Walking out into the hallway with a cloud over his head, Donny hung it down, putting on his pot as water rumbled with every droplet striking the gold-bronze cast pot.
"So much for that," he muttered. He wanted to help, but things went and turned sour faster than he could've imagined. He lifted his head up, reaching for a curl of hair at the back of his neck as he curled his finger around it in circles.
"You holdin' up well?" he asked, looking at the blonde girl walking beside him.
"Yeah," Liz said, wiping her tear-stained cheek again. "Listen, I've got to go see Sumia and Mari right now." She lifted up the burnt ends of hair that used to be her pigtails, making a snip motion with her fingers.
"See ya later," she said, hurrying off south in the direction of Maribelle's room. That left him with just Cordelia, although she was already looking off down the east hallway.
"I've got someone I need to go check on," she said. She took off for the south hallway, leaving him with just himself now.
"There goes those guys," he said. If they were gonna go find some of the others, then maybe he should do the same. They still had a little less than an hour left to get through. There were Nowi and Ricken, if he could find them that is. And Vaike's probably out training, too. Although maybe he should check on Reflet, since she's all—
"Alone on a Friday noon? Naga, you're pathetic."
"Pathetic?" Donny said incredulously. He looked around the two hallways ahead of him, only to find no one near.
"Behind you," he called out.
"What the…"
Flipping around, there he was. The black silhouetted ghost, standing in the western hallway. Green eyes staring back at him, the spirit bared a smug little set of sharp, white fangs.
"You!" Donny said.
"Sup, kid," the spirit of the book said. "Been a while, hasn't it?" Casually tossing the green, crystal rock up into the air, catching it, and tossing it again, he put his other hand deep in where his pocket should've been.
"Hey wait! That's my dad's rock!" Donny lunged forward without a second thought, swiping to get it back only the spirit to swipe his own hand away.
"Yoink!" The spirit said, bringing the ring behind himself with a cheeky little smirk. "Sorry, but I'll be borrowing this for now. I'll be needing to hold onto it for a while."
Out of range, Donny let his arms drop. "Fine, but can you at least tell me why, then?"
"Come with me and I'll tell ya," he said, tossing the crystal into the air once again. "It's actually pretty interesting, I wasn't expecting it to—"
A loud, sudden shout boomed throughout the hallway, a shock rolling through the two of them. "HEY!" Basilio yelled. "WHICH ONE OF YOU DUMBARSES BROKE A DAMN HOLE IN THE WALL!"
The crystal dropped back down into the spirit's palm as soon as he heard Basilio shout. "Run."
"Wha— Run?"
"Run-run-run-run!" The spirit turned around and charged down the west hallway, arms bent straight and palms open as he ran like the wind.
"Hotfoot it, Donny!"
"Where are you going!" Donny called out. He broke into a sprint, chasing down the hall after the spirit who confused him to no end.
"Not sure. Don't care. But not here," he said, arms lunging ahead with every step.
"What'd ya have to do to get Basilio angry at you?" Donny said, now running alongside him.
"Have you ever made an enemy out of and then subsequently attacked by a small reptilian girl?" the spirit asked.
"You know as a matter of fact, kinda," Donny admitted.
"Well as victims of light dragons with too much power in their grabby little hands, we know where that leads to. So unless you wanna have to deal with an angry man with an axe that can bust holes twice as big as the one your friend sent me through, I suggest you be like me and run." The spirit hurried forward, speeding through the hallway to a double set of doors which he shoved open to reveal a room filled to the brim with bookshelves stuffed with books and tables ready to be used.
"A library!" he exclaimed. "We can hide in here! Everyone knows jocks never bother with libraries!"
Donny slowed down as he caught up with the spirit. "What about that jock right there?"
The spirit turned around to the table in front that Donny pointed at, where Sully sat with a book, tongue stuck out as she focused squarely on reading.
"You didn't see her," the spirit told him.
"She doesn't see you," Donny pointed out.
