the horde of Mythic Dawn agents. One of the agents rushed forward, grabbing the attack and brushing it off like it was nothing. The purple fireball slammed into a nearby building, hitting with enough force to blow a hole through the living room's wall. The whole building started falling over, slamming into the street. Most of the Daedra and Mythic Dawn agents were crushed by debris, but the agent that smacked the fireball to the side with little effort also managed to escape the falling building with just as much ease.

"You have done well, children." The agent said as she pulled off her Daedric bound mask. Underneath was an Altmer with long crimson hair. "But, now you will all fall."

"Olfire Gaeiath!" I heard a familiar voice scream. Battlemages were charging up the street, using what they could to fight the Daedra as they came to the remaining Mythic Dawn agents.

"Arielle Jurard." Olfire said with a small laugh as she turned to face the young battlemage. "Why… it's so weird to see my apprentice again. And here you are… in full battlemage armor, right as the Mythic Dawn comes to our moment of glory. Soon, Mehrunes Dagon will arrive, and the Imperial City will fall. This realm will return to the rightful hands of the Daedra Lords, and we the Mythic Dawn will be rewarded for our faith in the true gods."

Arielle brought up two of her trademark daggers as she started approaching Olfire. "Please… don't make me do this, Master Gaeiath. Think of your daughter. Think of what this world will bring her if you succeed."

Olfire smirked. "I'm doing this for her, Jurard. You wouldn't understand that." She snapped her hand out, blasting Jurard with a blast of lava magicka.

Jurard was quick, flashing past Olfire, using her daggers to attack her. And when she arrived at her target, I thought that the fight was over, after all, she pierced the woman with three daggers in the blink of an eye. But it wasn't that simple, the image she was looking at was an Illusion with a floating cloak, one that wrapped around Jurard's hands, ensnaring them as soon as she pierced them.

"The Cult of Worms has a lot of useful tricks up their sleeves." I heard Olfire say as she appeared from a yellow mist. She brought a knife to Jurard's throat. "And now… you will join those you've killed."

"You forget, Master… always have a backup plan." Out of nowhere, there was an arc of lightning the flowed right through the Mythic Dawn agent. It was then that I could see two daggers already set on the ground, right where Olfire was lined up with.

"My Shield… how?" Olfire cursed as she hit the ground. "My Shield should have worked."

Jurard turned around, placing a dagger into Olfire's chest before she could counterattack. "I created a spell… just for this battle. I call it Soul Separation. It's like Silence… but on a grander scale. It not only allows me to be invisible to prying eyes that can detect magick, but also allows me to Silence someone when I cast it on them. A Silence strong enough that even someone as strong as you could never fight against. I just needed the opportunity to use it. And I really must thank you, Master. I needed the perfect test subject to see if it really worked. I needed someone as strong as you to see if it would help me kill creatures like you." She dug the daggers deeper into Olfire's chest, pushing herself closer to the woman. "Master… you were… one day I'll see you again. You helped me become the battlemage I am today, and even though you never get a second chance to tell someone something you wish you could have said… I'm going to say it here. Your daughter has grown into an amazing woman. The old you would have been proud of her."

Olfire just glared at Jurard with pained eyes. "Is she a battlemage?"

Jurard shook her head. "She followed the path of the witchhunter, but now serves in the IBC as a war mage. I just thought… if you were real, you'd like to know."

Olfire reached up to Jurard's face, almost crying. "300 years… and still haven't learned a thing. Damn our shortsighted ignorance…" Her head rocked back, her final breath escaping her lungs. Jurard let the woman fall to the ground.

Jurard looked back to me and Primrose, nodding to us. "Well, get moving, war mages. You have little time to save Vatu. I'll stand here and watch your back." I was surprised that Jurard was talking directly to us, or even knew what it was we were doing, but that's when I realized… that was no memory of Jurard. That was really our Jurard. The Memory Jurard was nowhere to be found actually. Did Jurard follow us into the mind? She must have followed behind Arch Mage Ernard or something.

I looked back at Primrose, who was in shock. "Just… how powerful is everyone but us?" Primrose asked as she shook her head in disbelief.

I could barely fathom it myself. "We're way out of our league." I nodded at her to follow me. "We should go though. I'm sure Vatu needs us."

We took off in a dash trying our best to catch up with Hans and Sosia, Pra'ja and Nexa following right behind us. Their short legs were barely even keeping up, so they were doing random Shadowports from time to time. Hans and Sosia were up ahead, still batting their way through the hundreds of Daedra still running through the streets. I could tell that Sosia was starting to tire though. Her memory form was already reducing herself to weaker spells and her staffs. The older Sosia was still launching heavy attacks, but they were taking longer to complete casting.

Primrose and I caught up to Hans and Sosia, and Hans greeted us by nodding his head. "Welcome back. Got stuck in a fight?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir. But… Jurard's here. She's covering our backs."

Sosia chortled at the thought. "And here I said, 'don't follow me.' She's never been good at listening to my suggestions." She pointed ahead of us, just to the house at the end of the block. "That's Vatu's old house. If he's anywhere in this memory… that's where he is."

I nodded and readied my dagger. Ahead of us was one final wave of Daedra. There were three Oblivion doors open, and Daedra were rushing out like a never-ending horde. We could deal with that. I'm sure of it. Right as I was about to step out and attack my first Daedra Churl, a massive doorway opened up in the middle of the road. It was a rip in the dimension, a massive red hand reaching in from nowhere. Three more hands appeared at the edges of the tear in the universe and pulled the massive hole even further apart. A massive red leg stepped out of the ether, followed quickly by a towering demonic four-armed Daedra Lord, six glowing red eyes, a bright red body comprised of nothing but ripped muscles, and a loincloth that hid little from the imagination. It's hard to use a loincloth when you're fifty feet tall to hide your parts. I had to look away.

The Sosias brought up their staffs, both screaming, "Come and get some, you overgrown ogre!"

Hans cursed as he brought his claymore low to the ground, preparing to launch himself into the sky. "Girls, get yourselves into that house. Find Vatu! Wake him up! We'll hold this monster off while you do so!"

Cearbhail:

Spoilers:

So, while Vatu clearly has memories of his grandmother, we do hear from J'skar that he had relatives living in Morrowind, which was my attempt to establish a timeline that connected J'skar's family with those in Morrowind, but those were long before the events that occurred in that chapter I mentioned. The woman Vatu visits in his dream are his grandmother's on his mother side. And even so... Vatu still has a dream of his dad when he goes and kills Nexa's mother. So... how could Vatu still dream about hid dad if he wasn't related? Have you ever noticed Vatu never dreams of his mother? Not once have I given her a true POV, but I specifically gave one for Mhad? So... what could have happened in the past that allowed Vatu's father and his 'mother' to coexist and yet not yield a child, and yet... yield one with his mother's sister? Oh come on, adults. You know the answer to that. Now, the real question is... why was Vatu given away? Why did his aunt take him, and why to his father? Why has she posed as his mother this whole time? What is going on with his real mother?

Honestly, I'm still working on that. But I have a working theory.