Something happened to me since last time that changed my life in ways I could never imagine. It all started when I noticed a video on Youtube named "Stone Cold Piccolo". To sum up the brief experience; it was one of the single most hilarious videos I have seen in my life. More importantly, it became the gateway that led me to the show known as Dragon Ball Z Abridged. And now that I have seen the whole series – movies included – I can say this for certain; my eyes have been opened and I have seen the error of my ways. What started as a parody of a famous animé based on an even more legendary manga, turned into what I consider a work of art worthy of being seen as a cultural heritage that should be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

In other words, I like DBZA for while it lasted. No need to cry because it ended. Just smile because it happened.

Who knows? I may find inspiration from that show myself. I realize now that there's so much quality content packed into that show that referencing it should bring a smile on at least a few faces. And if you happen to be among the poor souls who have yet to experience DBZA; I encourage you to do it. It's a blast to watch, even if you're not that well-versed in Dragon Ball lore (though it's a lot funnier if you are).

On a different note, Sakurai just dropped the bomb with the latest Smash reveal trailer, which I find is a cool callback to what Nintendo did one year ago with Joker's reveal trailer. My hat's off for you, Smash team. You are the ones responsible for making my all-time favorite fighting game franchise.

Hmm… Oh, right. New chapter.

Copyright disclaimer: I only own the plot of this fic. For a full copyright disclaimer, please read chapter 1.

Nah did WHAT?! – Jack


Chapter 32

To live is to move on.
All is faire when the harvest arrives.

I gaze over the landscape from the top of the hill I just found. Plenty to see from this spot.

I nod to myself. "This should be a good spot."

I take a few steps back and lower my arm. The massive boulder that I've been carrying around for the last two hours through Telekinesis lands on top of the hill with a loud thump. Then I place my hands together, shut my eyes, form the image I want in my mind and place my hands on the massive rock. Sparks fly from my point of contact as I use Alchemic transmutation on the boulder.

Within seconds, a small shrine made completely of stone reveals itself, with a giant slab under the roof taking the role of the centerpiece. While I doubt the stone lanterns on the sides will ever serve the purpose of perpetual lighting, it does add a nice touch to the monument I made. And now for the most important part.

I pull out a piece of charcoal from my bag and begin writing on the stone slab. This isn't the permanent text, though. It's just to show the outline for when I will do the actual writing. It takes a few attempts, but I finally manage to fit the words on the stone surface in a satisfactory manner. With that, I toss away the piece of charcoal and pull out a small hammer and chisel. I gingerly put the chisel against some of the black lines that I drew with the charcoal and lightly strike the butt end of the sharp tool to carve my message into the stone.

*Tink, tink, tink*

Sure, I could just write what I wanted with another transmutation, but this task demands that I write this with my own hands. Anything less would be an insult to the ones I dedicate this shrine to.

*Tink, tink, tink*

Time passes by me as the rhythmic, clinking sound of stone being chipped away echoes from the hill. While I make sure to pay attention to make the writing well, the repetitive task also gives me an opportunity to let my mind wander and process the events these past few weeks. Things just seemed to fly past in a blur after Fort Steiger. Granted, I mostly have myself to blame for that, what with me pretty much being stuck in my own head. Thank Naga for Cordelia and my wife pulling me out of that slump. And in the middle of it all, we had to flee for our lives, lest we risk getting caught between an insanely overpowered Swordmaster with a penchant for shutting up more often than is healthy, and his even more overpowered boss who's bent on world domination, M. Bison style. And to top it all off, we confronted said overpowered Swordmaster inside the heart of a volcano while standing on a shrinking platform of stone, all to prevent the bulk of his forces, as well as any sneaky dynasts, from joining the fray.

I knew all this would happen eventually, but I can't help but think that my life turned crazy years ago. And even then, these last few weeks somehow manage to set the bar higher.

"Ah, so this is where you were. I must admit, I am surprised to see you dedicate yourself to such an ambitious project while you are at war." a voice calmly states behind me.

*Tink*

Barely stopping myself from unleashing UBW, Za Warudo, an army of Shadow clones and every wind-element skill in my arsenal, I simply settle for rounding on the person who spoke to me and pointing the chisel at them with a murderous glare.

"You've got a lot of nerve approaching me alone, Yen'fay. I may have brought you back from the dead in an act of kindness towards your sister, but don't think for a second that it means that I view you in a friendly light." I growl.

The Swordmaster nods before he walks up and gazes at the stone shrine. "You have made that much clear. Rest assured, I mean you no harm."

I slowly lower the chisel, though I still coat it with a bit of wind magic. "If you have anything to say, then keep it brief and then get out of my sight. Unless you can tell, I'm busy, and this kind of task demands my full attention. Anything less would mar my work with disgrace."

Yen'fay stares at the slab.

"How dear did you hold them?" he asks after a moment of silence.

I sigh tiredly and give the same slab a somber look. "Dearly. Each and every one of them were a precious friend. We trained together, fought together, ate together, laughed together."

Yen'fay grunts – the only indication that he listens. And then he turns to leave. Before I can sigh in relief, the Swordmaster turns back to me.

"I almost forgot; Your wife sent me to tell you that supper is ready."

I blink surprised until I notice that the sun is already setting. Huh. I must've been so engrossed in my work that I failed to notice the passage of time.

I put away the tools and turn to march back to camp. "I suppose some thanks are in order."

Our walk back to camp is filled with tense silence. I really don't want to be near this guy right now (or ever, for that matter), but leaving him in the dust like this would be nothing more than a sign of pettiness. I'm above that. At least, that's what I want to tell myself.


Supper becomes a brief affair for me. There's little time before we resume our marching northward, and my task is still incomplete.

"You don't mind that I've been absent for most of the day, do you?" I gingerly ask my wife.

"Yen'fay filled me in on what you've been busy with." Robin replies. "I wish to see your work when you're done, but remember that our marching resumes soon."

I nod. "I have every intention to finish up before then. It's just…you might sleep alone tonight if that's the case."

Robin gives me an understanding smile (bless her soul). "I think I can manage a night or two. Just don't drive yourself to exhaustion."

I smile back. "I've gone through more strenuous trials than this and come out just fine." With that, I get up from the table. "Alright. Back to work. You're free to look now if you want, you know."

My wife shakes her head. "No, I'll let you finish first. Besides, those marching orders won't write themselves."

As I exit the mess tent, I contemplate whether paperwork could possibly be the single most threatening adversary that Robin has to face on a daily basis. I mean, there's just so much of the stuff and the blasted pile that it's concentrated into just keeps growing. "Stick to protocol", they say. "Can't do it without proper clearance", they say. It's way before the industrial revolution in this world, and some things still hit snags in the form of a paper sheet with ink and a flattened lump of wax with a funny picture in the middle. That, or a lack of said paper sheet.

Truly, bureaucracy is a fearsome foe, no matter the era.


*Tink, tink, tink*

It's truly a blessing that Gamer's body effectively removes the need for sleep for me. That means I can work all the way through the night on the carving on the stone slab without being dead on my feet in the morning. All I need is a lantern floating with some Telekinesis, and I have all the light I need to work through the dark hours.

That being said, I now realize that trying to write everything on the stone with a proper font for the words takes way too long with merely a small hammer and a chisel. I still want to do this by hand, but I wonder if there's a faster way…

*Tink*

Wait… Maybe there is. Just need to set things up a bit.

Whilst I first tried to chip away stone to work on each letter in order, I instead carve a thin groove in the stone by following the charcoal writing that I marked the stone slab with earlier that day. With the outline done, I put away the tools and bring up my right hand. Gotta concentrate for this one…

Mana starts swirling around my fingertip. I carefully channel the energy to change its shape from rounded tip to a cone. Then I increase the rotational speed and convert the mana to the wind element.

*Bzzzz!*

I use my free hand to grab my wrist and slowly bring my makeshift mana drill to the stone slab. The high-pitched noise from the swirling cone instantly gets louder as it grinds into the stone and turns anything it touches to dust. While I am quite dexterous, I use both hands to make sure I don't slip while writing this way. Just need to plug my ears and cover my eyes with a thin layer of wind-element mana, and I'm good. And this method is way faster than chipping away with a hammer and chisel.