"Touché," he answered back. The spirit went and hid behind a bookshelf, hands placed on the edge as he watched the people reading books to themselves or quietly conversing with one another.
"Okay, so maybe jocks can exist in libraries after all. But this library's still big enough that I could sneak around him if he comes in here." He stepped back, letting his shoulders drop as he walked along the edges of the library.
Donny continued to follow after him, his mind on the thoughts from before. "Why do you even need my stone in the first place? And why are you running from people?" As he kept on asking questions, another popped into his head. "And just how are you running around the whole place like that?"
"That's a lot of questions to answer in one go…" The spirit scratched his head before leaning his back on one of the end shelves, away from the eyes of everyone else.
"Alright then, it all starts with this." Reaching into his pocket again, the shadowy spirit threw his rock upwards before catching it midair with his other hand, its dark, verdant ridges plain for Donny to see.
"What's my dad's stone got to do with this?"
"It's a Windstone," he answered. "You know, like how that girl has a dragonstone for light dragons. Nowi's her name, right?" Lifting his rock in front of him, he turned it on its side as he stared through the middle. "Long story short, this stone right here can allow its own transformation, but for a different kind of dragon."
"I've seen Nowi use her stone before, but I didn't know she needed it to transform," Donny said.
"That's how they work," the spirit told him. "But do you know why they work in the first place?" He brought the stone higher towards the ceiling as he stared at the ceiling light.
"Every dragon out there—every manakete rather, so just the shapeshifting ones—relies on one of these. That's because as soon as they're capable of doing so, they store most of their power in a stone like this. It's a sealing technique, one to remove their own power and keep it in this stone, away from their bodies. Cause if they don't, that power of theirs will drive them to madness. I told you that part earlier."
He stared at Donny, his green eyes sharp and unflinching. "That also means that if Nowi didn't have a stone with her when you all found her, she could very well have turned into our next biggest problem."
"Nowi wouldn't, though," Donny argued for her sake. "She may be a little… well, I'm not sure how to describe her. But she's kind, ain't she? Why would she want to turn on us?"
"That's the neat part, degeneration doesn't care if you're kindly or not. It will take you down." The spirit held the dragonstone by the bottom and lifted it up in his palm. "These stones are safety measures to keep dragons from hurting others, and from hurting themselves. They'll be safe so long as they make one of these. Course, not every dragon was on board with that. There are some others out there refusing to use them."
"So where does this all lead, then?" Donny told him.
"Like I said, dragonstones are how manaketes store their power. Thusly, dragonstones can be considered to be sources of power themselves," he explained. "The very essence of life itself. And they've got a whole lot of it."
The spirit kept on walking, eyes scanning over the books passed by as he readied a hand.
"You haven't met a ghost before, have you?" he asked as he cranked his head back.
Donny blinked at him.
"...Besides me. Right." He kept on walking ahead, picking up a purple-covered book off the shelf regarding magic as he did. "It's something of an odd phenomenon in this world, but it's hardly impossible. There's more than a few cases of spirits showing up in the world. A beautiful maiden appearing near a lake before vanishing? Those people talking about having visions of their parents? They might be completely right, and nobody'll believe them."
"So it's not just you?" he asked the spirit. "Then what's causing these other ghosts to show up?"
"That's a pretty good question, actually." The spirit opened the book, skimming through it as he sat down on a table and continued, "There's not so much a true rule of thumb for when a spirit can show up. But, they tend to be found where magic's bursting. Places with lots of magic flowing in and out of them. An ancient lake. A broken-down monastery. The cave of a fancy hero's sword, that sort of stuff."
The spirit lifted the book back up, shutting it with a clap as he gave a close-eyed headshake.
"Which all leads back to... this." The spirit pulled out the dragonstone once again, showing it to Donny.
Donny's eyes went wide as he reached for it. "Wait, so it's…"
"What's keeping me 'alive'," the spirit finished. "Metaphorically, regarding the alive part. Magical energy so dense and packed, it's what's giving me this body in the first place." He lifted it over his head, the rock clinking as he tapped it. "I was testing it while you were knocked down. It doesn't have the longest range, but its range is enough to let me act. And what's more, as long as I can hold onto it, I can go anywhere I want."
The spirit paused for a moment, playing with his cheek. "...I wonder if I can eat things."
He stopped playing with it, when he looked at Donny's expression on his face. "You look surprised."
"Well… yeah!" Donny exclaimed. "First you possess me, and now you're telling me ghosts exist, and you can just do anything you want? And nobody can still see you? I'd be flippin' my lid if I didn't already know you for almost a month!"
"Ehh, that's mostly true," the spirit corrected. "I'm still not alive, for one. I can physically interact with the world, but only so long as I stay in range of this stone. And secondly…"
He stopped, his neck cranking as far behind him as it could go.
"I'm pretty sure Nowi can track me down," he said.
"And you know that for sure?" Donny asked.
"She tackled me through a wall when I was playing god. I think she can track me down." He turned back around and threw his hands behind his head, "I shouldn't be surprised at this at all though. She's a light dragon, for mom's sake, I should know better." He brought said hands up and shook them like a pair of cans.
But Donny caught onto something. "What's her being a light dragon got to do with any of that?" he asked him, pointing out the slip of his tongue.
"Huh?" The spirit now paused, nervously looking his way. "Uh, reasons."
Donny wasn't buying any that. He watched the spirit pull one hand back, the farmboy's eyes narrowing in suspicion of the suspicious spirit.
"You know, I've been actually meaning to ask you something since last time we talked." He brought both hands up as he took a step forward. "Why do you know so much about manaketes in the first place? How do you know how these stones work anyways? Who are you and why do you know so much about the world? And why are you in some kind of legendary book from ancient times?"
The spirit bit his lip, bringing his hand up and flicking his finger with a snap.
"Youknowthoseareveryinterestingquestionsthatdon'tneedtobeanswered."
"Hold on a sec—!"
"Anyways, catch!" He jumped out of his seat and pulled out the dragonstone from his pocket. Quickly forming a swirling gale in his hand around the crystal in question, he pitched it over both their heads straight down Donny's way.
"Hey—!" With only a second to react, Donny shot up and brought his hands into the way of the tornado, catching it as the winds pushed against him. He slid back as he touched the ground, but his dad's rock was safe and unharmed—and the books surrounding him for that matter.
"Don't go throwin' magic around like that!" Donny looked up at him and yelled. "Or my stone! Are you trying to destroy this place?"
"Sorry! And so long!" The spirit flashed a V-sign as he ran down the library, his body turning transparent. A green puff of smoke swirled around him and poofed, the spirit gone with it.
"Gosh heckin' darn it!" Donny swore loudly within the library. "Ma said don't speak ill of others, but that guy's frustratin' me."
He let out a long, slow, and very frustrated sigh. "At least I learned more about him. Guess I'll get it out of him next time." But why was he being so difficult about this? Can't he just give a straight answer?
"No!" the spirit said with a petulance of a bratty child.
"Weren't you getting out of here!" Donny snapped at him. His eyelids sunk and he sighed once again, stretching his arms out.
"Sheesh," he whispered quietly. He hoped he didn't distract anyone with how loud he'd gotten. He went down through the center of the hallway, seemingly having avoided a fuss for the others around him, only to catch Reflet in the corner of his eye.
"Oh, Reflet..."
Reflet dried her nose and eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, eyes then covered up by her hands.
"There you are, Ref." Donny took a seat in front of her and the girl next to her. Marth tried to comfort her, one hand on her own lap and another on Reflet's shoulder.
"Ah–?" Reflet pulled her hands away from herself, looking up at the boy in front of her. "Oh, hi Donny. How are you doing?"
"I'm alright, no need to worry about me, though," he said. "Are you okay? You ran off in such a rush."
"...Yeah," she said. Eyes lowering, the expression on her face stayed gloomish, sulky and puffy cheeked.