AN: For those of you who don't know, stone carving is extremely tedious work that takes a lot of time and patience. Some of the larger rune stones that the Vikings left behind supposedly took weeks to finish.


It's a few hours in the morning by the time I finally let my mana drill dissipate. I let out a breath in relief and wipe more sweat off my brow than I expected would accumulate. Now for the finishing touches, once more with the hammer and chisel.

*Tink, tink, tink*

I ended up missing breakfast, but I actually managed to get all my work done within 24 hours. Not bad, if I say so myself.


As I enter the camp parameter again, I notice Rose spar with Lucina. The blue-haired princess stays light on her feet with a wooden practice sword at the ready while my daughter has a teddy bear floating beside her. I…am just going to assume that's her way of holding back.

Using some telekinesis, Rose commands the stuffed animal to fly at Lucina like a remote-controlled mini robot of sorts. The aerial movements are quite elaborate, showing my daughter's proficiency in weaponizing all things cute and huggable. Judging from Lucina's intense blocking and careful stance, said weaponization looks pretty effective too.

Lucina manages to parry the teddy bear in such a way that it leaves a clear path to Rose. The princess takes the opening and lunges for Rose with a jumping slash. But right as the wooden practice sword comes down, Rose recalls the flying teddy bear to her, coats the stuffed animal in mana and blocks Lucina's attack. And before Lucina can regain her equilibrium, Rose sends the teddy bear right in her face.

"How many times must I tell you, Lucina?! That move is not safe on shield when you're that close!" Rose admonishes before she readies herself for another round.

"What does that even mean?" Lucina groans as she rubs her face gingerly.

Rose rolls her eyes. "Considering the way Dad trained you back in the day, I'm surprised how unfamiliar you are with some of the jargon connected to your skillset. Just… Just work on your spacing, okay? You have the frame data to make a good offense, but you need to figure out your optimal range before you can make use of it."

Is my daughter trying to make one of my students think like a competitive Smasher? I mean, sure, Lucina made it into the Smash roster just fine, but this seems a bit weird.

"Hah!" *Thwack! Clink, whack!*

Though this time, Lucina does put a bit more distance between her and Rose, while still staying within swinging range. That little bit of distance gives Lucina enough time to reform her guard after her attacks, allowing her to block Rose's retaliations.

"That's better! Mind your end lag, and you're good to go." Rose commends.

What do you know… That might work. There seems to be a method to my daughter's madness after all. She's finally taking after me. Daddy's so proud.

Vaike gives me a strange look. "Huh? Jack, what're you-"

"I'm not crying manly tears of pride, d-mn it!" I shout back while my not-tears stream down my face. What do you mean, I'm in petty denial?

Something that I've noticed during our marches is that when our future children aren't busy trying to catch up with their parents, they usually hang out with each other in their own little clique. Considering what they went through before they arrived in our time, I suppose that makes sense. But at the same time, I wonder how it would be like if they interacted a bit with some of the other Shepherds outside their family. I'd like to think that Lissa would be thrilled to spend some teatime with Brady, by virtue of the guy being the son of her best friend. Conversely, I'm curious how a conversation between Maribelle and Owain would sound like, with one being an over-the-top mad lad who pulls off way crazier stuff than logic should allow, and the other tries to keep her wits together while reeling in said mad lad. In fact, maybe I should bring up that suggestion to the kids. I mean, part of the reason why they time traveled in the first place was to bond together with the previous generation while everyone was still alive, and us (from their perspective) old-timers made sure to form bonds in quite a few different directions with very interesting results. For example, the look on Cordelia's face when Sully presented the concept of aerial wrestling moves is still one of the funniest moments I have ever seen between those two women. And Stahl had a heck of a time experimenting on recipes for pie with Sumia, so much so that, had they not already married other people, there may have been a spark between the two of them. And how in the world did they come up with three dozen variants on fig pie alone?

Nodding to myself, I go look for our children from the future, with Robin tagging along for no other apparent reason than to get to know everybody's future kids better.


POV: General

The children from the future are all gathered in a secluded spot on the request of Cynthia, who is currently scratching her head with a confused frown.

"So, what did you want to tell us all, Cynthia?" Lucina asks her surrogate sister.

"Well… It's something that's been bothering me these past few weeks, Luci." the Pegasus Knight explains. "See, we traveled back in time to change the course of history for the better, right?"

Severa rolls her eyes. "Well, duh. Why else do you think we all agreed on this hairbrained idea? Change the past, and the future changes accordingly. It's not exactly warship science."

"That's what I thought too!" Cynthia replies while flailing her arms. "Except it doesn't add up! I mean, why is Gerome still here?!"

The other children from the future give her funny looks.

"Whaddya mean, "Why's he here?"?" Brady asks scowling. "He went through the same song and dance as the rest of us! He ain't got no reason to pull out now."

Cynthia shakes her head. "No, that's not what I meant! I mean, how can he still be here?! Gerome's father died before he was born in this point in time. His parents hadn't even married yet. So, assuming they didn't…you know… If Cherche's not expecting him yet, that means he'll never be born." Cynthia points at the masked Wyvern Rider. "So how is Gerome still standing among us? If he's never born, he shouldn't even exist!"

The spot falls silent as the future children realize the paradox that Cynthia brought up.

Owain glances at Gerome. "Uh… Just checking. You still okay, man?"

Gerome gives no answer. If one looks closely at his lips, they would notice that they're pressed into an ever so slightly thinner line.

Laurent clenches his tome tighter. "By the Greil mercenaries… I was right after all."

Lucina gives the Mage a confused look. "Hm? Right about what?"

Laurent adjusts his glasses with a slightly trembling hand. "I had hoped I would never arrive to this conclusion. I was even tempted to ignore the signs in favor of giving myself some peace of mind, even if it were false. But I cannot deny the truth any longer. Why…? Just why?"

"Just spit it out already! You're creepin' us out here, man!" Brady yells anxious.

Laurent gulps. "Lucina. When we set out on our journey through time, we did so on the assumption that time flows like a river."

The blue-haired princess nods. "Yes. And if its course were to change at an earlier point, the end destination would change as well. By the same logic, changing the past should ultimately affect the future. That was what Naga told us as well."

Laurent presses his lips into a thin line. "I fear…that the Divine dragon may not have told us everything. Our actions may have changed the course of history, yes, but only from the point where we are standing."

Inigo nods bemused. "So we're on track. I still don't see what's got you so spooked."

The Mage shakes his head. "But that is where we made a grave misassumption – proven by the very fact that Gerome is standing among us as if nothing has changed at all."

Yarne gives Laurent a concerned look. "Laurent, you're not making any sense. Where exactly did we go wrong?"

"Our mistake…" Laurent elaborates shakily. "…was assuming that history can only flow along a single course."

Horror slowly grows on Lucina's visage as she connects the dots. "No… Oh gods, no!"

"We thought that our actions would lead to a changed future once and for all. But all our efforts have resulted in was that we merely created an alternate path for history to follow." Laurent concludes. "The future we left behind…remains unchanged."

Lucina sinks to her knees as the truth settles. She watches her shaking hands in horror. "I… I did not mean to- All those people…left to their fates. Was everything we did…for naught?"

"You can't be serious!" Severa yells. The other children look at the red-headed princess surprised.

"Severa?"

"You're telling me we risked our lives on a journey we weren't even sure we could make, only to find it was completely meaningless in the end?! That we abandoned what little we knew and ran away into some false safety?!"

"N-no. Please understand, Severa. I thought that maybe we could-"

"Maybe nothing!" Severa interrupts to her sister's face. "I'm sick and tired of running around and fighting this meaningless battle for some better future that will never come! If you'll insist on keeping up this stupid charade, fine, but leave me out of it!"

With that, Severa storms off.

Tears stream down Lucina's face as she stares at her sister leaving. "But…you were the one I wanted this better future for the most."

The atmosphere slowly thickens with despair as reality, and Severa's harsh words, settle on everyone's minds.

That is, until Inigo scowls in the direction Severa left in. "I'm not having this. We didn't do this and attempt to defy fate, only to fall apart here."