Her mask no longer left covering her face, it was plain now to see that Marth was just as upset as she was worried for Reflet. She was staring at Reflet, but she wasn't quite looking at her. Her eyes hung just like Reflet's, looking just sad.
Neither seemed much happy about what happened.
"Chrom said some stuff that was seriously hard to take to the both of ya, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried for your sakes." Donny scooted his seat in a little closer, even if there was some silence between them.
"...It's okay, though," Reflet finally said. With a sniffle, she wiped her nose again before bringing her hand away.
Marth's eyes flickered up to eye level, before she then looked square at the girl beside her. "No, it's not."
Reflet looked back with a confused face. "Huh? Why not?"
"Why not—because you don't deserve that!" The blue swordfighter practically shot out of her seat as she drummed the table, causing Reflet to jitter and tense as she curled up in surprise.
"But I, b-b-but I..." Once again, the white mage stuttered on her words, but this time, it was Marth who continued to speak.
"Reflet, you only wished to comfort him," she explained. "Maybe it may not have been exactly what he wanted to hear. But it was no way to treat you or any of the others!" She cocked her head in a swift and agitated motion, her eyes going narrow. "No! It wasn't!"
"She's right, you know," Donny said, unable to stop himself from cracking a little smile seeing how swiftly Marth got ready to defend her. "Look, I like Chrom, but you can't go around snappin' at people like that. I'm with you guys, even if I know the guy's not doing well."
"Exactly! And it's not just her who he's mistreating! It was everyone! I've never known him to snap this way!" Marth clenched her fists, the pair shaking with anger, when she looked down at the sword sitting on her lap.
"And how could he just… treat the Queensfang like that!" Marth picked it up and showed to him the white blade that shimmered as she lifted it.
"This is Marth's sword! And his ancestor's sword! It's his sword!" she shouted, bringing the center of the blade where the hole in the middle was to her furious blue eye.
"Who's gettin' angry over here?" Basilio waltzes his way into the library, a loud round of claps reaching across the room.
"You all are pretty loud. I didn't know parties were allowed in the library. Someone should see who's in charge and tell him he's doing a terrible job. Hah!" His laugh rippled through the room with a boom, shaking the bookshelves ever so lightly.
"S-sorry!" Reflet said, ears now covered. "We were just talking about Chrom!"
"Well what's going on then?" Basilio took his seat and propped an arm up. "What'd the boy say to you? Is he getting up to fight?"
Marth made a hiss under her breath. "No, he won't. He's just… angry, and, and—" Her fists tightened and shook once more. "Grawhh! I've—!" Marth growled an even louder noise, her hands and sword thrown into the air again.
Basilio got up closer, his hand now scratching the underside of his black-haired chin. "Hmm, let him be angry then."
"I was about to say the exact same thing," called out Flavia. After Basilio, she came towards the table, looking down at the four sitting before her.
"Chrom has all the pieces laid out for him on the table. You've already filled him in on the state of things, so the only thing left to do is wait for him to act. You three still have your own things to take care of, like training and planning for the next battle on the horizon. We're not going to be sitting ducks while Gangrel gets ready to make his next move."
"But… it was because of me that Chrom's now angry," Reflet said.
"Hmm, now that you mention it, I'm fairly sure I told you not to let his anger get the best of him. Thank you for reminding me," Flavia told her.
"Ah—!" Reflet winced, her hands hiding her face once again. But despite her reaction, Flavia merely laughed.
"Tch, don't worry about it, kid. It's still him who makes his choices in the end, not you. Besides, I suppose you did at least get that half-right when he was fighting that general and you chased after him like a chicken without its head on. That's more useful than killing defeated soldiers who don't want to fight a war, either. Not when we have the chance to avoid it, at least. Considering our goal is to end this war swiftly, keeping our kills low will play out better in the long run. If anyone's got issue with that, we're a country of warriors, not murderers. We won't stoop to senseless violence unless there's an entrance fee involved and it's being recorded live."
Flavia looked down at the nervous girl, losing the smile she had on. "So, have you figured out what you want to do yet? Are you going to play things like how I suggested, or are you going to be like our oaf over here and rush right into the desert?"
Reflet held her eyes cast downwards. "We… We should do something. We need to. I don't know what we can do right now, but there has to be something. Gangrel wants us dead, and he's going to keep fighting us, and more people are going to die if we don't stop this."
"But Chrom… Chrom doesn't wanna get up, so we can't go without him. B-but, we can't stop right now." She paused, lifting her neck up. "What's going to happen if Gangrel gets control again? We may not be able to do anything if he does, and this war's going to get longer and bigger."
Reflet shut her eyes. Thoughts scrambled through her head, and she uncrossed and straightened her legs in her chair, rising higher. "Emmeryn wants to end this war, and we're her friends. That's why we've been fighting this whole time. We wanted to save her, but couldn't, and she's gone because she tried to bring peace. And if that's what's happening, but Gangrel won't surrender, then we can't stop. We must do something, because we promised her we would."
"For someone who trips on her words, you seem to make your points well enough when it counts." Flavia leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms out.
"The lass might be quieter than a mouse but she's got the spirit, Flavia. And she knows how to seize an opportunity when she sees it." Basilio placed his hand down. "Have you forgotten that she was the one who got us into Plegia without a problem? There's something hidden in that little head of hers, I can see it from a damn mile away. And if we go back in with her, we can bet for sure that whatever's thrown at her, she'll come up with something to get us out."
"I'm aware. And what do you two think?" Flavia calmly brought her hand to the other boy and girl in front of her.
"Well, I'm already on board!" said Donny. "I said it before already. Whether we stay here or get back to business, I'm gonna get ready to finish this!"
"I must agree with the others," Marth said. "Isn't there something we can still do? I know that a war like this won't be one that ends quickly if we aren't the ones to act."
"You see it now?" Basilio reaffirmed. "The kids want to go back in, and you can bet for sure that plenty of the rest of them agree. I have half a damn mind to drive there myself, boy or no boy, just so long as we do something with this momentum!" He thumped the table, bringing his hand out in front of the other Khan.
"Oh good, then here's the keys to the carriages."
Flavia pulled out a ring of keys from her pocket, dangling them in front of her before dropping them into his palm.
"What?" Basilio said, looking up.
"You heard me." Flavia crossed her arms, bringing them down as she shrugged, her smug grin growing on her face.
"...You're serious," Basilio told her.
Flavia gave him a nod.
Hand still stretched out, Basilio lifted himself out of his seat. "...What's your game, woman?"
"I said our army has zero chance of moving out if the boy doesn't," she reaffirmed. "But last I checked, the Shepherds are not our army."
"Then why argue against us for so long?" he said.
"Between seeing Chrom the way he was as well as you three insisting on going further, I've had enough time to come up with a solution. And if our army can't move, then you can just go and get the Shepherds to fill in for us."
"Wait, so you're saying…" Basilio pointed his finger up, the confused frown breaking into a laugh and smile.
"So you've caught on yet, big guy?" she told him. "If you all want something to do, then here's the plan: These three and whoever else wants to will go back across the border. They'll act as scouts, both to keep tabs on the ongoing crisis as well as to keep track of places that could make for useful encampments and hiding spots. Anything that would grant us an advantage against that damn king. That way, when we're ready to get back and fight, we'll have ourselves a head start."
"And of course I'm coming with them, right?" Basilio said. "Cause if you said no, I'm just gonna walk out and start setting up the horses."
"I figured as much," Flavia said. "I can already handle one half of the country on my own, I'm sure this half of the country shouldn't be any problem. At this rate, we don't even need you around the place anymore, which is why you should consolidate your power over to me."
"In your dreams!" he yelled, laughing out the words.
Flavia smiled back. "You'll be going to keep them in check and out of danger, and to give clout should you come across any fair reason for it. But whatever you do, do not engage Gangrel directly. You have no chance of facing him alone while he's got those two dark fighters at his back. Got that, oaf?"