"Then what are we even supposed to do, Inigo?" Kjelle asks with a resigned sigh. "If our future remains unchanged, then what will our actions matter?"

"Everything for everyone living in this time, for one." Inigo replies defiantly. "We traveled back in time to stop the Fell dragon's return. That hasn't changed, nor will it change that it's for the best for the people we came back for." The male dancer's signature smile returns on his face. "That's enough reason for me. I won't give up, and I don't want Severa or anyone else to either. Let me handle this."

As Olivia's son marches off to find Severa, hope slowly returns to Lucina's expression. "Inigo…"

"He's right." Morgan adds. "I've forgotten almost everything in my life, but I still decided to stay with you guys. Do you know why? Because I believe in you all. You more than anyone, Lucina."

Lucina blinks and looks at the Tactician surprised. "Me? Even after all of this?"

Morgan nods determined. "Isn't this supposed to be when you need our faith the most? I don't remember what happened before I went back in time with you all, but despite that, I always felt that you were the one person I could never abandon." The young Tactician places a hand on Lucina's shoulder. "I'm with you to the bitter end, Lucina. I can't imagine a life anywhere else."

"Why?" Lucina asks shaken. "Just because you think we share a common cause?"

Morgan averts his gaze as a blush colors his cheeks pink. "Because…I love you."

Lucina gasps and covers her mouth with her hand as the tears flow once more. Just as Morgan thinks that he messed up, Lucina throws her arms around him.

"Even though your memories are gone, your feelings for me have remained the same. If only you knew how I yearned to hear you say those words." Lucina whispers.

"Huh? Wait, what?! What do you mean?!" Morgan asks confused.

Rose gives her brother a somber smile. "You really don't remember, do you, little bro? Even back when we were kids, you always liked Lucina. For one reason or another."

Morgan looks at his sister embarrassed. "How bad was I?"

Rose's smile becomes teasing. "Weeell… There was this one time when you were four. Mom and I had come to the palace to pick you up after we had left you there for the day to play with the others. And right as we arrived, you looked Mom in the eyes and said "When I grow up, I'm gunna marry Luci!". I thought it sounded so silly, but Mom just smiled and told you to ask her first."

The revelation causes Morgan's blush to cover his whole face. He slowly turns to Lucina, who has just barely let up on her embrace.

"And, uh… Did I ask?"

"You did. And I rejected you at first." Lucina reveals. "I mean, the thought of marrying someone four years my junior just sounded wrong."

Morgan sighs. "So then, that means-"

"But that changed as time passed." Lucina interrupts smiling. "I have come to know more of you every day you have been near me. All those times we planned strategy while we were on the run. The times you would stand by my side on the battlefield, no matter how dire it had become. It let me see the kind of man you had grown to become, the man you are now. And whether we live in peace or fight for it, I want you to remain at my side, Morgan."

Morgan shuffles his feet. "Well, I have always admired you too, Lucina. I've always been captivated by your resolve to never give up. It's what inspired me to do the same, even when I wasn't sure of what I was doing. When Mother vanished from my life, you became my guiding light. I want to follow you, wherever you may go."

Lucina shakes her head. "I don't want you to follow me, Morgan. I want you to walk with me."

Morgan scratches his cheek. "W-well… Does that mean you accept? Do you want to marry me?"

Lucina gives Morgan a smile that nearly melts his heart. "Yes. I have for so long now."

Morgan returns the smile with a massive grin and pulls Lucina into a hug. The blue-haired princess returns it with tears of joy streaming down her face.

"I will always treasure this day, Morgan. And I will cherish the days we spend together." she whispers to him.

"Me too. For as long as we both live."

It is at that moment that Jack and Robin walk in on the scene. Jack looks at the embracing couple and blinks.

"Did we…come at a bad time?" the Reaper asks.

Morgan smiles at his parents. "Mother! Father! Lucina and I have agreed to marry!"

Jack responds with a thumbs-up and a grin so shiny that even the gleam lets out a sound. "Atta boy, Morgan! Told you your courage would be the key."

Morgan returns the gesture with his own, mimicked step by step.

"So why are you here, Master Jack?" Kjelle asks.

"Jack insisted that he helped you guys spend more time with the rest of our generation." Robin explains. "And he had me tag along for "emotional support" or whatever he meant by that."

Jack nods. "Can't have you kids be all by yourselves all the time. Spending time with us old-timers is a great way to take part of our life wisdo- Guh!"

Jack winces as Robin grinds her heel on his foot. The Grandmaster gives her husband a strained smile with a twitching eye and a dangerously pulsing vein on her temple. "What was that about me being old, Jack?"

A cold sweat breaks out all over Jack. "W-well, it's only natural that our children's generation would look to us for guidance and support. It's not like we're actually that much older, what with the time travel and everything, am I right (please have mercy on me)?"

Rose shrugs. "*Sigh* I swear, Dad. The holes you keep digging yourself into…"

Robin clears her throat as she steps off Jack's foot. "*Ahem* Now that we've cleared that matter, could someone tell me where Severa and Inigo are?"

"I…might be partially responsible for their absence." Laurent confesses. "I presented a conclusion that I had arrived at, given the current facts, and it was not well received by any of us. Severa in particular took offense to it."

"But right as our spirits were on the verge of flickering out in the dark abyss that is despair, Inigo stepped in and pointed a path of shining light for us to traverse, that we may walk into a brighter future!" Owain adds with all the flair that is typical for him.

Robin gives him a dry look. "Which translates into…?"

"Inigo's surprisingly good at giving motivational speeches when we need them." Owain explains with significantly less flair and enthusiasm. "He decided to give one specifically to Severa."

"And what could Laurent have concluded that would upset Severa that badly?" Jack asks bemused.

Laurent adjusts his glasses. "Well… It all began when Cynthia pointed out something which we should have all thought strange…"


*Shing! Krrrk. Thoom!*

Severa puts Laevateinn back into its scabbard as the dust from the tree she just cut down settles.

"Useless! Idiot! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Just- Augh! Why did I agree on this harebrained idea?! Why am I even sticking around?!" the red-haired princess yells to no one in particular while stomping around aimlessly.

"I would be careful if I were you. Constant frowning can give you wrinkles, you know?" Inigo jokes as he approaches Severa.

She gives him a dirty look. "Oh, joy. They sent the ladies' man. What? Is my oh-so-perfect sister too busy to pick me up myself?"

Inigo's easy smile falters a bit at Severa's reply. "Now, now, that's no way to talk about your family, Princess. Really, Lucina's worried about you. And I'll have you know I came here on my own will, and nothing else."

Severa rolls her eyes. "Save it. I'm not in the mood for your flirting. Just- Just leave me alone, will you? If you think I'm up for more of this "change the future" nonsense, sorry to disappoint you. You'd be better off finding a replacement."

And that's when Inigo's smile vanishes completely and is replaced with a concerned frown. "Now wait just a minute. You can't expect us to just accept that. I know making that journey to the past wasn't the most pleasant experience, but giving up now would defeat the whole point of us being here."

"There was never any point in the first place, genius!" Severa snaps back. "Didn't you hear what Laurent said?! Nothing that we do here will change anything in our time! A fat load of good risking our lives did us! Not to mention that we basically left all those people to their fates. And for what? Us meddling with past events without amounting to anything?!"

Inigo's frown turns into a scowl. "Without amounting to anything? Have you already forgotten everything we accomplished on our own, even before Lucina and Sensei showed up and got our gang back together? We're already making a difference just by being here, Severa. And you may be right that our own future may be beyond saving, but that should never stop us from making sure the future of our parents right here and now can become better than the one we grew up in."

"…You sicken me." Severa hisses. "All you morons do is living in this happy-go-lucky fantasy and going about how we can accomplish anything with this stupid "power of friendship" pegasus dung. When will you understand that I don't. Want. ANYTHING to do with your nonsense?! I've had enough of Kjelle going on and on about protecting the weak. Of Cynthia yelling about justice every five minutes. And especially Owain going off on his nutty spiel like nothing he tries will ever fail. Gods, it's like he doesn't even care that his parents die-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Inigo shouts.

That stops the princess's tirade in its tracks. In all the years that the princess has known him, Severa has never seen Inigo yell at any girl or woman – ever.

"I-Inigo?"

"You said that I sicken you?" Inigo growls. "I grow sick and tired of your incessant whining! And I will never – ever – let anyone badmouth my best friend! Not you, not Sensei, not our parents, no one!"

Severa takes a step back before she doubles down and flips a pigtail over her shoulder. "And what's it to you? That goofball has less of a grip on reality than Morgan on his memories. All I see is him grinning through his whole life like he doesn't even care."

""Doesn't even care"?" Inigo whispers incredulous. "How ignorant can you get?! You know more than I do how much he loved his parents! And you honestly think he didn't care when they died?!"

Severa blinks. "Huh? But then…why?"

"Because Owain always knew that he is the heart of our group. Out of all of us, he would never give up and never back down, no matter how dire the situation. He knew that if he did gave up, everyone else would as well. That's why he always put up that stupid mask of theatrics in front of others – to inspire them to keep fighting." Inigo explains. The male dancer clenches his fists. "But I have seen what's behind that mask. Owain took the death of his parents harder than any of us. When Lady Lissa died, a part of Owain died with her. Gods, I have lost count on how often I have seen him cry himself to sleep while calling for her."

Inigo sharpens his glare at Severa. "So don't think for a moment that you're the only one who's hurting in all this, Severa. In fact, you were better off than most of us. You still had Lucina! You still had family!"

""Still had family"?" the red-haired princess spits. "I'm not the only one, you know. Rose still has her brother, and I don't hear anyone saying how lucky they are."

"Don't you dare drag Rose and Morgan into this! You were there when Sensei gave his life to protect us! You know what she was forced to do, and you know how much it weighs on her to this day! Don't pretend that you're unaware, because I know that you know!"

For every time Inigo yells in her face, Severa takes a step back as her defenses shatter one by one. By the end of it all, Severa is trembling while Inigo tries to catch his breath from all the shouting.

"I… I hate all this." Severa confesses. "All the fighting, all the times we lost someone we knew, all this struggling without knowing if it will ever end."

"But that's not what you hate the most, is it? The one you hate the most…is yourself." Inigo points out. "I've noticed the way you look at Jack-sensei, Severa. I know you blame yourself for not protecting him, but there's nothing you could have done."

"You can't seriously mean that!" Severa yells back with tears forming in her eyes. "I had trained so hard to make him proud of me! To be there for him when he needed me! But then he sacrificed himself for me!" Severa sinks to her knees as the tears flow down her cheeks. "I couldn't protect him! I wasn't strong enough! I'm still not strong enough. I can't protect anyone… I wanted to protect him…more than anyone… I failed him."

Inigo sighs. "For crying out loud, Severa. You have to stop blaming yourself for that. No one else believes it was your fault that Sensei sacrificed himself. Even if you told him everything, do you really believe he would think any less of you?"

Severa's only answer is a weak shake of her head.

Inigo nods. "You're right, he wouldn't. And neither should you. I know it's hard to stomach what Laurent figured out, but that's no reason for us to just give up. It's not like we can undo this whole journey anyway." Inigo kneels in front of Severa. "I for one intend to set things right in this point in time. Not just for myself, but for every single person that I care for. So I ask what you intend to do, given what's already happened."

Severa looks Inigo in the eyes and throws her arms around his neck before she sobs over her shoulder.

"Sensei… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Severa chokes out between sobs. "I just- Please… Don't leave me again. I want to stand with you…"

While Severa pours her heart out, Inigo gently pats her on the back.

"When Jack-sensei told me that I'm to become the wayfinder when the others lose their way, I expected something…grander. Not to be some therapist." the male Mercenary muses glumly. "There's more to this, isn't there? There will come a time when I help someone find something truly precious. Right?"


"So, you finally finished it?" Robin asks as she walks beside me.

"I finished it earlier this morning. Us catching up with the kids was just something that I thought we could do on the way there." I reply.

We crest the hill and find the stone monument I had worked on, now complete with the inscription on the slab:

In memory of the greatest force
of 100 to ever fight in these lands.
Though their graves remain unmarked,
their memory shall endure
for as long as the cycle of day and night continues.
As their captain, this I declare to the world.

Jack the Reaper

Robin reads the text slowly. Then she reads it again. And again.

"Jack… You made this in a single day?" my wife asks in awe.

"I wish I could do more for them." I reply remorsefully. "Maybe if we had more time, I could have made some additions."

My wife shakes her head. "Jack, most soldiers who die in wars barely get any more acknowledgement than a brief speech from their commander in case their side wins." She gently grasps my cheeks and turns my face to hers. "You made a whole landmark in their honor. That's more than even most veteran soldiers are given, even after nearly a lifetime of service. Few soldiers will ever be able to boast something like this."

I place a hand on top of hers. "Thank you. I honestly thought that what I did was inadequate. Maybe this is enough after all."

Robin gives me a slightly exasperated smile. "*Sigh* You never did anything by half measures. But yes, this is enough. You can let them rest now."

Our moment is broken as the sound of a wyvern screeching pierces the air. Minerva lands near our position. Soon afterwards, Cherche climbs off, with Miriel following suit with shaking arms.

"Goodness, I did not expect wyvern riding to stimulate my senses to such an extent." the Sage mutters while trying to keep her glasses from falling off her face.

"You asked me to bring Miriel here, just like you asked, Jack. Though you never told me why." Cherche tells me.

I smile and step to the side. "See for yourself."

As the two women take in the sight of the shrine and the writing on the stone slab, they both stand stunned.

"Of everyone who were a member of my team, you two had a personal connection with at least one of them. One was to become your husband, Cherche, and one was your colleague, Miriel." I explain. "I wanted you two to see this shrine before I inaugurate it."

Miriel is the first of the two to gather her wits.

"As far as I can see, it is already finished, Jack."

I shake my head and rummage in my bag. "Not yet. It still needs one final touch." I pull out a pair of ropes and two bottles of lamp oil. "The lanterns still need to be lit."

I put the ropes into the lanterns and then pour the oil over them, thus soaking the ropes in the flammable liquid while filling the lanterns at the same time. I turn back to Miriel and Cherche and take a step back. "Want to do the honors?"

Miriel walks up to the lantern on the left. She slowly raises the hand to the lantern and casts a small Fire spell that lights the rope in seconds. Cherche, for her part, frowns at the lantern on the right in thought before she calls Minerva over.

"Remember that we do this in Lon'qu's honor, Minerva. Breathe gently." the Wyvern Lord instructs her friend.

The wyvern nods before she makes a small huff. The expelled flame is enough to ignite the rope there as well. Though it is still day, the glow of the lanterns to add a nice touch to the shrine dedicated to my late team.

"I suppose…this is a fitting final rite for those who fell in battle." Miriel remarks. "Though it may not be the funeral Cyrus's family would desire for him, I thank you for the effort you put in all the same, Jack."

I nod before I pull out one last item: a practice sword. "This might be a bit of favoritism, but I also want to leave a small gift behind."

I lean the training weapon against the stone slab. "Knowing you, you're already back to training on the other side, Lon'qu. Use this to hone your skills until we meet again."

Cherche places a hand over her mouth as tears spill from her eyes. The Wyvern Lord hugs me. "Thank you…"


Say'ri looks at her brother in disbelief. "You are leaving? Brother, why? You are finally free from the Conqueror's rule. Will you not join us in reclaiming our freedom?"

"Say'ri, have you already forgotten what I have done?" the silver-haired Swordmaster asks his sister. "I turned my back on my home, pledged loyalty to the one who invaded it, struck down hundreds upon hundreds on his command. Even if I were to join you and we emerge victorious, the Dynast nobles will only brand me as a traitor to the kingdom and to the throne. The only sentence for such a crime is execution. I am practically a dead man walking while in Chon'sin."

Say'ri clenches her fists. "Blast those cowards! When Walhart claimed dominion of our home, what did they do? Nothing! What right do they have to call for your head?!"

"Calm yourself, sister. Though Chon'sin may no longer be safe for me, that says nothing about the rest of the continent. As such, I shall travel these lands, away from any lord who may wish me dead."