"Hah! You got yourself a deal, girl. I'll keep the kids in line. They can follow my lead." Basilio clutched the keys in his hand, brimming with self-assuredness.
"Alright, then you all can head out as early as the next meeting if it's what you want."
Marth looked at Flavia, her eyes beginning to look clouded by doubt. "But wait, Chrom still isn't going to get out of bed. And he's not listening to us, won't that mean we'll be acting without his orders?"
"You're right. This would be an order that, through his own inaction, would go against him as a member of his little group. And is this something that's okay with you?"
"No? I mean, yes?" Marth shifted her head."…I'm not sure. I mean, I want more than anything to go out and help other people, but it would indeed be a disobeyal hrough absence by going without him."
"And how do you feel right now?" Flavia asked her.
"Like I said," she repeated, "I'm unsure about heading out under these conditions…"
"No, I mean how do you feel?" Flavia wrapped one hand around her wrist as she clenched and unclenched her other fist. "Look at your sword in your hand, why do you have it in the first place?"
The swordfighter lifted the blade up from her lap, holding it once more. "Anger. And fear, but mostly anger. Those are the feelings I feel, with what he's done to this blade. It's disrespectful to Anri, to Marth, and to the man I know. And the man I know would never treat this or others that way."
"So, are you going to let him stop you from going out there?" Flavia continued to ask.
Her eyes hardened to a glare. "No, I must not. I don't want to either. I want to go out there. I want to fight if I can, no matter who we may face or tries to stop us. This war's end may bring us the chance to get that much closer to saving those we once lost. You have my word."
"Well alright then, that settles that." Flavia dusted her hands, walking away as she looked at Marth from behind. "Start packing your bags, you're gonna need another one to put away your swords, right?"
"What do you mean? I can hold my sword perfectly fine with my… wait, swords?"
"I'm not one to skirt my words, am I? I know what I said." She turned herself around, grinning once more at the girl with the confused look on her face.
A dim light bulb hovered over Marth's head for a moment.
And then the lightbulb flickered on to the surprised gasp of the girl. "You mean you want me to take this with me!" She raised the weapon in front of her. "This is Chrom's! That'd be stealing!"
"Pfft, no." Flavia scoffed loudly.
"No?!" Marth shouted.
"You're in Ferox, baby. And Ferox's Rules: If you toss your sword away and say you don't need it, the first person who grabs it is now technically the owner. Sorry!" Flavia winked at her and shrugged.
"What kind of extremely specific rule is that!" she said to the khan.
"The one that nets you a free weapon. It's yours now, bitch." Flavia wagged her finger. "Know the weight of your weapons, or someone will come across them who will. That's why we don't throw away the weapons we care about. Of course, it's also a quick way to hand down a weapon you no longer have a use for."
"She's right, you know," Basilio nodded calmly. He patted Marth on the shoulder, lifting his fist. "Congratulations, kid, you've won yourself a free legendary sword. And it's got a blood lock, too! Not every stick you can call a Legendary Relic has one of those!"
"Look at it this way, you now can wield two swords at the same time," Flavia agreed.
"Cool! Dual-wieldin' time, Marth!" Donny said.
"But these swords aren't even the same weight," Marth said, lifting up both sparkly white blades. One clearly being longer and reinforced with metal, the other shorter and lacking reinforcement. "What am I supposed to do with two swords that aren't even the same length, either!"
"Well now's your chance to develop an asymmetrical fighting style," Flavia pointed out as she walked away.
"Do I just hold onto this now?" Marth looked down at the heavier of the two swords in her hand. "Flavia, what do I do with this?" She took both swords with her, chasing after the woman.
"I said use it!" Flavia shouted from across the hallway.
"No!" Marth shouted as she ran out the door.
"Hah-hah, I like that girl's moxie." Basilio scratched at his goatee. "Things are starting to get more interesting with her around. Come on, you two. Let's get ready."