Say'ri gives her brother a concerned look. "Will I see you again, brother?"

Yen'fay answers with a smile. "Aye, this I swear on my honor – what remains of it, that is." Then he removes Amatsu from the small of his back and presents it to Say'ri. "But before I go, I shall leave this in your hands."

"Amatsu?!" Say'ri exclaims surprised. "But Yen'fay, this is your sword!"

Yen'fay shakes his head. "After all I have done, I can no longer claim the right to sit on the throne of Chon'sin. At best, I am merely a usurper now. As the last remaining heiress of the royal bloodline of Chon'sin, it therefore falls to you to ascend the throne and rule our home, Say'ri. This sword is now yours by birthright."

In response, Say'ri unties Ivory Gale from her hip and presents it to her brother. "Then take my sword with you in return. That way, you will at least travel armed."

The siblings exchange swords – Say'ri with somber acceptance, Yen'fay with a hint of curiosity.

"Ah, this is the sword that you wielded when we crossed blades in the Demon's Ingle." Yen'fay notes. He draws it and examines the blade. "A finely crafted blade indeed. Though I have seen many a blade over the years, the make of this one is new to me."

Say'ri nods. "I too have found its origins a mystery. Sir Jack gifted me the blade when we first met. It has served me well since, and I pray that it shall serve you just as well."

Yen'fay nods and ties Ivory Gale to his hip. "This is a most precious gift. I shall treasure it as dearly as you, my sister."

With that, Yen'fay turns and leaves our camp.

A tear slips from Say'ri's eye. "Safe travels, brother. Until we meet again."


We decided to break camp about a day after Yen'fay began his trip. Our original plan was to march straight north, now that only Walhart's faction remains. But that's when Tiki decided to add her own two gold coins and pointed at a spot near the center of the southern half of Valm. She wanted us to travel there, but didn't explain why. After being reassured that traveling there would be worth the delay, Chrom agreed with a shrug and, as he's our highest ranked commander, had us set a course for that spot. Judging from the surrounding environment, it should take us about three days to reach Tiki's destination.

About a day in, we reach a town that seems remarkably intact and peaceful for a settlement in a country at war. Guess the battlefield doesn't reach everywhere – yet.

"Milord, have you noted the people on the streets in this town?" Frederick asks as we enter the town gates. "Not to mention all the decorations… It seems we have arrived at a festival of sort."

Chrom looks around smiling. "Looks that way, doesn't it? At least the town seems secure."

There are stalls and banners as far as the eye can reach. Streamers go from house to house, with flower bouquets adorning the walls. Children are running about laughing, and the adults look like they barely have a care in the world.

Then the prince snaps his fingers. "Perhaps we may forget our troubles for a day and join the festivities? All in favor?"

"You mean it? I love festivals!" Lissa cheers.

…While wearing a party hat that looks very out of place on her.

"Come on! What are we waiting for?" the princess continues like nothing seems strange.

That is, until Chrom addresses the elephant in the room. "Um, Lissa? Where did you get that hat?"

Lissa pokes the party hat a bit. "Oh, this? The man with the funny sideburns gave it to me! Pretty cool, huh?"

Chrom gives his younger sister a lost look. "Funny…sideburns…?"

And that's when a muscular man with funny sideburns and disturbingly revealing purple garb enters the scene.

"Well, hiya there! Welcome to our humble little village, okay?" the man greets us cheerfully. "It's not every day we get guests so frequently, don'tcha know."

Hold on a second… That's one of those twin bandits we fought way back in Ferox. Vincent, was it? Pretty sure we left the guy tied to a tree in the middle of all the snow.

And wouldn't you know it, he's got a party hat on his head too. Which only makes him look sillier.

Chrom picks up on the familiarity soon after. "Huh?! Wait a second! I know you! You're-"

"The captain of the village cheer brigade, yessiree!" Vincent interrupts like nothing's wrong.

Chrom sweatdrops. "Hmm… You do seem quite…cheerful."

"Well, of COURSE I do, Silly Billy! Our annual harvest fair just started! Singing, dancing. Oh, there's fun and merry times everywhere you look, don'tcha know!" Vincent confirms with a sparkling smile. The guy reaches behind his back and presents a pair of party hats to Chrom. "Here, have a party hat and join the fun! Would you like the red or the green one? Oh, maybe we should go for orange. It'll contrast SO well with your blue hair!"

Everyone looks at the party-happy guy with blank stares.

"Hm? Why are you all staring at me like that? Something on my face? Is my wee little party hat crooked?"

Chrom clears his throat. "*Ahem!* So! A harvest festival, you say?"

And Vincent is all smiles and rainbows again. "Oh, you betcha! We got all kinds of fresh produce, plus games and prizes and fun at every stall! Take a gander for yourself! Oh, and don't forget to bring a friend! They say the fair has a special magic that brings folks closer together, ya know. Why, we've had a wedding or three happen almost every year at this time."

Morgan's face heats up as he glances at Lucina. "W-wedding?"

Lucina catches Morgan glancing at her. The couple turn away from each other, each with their cheeks colored a healthy shade of red.

As Vincent keeps going on and on about how much people will chat with each other during the festival, Frederick leans over to Chrom.

"His enthusiastic tirade aside, this does seem like a fine opportunity to strengthen the bonds between our troops. Would you not agree, milord?"

Chrom nods with a growing smile. "Well, can't say no to that. We did plan on staying here a bit, after all."

Lissa thrusts her arms in the air. "Woohoo! Party time! I wonder whom I shall bring along? Maribelle, maybe? Or I could spend some time with Owain. Then again, it's been ages since I got to spend an all-girls day with Sumia. Oh, decisions, decisions. By the way, mister, who are you taking along with you?"

Vincent flashes Lissa a happy grin. "Me? Why, I'm so glad you asked! He should be here any second… Ah, there he is. Oh, Victor~!"

A man who looks exactly like Vincent, save for the orange garb instead of purple and a slightly different hair style runs up to us…and looks more panicked than festive.

"Vincent! Oh, Vincent! It's just terrible! Horrible! Awful, don'tcha know!"

"Now, calm down, darling. Deep breaths." Vincent tells his…friend (?). "Wait a second… Where's your party hat?! And, goodness, look at your face! You look you've seen a ghost, you poor thing."

"It's worse." Victor replies. "Zombies! Zombies have invaded our village and they're everywhere! They're lumbering around on the streets moaning and spoiling everything!"

Henry leans in on the conversation while rubbing his chin. "Zombies, you say? They wouldn't happen to be all glowy-eyed and attacking everything that moves while talking about brains, would they?"

Victor nods furiously. "Yes, that's them, alright! You know 'bout them?"

"Know about them?" Henry smiles at the two men like Christmas came early. "I've messed around with those guys since I-don't-know-how-long. Good times, I tell ya!"

"Good times, my finely manicured foot!" Vincent yells. "If no one stops those monsters, the whole village will be ruined, not to mention our fair festival!"

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance, then." Libra pitches in.

Victor looks at the effeminate War Monk curiously. "Oh? What's the plan, beautiful?"

"I may have a means to expel all those creatures with a single move." Libra explains tersely with a twitching eyebrow.

Lissa blinks. "You can do that? Since when?"

"Getting to know Lady Emmeryn came with a few perks." Libra explains. "One of which was that I had the opportunity to study different forms of magic that are otherwise reserved to higher-ranked members of the church. And it so happens that one of the spells that I learned has the ability to cleanse the area around me of the effects of dark magic. If I understand the spell correctly, I may be able to eradicate any undead with this spell as well."

Lissa scowls at him. "Well, if that's the case, why didn't you do it back at Carrion Isle? Sure would have saved us a lot of trouble, what with us being surrounded by Risen who wouldn't stop shooting at us."

"Unfortunately, Lady Lissa, this particular spell requires quite a bit of setup." Libra reveals. "Furthermore, the range of this spell is rather limited, as it is mainly intended for purification rituals. If I am to cast it over the whole village, I will need some assistance. Henry, would you lend me your aid?"

Henry perks up at that. "Sure. What'cha need?"

"I may be able to purify the whole village if I channel my mana through a big enough rune circle with the correct contents. If I remember correctly, that is something you are proficient in."

The childlike Sorcerer nods. "Yep. Spend all my free time dabbling in the stuff. Before I met Lissa, they also blew up in my face half the time. Now they only do that about one time out of four. I've added a few layers of security so Lissa won't have to worry so much about me."

"Still have to keep an emergency first aid kit ready at all times!" Lissa yells exasperated. "Seriously, where's your survival instinct!?"

"I…see." Libra answers uncertain. "I shall pray that this attempt will be one of your successful ones. However, that leaves the time for prepara-"

"Leave that to me, Libra." I pitch in.

The War Monk turns to me. "You would do that? But you do not even know their numbers."

I shrug. "I managed to lead a whole army of Valmese soldiers by the nose in a port town before I rescued Say'ri. This shouldn't be much harder. How much time do you need?"

Libra frowns in thought. "Judging from the size of this village… About four minutes."

"I'll be done with the rune circle in three. Maybe." Henry adds.

I stab Harvest Moon into the ground and hop on my feet a bit. "Should be easy enough. I'll bring them close to your location by that time."


As I jump among the rooftops, I notice the invading creatures. Risen. Risen everywhere. All of them Revenants and Entombed. Some of them try to tear apart anything their claws can reach – at an agonizingly slow pace. The rest are just lumbering forward like a mindless hoard. Let's see if I can't rectify that. Deep breath and…

"Hey, corpses! Fresh meat, right here!"

The entire hoard of Risen turn their heads in my direction as one (which looks kind of creepy).

"Kill… Devour…"

I land on the street and make a come-hither motion. "Come on, surely you can run faster than that."

The feet of the Risen turn into some kind of sludge before they resume their advance at a noticeably faster pace. And by that I mean jogging speed for an average person.

I raise an eyebrow. "Huh. Were I an ordinary guy, they might've caught up with me pretty quick. Alright, wild goose chase it is. Catch me if you can!"

BGM: Benny Hill theme

I keep my pace moderately fast to keep a good distance from the Risen while still staying within their line of sight. I round a few corners and head into some open space when I notice more Risen wade in from the left.

"Right it is, then." I decide and slip into an alley.

Though right as I'm about to exit it, I bend backwards and see a putrid claw sail right over my face. Huh. A dozen of them headed me off at the other side. Which means I can only run in the other direction. Right, right, left, parkour over a few stalls, in through an open window, out the oth- Oh Naga, more Risen! Back through the window, out the door and to the right!

Okay, running out of space to run on. Maybe I should try hopping around on their heads.

"You can fly, you idiot!" Sparrow yells from within my soul.

"Don't you think they'd give up if I did that?"

"You have any better ideas?"

"Fair enough."

I run towards an approaching throng of Risen, jump on the head of the foremost one and launch into the air.

"Alright, now what?" I muse to myself.

And then the Risen start to climb on each other.

"Did not expect that…" I mutter and start moving.

The Risen pile moves after me, like some mobile mound.

"Didn't expect that either!" I shout in alarm and speed up. Deciding to stop moving where they can all see me, I dive into an alley and stick to the streets again. And, according to plan, the army of undead are on my tail. And then there's the pile of Risen from earlier, washing in from another alleyway like a wave of zombies before they move in my direction.

Better get a bit more creative! Instead of sticking to the ground, I run up a wall and bounce between houses, only touching the ground where there's a big enough gap between the Risen. I got out of that growing mob just fine.

…Why is there a growing shadow where I stand?

"Braaaiiiins."

"Yipes!"

*Squelch!*

Since when can these slowpokes perform aerial sneak attacks?! They barely have any agility!

A bit looking around shows Risen on the rooftops and through open windows everywhere. Oh crud, they're getting creative with their angle of attack. Better wrap this up quick. Hope Libra and Henry are done on their end.

Now, if only those Risen would stop popping up everywhere I go!

"Seriously, how many more of them are there in this village?!" I yell exasperated when about as many Risen as the previous times combined wander into the next open area I enter. "I just had to ask." I mutter to myself dryly.

Screw this, I'm heading back! If those two still need time to prepare, I'll just hold that undead horde off until they're done!

Huh. I see a glowing rune circle near where I started. And Libra's standing in the middle of it, staff raised and hair flying around his face while he's channeling an impressive amount of mana into said rune circle.

"Libra! Incoming!" I shout before I dive behind the War Monk.

BGM ends

"-it shall be that the gods descend
upon this forsaken earth
and turn it into an oasis of purity!
Sanctuary!"

Light fills every line in the rune circle before it expands in size in the village's direction and covers the whole settlement within a minute. As Libra taps the butt end of his staff on the rune circle, a chiming sound echoes through the air and the light grows brighter. The Risen inside moan in what appears to be pain before they melt under the power of the spell. By the time the light dies down, every Risen in sight has been reduced to dissipating pools of purple whisps.

Libra has leveled up!

What do you know. Guess purification spells act as a great variant of pesticide against the undead. Pretty sure the name of the spell sounds familiar too. Let's see.


Sanctuary, Lvl MAX, Active, Cost: 150 MP
A spell that is usually cast when performing purification rituals. The hallowed light that the caster surrounds themselves with has the power to purge malice and dark energy, thus making it essential in crafting sacred instruments. In addition, records show that many ill and crippled have found their ailments healed when this spell is cast near them. So while rare, there are some people of the cloth who use this spell, most notably in settlements that lack physicians. Ironically enough, the healing effects don't apply to the caster themselves.
Element: Light. Range: 10 meters. Range is doubled if the full chant is cited before casting. Any character within range will have their negative status ailments removed. Should any non-boss unit of the undead category stand within the area of effect, they take damage equal to the caster's WIS times 10 every second.


Yup, definitely that one. Gotta love those holy spells.


[Fun Fact: In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, there are only two ways to truly kill Red Skeletons and Red Axe Armors; enemies who normally just collapse for a bit before they reform and don't count as a kill if that's the case. The first is to land the finishing blow with the Undead Killer whip. The other is to cast the spell Sanctuary, which has its own calculation for the damage dealt for such a situation – though it only matters for the Axe Armors, since the skeleton variant only has 1 HP. These enemies are also the only normal ones who can be defeated with that spell.]


Hm? Now that I take a closer look, there's something else in those dissipating pools. Something orange, and it's moving. I manage to snatch one up before it escapes.

"What'cha got, Jack?" Henry asks.

I show Henry my find. "This was left behind when Libra blasted those Risen with holy magic. It looks like some kind of…bug."

The orange little creature flails around in my grip, trying desperately to get loose.

Henry leans in. "Oooh. Neat. Mind if I take a look myself?"

I shrug. "Sure. Hopefully you know more about it than me."

That being said, what kind of creature is this even?


Necro Beetle, Rare
An insect that primarily lives in desert regions. The arduous climate of those lands makes research records of this creature scarce. The few that exist date back at least a thousand years and tell only vaguely of its ability to latch onto other, larger creatures and using it like a host, not unlike a parasite. One ancient record speaks of a sinister Arcanist who used these beetles for his experiments, but the full extent of his methods has been lost to time.


…What's a beetle from the desert doing here? Valm is a continent full of thriving nature and greenery, not some sand-covered wasteland.

"Come here, li'l fella. Come to Uncle Henry." Henry coaxes the beetle as I let up on my grip. The insect quickly hops over to the Sorcerer's hand. "There we go. Now lemme take a closer look, you cute little- Yeowch!"

Henry flings the orange insect off his hand and incinerates it with a dark spell moments later.

"What was that for?" I ask confused.

Henry shakes his hand a bit while…not smiling. "Little bugger bit me before I knew it. Heck, if I didn't know any better, it almost felt like he tried to hijack my body. Freaky, right?"

I blink and look back at where the last remains of the Risen are scattered to the winds. "And I noticed an orange, glowing spot from every one of those Risen, which would mean every one of them had one of those insects. This can't be a coincidence…"

"What…in the world was that?" Vincent asks wide-eyed.

"A result of combining our abilities to rid this world of evil." Libra replies. "The dead no longer belong in this world. May their weary souls find rest once more."

"Well, aren't you poetic, sweetie?" Victor chimes in. "Brave, beautiful and an expert in exterminating zombies. Why, we should put you in the festival's beauty pageant. Sure would make it a bit more interesting this year."

"I would rather not." Libra objects with a sour look. "I much prefer a life of modesty. In addition, I do not think the women participating would appreciate that they find such competition in a man."

The festive twosome blink in shock.

"Good griffons! You're a man?!" Vincent exclaims with his eyes bulging out of his sockets.

Libra sighs. "I get that reaction more often than I am comfortable with."

"Vincent, darling. I am even more confused about my preferences now than the day I met you." Victor laments.

"That one, however, is rarer…" Libra mutters while doing his best to make more distance from the two muscled partygoers while remaining inconspicuous.

"Nah, don't worry. You're not the first pretty man to pass by here, don'tcha know." Vincent assures Libra.

"Oh, darling, you wouldn't happen to refer to that silver-haired fellow from yesterday, would you?" Victor chimes in.

"Silver-haired?" Say'ri interjects. "He wouldn't happen to have a perpetually stoic expression on his face and a sword on his back, would he?"

"Oh, that's him to a T, alright!" Victor confirms. "The way he carried himself, the way his luxurious ponytail swayed in the wind, the air of mystery around him. My, what a stud!"

"Too bad he didn't stay for long, though." Vincent adds. "Ran for the hills the moment we introduced ourselves. Pity, that."

Say'ri looks like she just bit a lemon. "That would be my brother. No doubt about it…"


I look up while trying to adjust my party hat.

"This getup feels almost as silly as my wedding suit back when we married." I tell Robin. "I don't even know if it can sit well on my spiky hair."

"Oh, it can't be that hard, Jack." my wife tells me. "Here, let me help you with that."

I bow a bit to let Robin reach my head. A bit of fiddling later, and she tells me she's done. Three seconds later, her cheeks puff out.

"Pff… Ah ha ha ha haa! Oh, that looks priceless!" Robin shouts while pointing one hand at my head and holding her sides with the other.

A quick pulse of Mind's eye reveals that Robin managed to place my party hat on one of the spiky parts of my hair and then tiled the whole thing sideways.

I use some Telekinesis to adjust my party hat upright while giving my wife a sour look. "Very funny."

While Robin is busy snickering, I notice Inigo head into the festival area with Noire. Oddly enough, the male dancer doesn't seem too happy about the situation.

"So, how did you two end up going together?" I ask my students.

"Oh, Sensei. I figured that, since it's a harvest festival, they're bound to have all sorts of goods for my baking." Noire explains.

I blink. "You? Since when do you bake?"

"Since a while back. I decided to try my hand on it, but with us being in the middle of a campaign, it was difficult to have enough ingredients at hand to experiment. This sounded like a great opportunity to stock up."

"And I was roped in to being her pack mule." Inigo laments. "I was fooled into believing we would have a nice day together on the faire, just the two of us."

"Oh, we will, Inigo." Noire sort-of confirms shamelessly. "After all, it wouldn't do if you ran off, just because you laid eyes on another maiden in town."

"This is fraud, Jack-sensei! Fraud, I tell you!"

I raise an eyebrow. "You know, you could always take the time to enjoy yourselves a little bit, right? I mean, harvest festivals like these typically only come around once a year. Might as well enjoy it. I know I will together with my wife."

Noire taps her cheek. "Maybe. If Inigo behaves, that is."

"Hey, I'm not five!" Inigo interjects indignant.

Noire waves him off. "I know, Inigo. Well, we're burning daylight, and those ingredients won't restock themselves."

"Ah, wait a moment, Noire." I tell my student before she leaves.

"Yes?"

I zip back to the convoy and return with a quiver full with arrows for her.

"What are these for?" Noire asks confused while accepting the quiver.

"If you spot any hyenas…" An evil grin forms on my face. "…fire at will."

Norie blinks before she nods and happily fastens the quiver at the small of her back.

Inigo gives me an incredulous look. "Sensei, what the heck!"

"It's for your own safety." I reply in a tone that just reeks of bull dung. "You carry the stuff, and Noire chases away anyone who might give you trouble. I mean, it's not like Noire will kill anyone. Or cripple anyone. Or hurt anyone. …Much…"

"You can't expect my to- Oh, holy dragonstones!" Inigo shrieks as Noire puts a hand on his shoulder.

Huh. So he says that too. Who knew…

"Come along, Inigo. We wouldn't want to take up anymore of Jack-sensei's time with his wife, now would we?" the Archer asks cheerfully as she drags Inigo along.

"I'm a dead man walking…" Inigo sobs.


Robin has a gentle grasp on the cylindrical base as she moves her face close. She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear before she gently licks some of the white substance from the tip. My wife swirls it around in her mouth a bit before she swallows and shudders in delight from the taste.

She smiles at me. "This is such a wonderful treat. I didn't expect to find something this delicious at the faire.

I smile back. "That's ice cream for you. Sweet, soft and pleasantly cool on a hot, sunny day."


AN: Admit it, you thought for a moment that Jack and Robin were doing something lewd. Pervs.


I glance back at the one managing the stall we're standing in front of. "Still, I never expected to find an ice cream stall here, of all places. Can't complain, though."

Turns out the stall manager is none other than an Anna. Turns out this particular Anna's relationship to our Anna happens to be the third-removed cousin's stepmother's second child born out of wedlock before she tied the knot – or so she claims. The Anna family tree is confusing.

The Anna managing the stall gives us a charming smile. "I know, right? The wealthiest markets are built when there's a demand where no one knew there was one before. No competition, no regulations cutting into the income. Just you, the customers, the wares and cold hard cash filling your growing purse. It's a girl's dream come true."

"Correction; it's your family's dream come true." I counter. "Seriously, is there anything you Annas care for other than money and your family (the latter of which I have no problem with)?"

"Aw, don't be like that. We're just a big family of merchants who like traveling the realms while making a pretty penny wherever we set up shop. It's not like we deal in shady stuff or anything." Anna replies.

"Considering what that relative of yours who's traveling with us offered my niece some time ago, I'm inclined to believe otherwise."

Anna's eyebrow twitches a bit. "Okay, so we tend to bend the rules a little bit. But let's be honest; who doesn't?"

"Naga forbid the day any one of you decide to try her hand in politics." I mutter.

"Whoa there, fella! We of the Anna family may be bold, but we know better than opening THAT can of worms." Anna stresses with a serious look. "Those high and mighty fancy folk can spend their days with endless debating and whatever schemes they make to set up some kind of power grab. We prefer staying out of that kind of trouble and be on our merry way without having some spoiled brat hounding us because we happened to make a deal with his mom's third ex-boyfriend before the breakup."

I raise an eyebrow. "That's oddly specific. Speaking from experience?"

Anna huffs. "We don't talk much about it. So, are you going to insist on souring the mood while your ice cream melts, or are you going to enjoy that delectable treat with your wife like you're supposed to?"

I smirk and show Anna my still very much intact ice cream cone. "Wind master, remember? I just hold the air around the ice cream in place, and the chilled air stays around it. No new air means no more medium to continue the equalizing of temperatures, which prevents the ice cream from melting."

"Neeeeerrrrd." Anna mutters dryly.

My smirk widens. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

Man, I love science.

Robin and I decide to walk the faire while enjoying the icy treat instead of staying by the stall. That's when we happen upon Nah and Tiki by another stall. Though their mood seems anything but merry.

"Hey, you two. What's up?" I ask as we approach the two manaketes.

Nah crosses her arms while scowling. "Tiki and I have been trying to win a prize at this stall for about half an hour. We're so close, but we always mess up at the end, and we're running out of money."

At that moment, Tiki's latest attempt fails.

"Aw, too bad. And you were so close this time too." the guy managing the stall tells her in a tone that drips of more smugness than should be reasonable.

Tiki, in response, pouts. Side note; that pout is freaking adorable.

"Just checking; That threesome that I proposed some time ago is still on the table, right?" Sparrow chips in.

*Whang!*

"Ow! It was just a question!"

"Just keep that to yourself, will you?"

Back to that smug stall owner. What's his deal? By the looks of it, it's a simple game involving darts. Guess it's got something to do with scoring a certain amount of points to win a prize. The board is pretty big, so hitting it shouldn't be too problematic. Though there are a lot more sections on this board, with the additional ones displaying a higher point value than you would normally find on a regular dartboard. Everything looks fine to me – on the surface. Now, if I prod a bit with Mind's eye…

Oh? What do have here? A few buttons hidden behind the counter, wires connected to the back of some kind of coil sitting on the back of the giant dartboard, as well as a Lightning tome integrated into the circuit. And the tips of the darts are made of iron, which makes them magnetic. My inner engineer applauds how elaborate the setup is. On the other hand, this dude is screwing over my niece, an ancient sort-of demigoddess and Naga knows how many children who just wanted any one of the fancy prices hanging around the stall.

I hand my cone to Robin. "Hon, hold my ice cream."

Robin blinks confused. "What are you up to now, Jack?"

A smirk grows on my lips. "I'm about to end this man's whole career." I step up to the counter. "Hey, can I try?"

The stall manager raises any eyebrow before he shrugs. "Sure. Just pay up front, and you're good to go. Only 100 gold pieces per game."

That gives my wife pause. "100? Isn't that a bit much?"

"You don't like it, you don't have to play." he replies uncaringly. "'Course, if you pay more, you'll get more darts to throw."

I place a total of 500 on the counter and am given five full sets of darts.

"The rules are simple." the stall owner explains. "Just throw the darts, and I'll count your point total. Depending on how high you score, you get to choose more prizes. Might need to pay more coins you're going for the big ones."

I notice that the stall manager moves a bit to the side while his hand hovers over those buttons. Too bad he's in for a rude awakening. But before that…

"Say, which prize did you two want?" I ask Nah and Tiki.

Tiki shuffles her feet while looking at the ground. "Well, I… I wanted that plush toy that looks like Marth…"

The stall owner smirks. "Yeah, she's got some good taste. This little beauty is a must-have for any fan of the legendary Hero-King."

The plushie in question seems to be designed like any other stuffed animal I've seen before, only this one does resemble Marth, complete with a plushie Falchion drawn. Neat.

I ready a dart while pointing at the plush toy. "Alright, that's what I'm going for, then. Better reserve that plush toy, 'cause that thing's as good as mine."

The stall owner waves me off. "Sure, sure. Any time you're ready."

I rear back my hand and throw the dart. At the same time, I let loose a tiny blade of wind magic and cut the cable that's connected to the button that the stall owner just pushed.

*Thunk!*

"Wow, perfect bullseye! That's amazing, Uncle Jack!" Nah cheers at the result of my first throw.

The stall owner looks between me, the board and his hand in bewilderment. I smirk response. Time to rub it in.

I scoop up the remaining darts and take a few steps back. "You want amazing, Nah? Then watch this!"

I flip a few darts so I hold one each between my fingers by the tail fins. The rest are held within my clenched hands. Then I crouch into a combat stance and take a deep breath. I lash out with one arm, letting go of a dart in the process while replacing it with another one in my hand. Then I swipe my other arm in a circular motion and throw another dart. From there, I swing and whip around my arms while hopping around until it looks like I'm performing some kind of war dance, all while throwing the darts in my hands. And for every dart thrown, I cast another blade of wind magic to cut the cables linking those pesky buttons to the coil behind the dartboard. I may or may not be using additional wind magic to steer the darts in the direction I want them to fly in. Hey, this guy cheated first. Unlike him, however, I leave no evidence. But like him, I am not above stacking the odds in my own favor. Bite me.

*Thunk! Thunk, thunk, thunk!*

Each dart hammers into the board with ease. Each hit fills Nah's and Tiki's eyes with amazement while the stall owner gapes wider and wider. The final dart hits dead center, thus making my dart throwing performance come full circle. More importantly:

Total score: 6 969

Nice. Double nice. All according to plan.

The stall owner is making a decent fish impression right now.

"I think I'll take that Marth toy. My score should be high enough, right?" I tell him with the same smug tone that he used before I stepped up.

The stall owner nods dumbly and hands me the plushie.

"You said you wanted this, right?" I ask Tiki as I give the stuffed toy to her.

The ancient manakete's eyes shine with delight as she accepts the Marth plushie. "Thank you so much, Jack. I feared I would never get it."

I wave it off. "Eh, it was no big deal. Why don't you guys go on ahead? I'll catch up soon."

Right as the others have left, I reach over the counter and grab the stall owner by the collar, good mood completely gone.

"That's a dirty trick you set up to cheat others of their money." I whisper threateningly.

The stall owner gulps. "I- I don't know what you're talking about…"

I smirk and show him my other hand. "Oh, really? Does this ring a bell?"

I open my hand to show a piece of the cables in his construction.

The stall owner looks at me nervously. "Wha- How did you-"

"I'm good at sensing foul play." I reply. "Now here's what you'll do; find every single person whom you pulled your little trick on and offer them a free round of this game, and I won't rat you out."

"But I've had more customers over the festival than I can count! You can't expect me to remember and find all of them!"

I give the guy a chilling smile. "Well, then I suppose one of those leaders of the cheer brigade will hear some interesting news soon."

The stall owner blanches. "No. Please! Anyone but them!"

My smile turns into an evil grin. "Why not take it up a notch? I'll let both of them know that you could use some special cheering up, delivered by them personally."

"I'll find those customers! I swear!" the stall owner squeaks in fear.

I let go of him and march with a satisfied smirk. Ah, the joy of catching a cheater in the act and grabbing them by the proverbial balls.


AN: CrossVipeR316 does NOT condone any stereotypes of the HBTQ variant. Please remember that they are living, breathing people with a sense of identity, just like you and me.


Well, it's been fun at the harvest festival, but the time eventually arrived when we had to leave. Though I'd say staying a day for some fun at the faire was time well spent. There was a pretty somber mood overall throughout our ranks when we first arrived at that village. Now you frequently see smiles on all but the most taciturn members of the army.

It is in these good spirits that we arrive at Tiki's destination. Speaking of Tiki, she's been spending more time outside the little carrying hut that Libra had built for her ever since we picked her up back at the Mila Tree. And the person she has been spending the most time with is Nah. The two manaketes have been conversing with each other like old friends ever since the harvest festival.

Chrom takes a deep breath and smiles. "Mmm… The air is sweet here. It's so calming."

"Makes you want to just flop down and take a huge nap, doesn't it?" Lissa adds.

Lucina nods. "It does sound tempting. That, or maybe just admire the flowers."

"Oh? Did you not get any opportunity to do so in the future, Lucina?" Cordelia asks.

The blue-haired princess shakes her head. "Unfortunately, no. When the Fell dragon unleashed its forces, the lands were ravaged wherever you looked. Where there were once forests and meadows, you would only find a desolate wasteland. Seeing this vibrant field reminds me what I fight for. Or just let me forget my worries for a moment."

"Well… How about I pick you some flowers, then?" Morgan asks while scratching his cheek. "You know… So you can enjoy them wherever you want."

Lucina gives my son a radiant smile. "That sounds lovely. I look forward to see what flowers you choose."

"Coming right up!" Morgan shouts before he bolts into the distance with a dust cloud in his wake.

I blink bemused. "Huh. Our son's got it bad."

Robin gives me a wry smile. "To be fair, you were a lot like this as well back when we were newlywed."

I shift my gaze sideways. "Naah… That can't be right, can it?"

Robin pulls out a notebook from her robes – one that I don't recognize.

"I took the time to write those moments down." my wife tells me with a mischievous smile. "I thought they might give me a good laugh sometime in the future."

I eye the notebook in horror. "You did not!"

Robin's smile grows wider. "Try me, Jack. I dare you."

"…You have some really evil moments sometimes, you know that? And I love you all the same." I reply with a resigned slump.

Robin flips some hair over her shoulder. "You've rubbed off on me. That's all."

"Still, I've never been to a place with such vibrant nature before…" Chrom muses as we walk through some woods. "I didn't even know it existed. Where are we?"

"This is Naga's cradle. It is said the divine dragon once called this place home." Say'ri explains. "Here, the Voice will enact a holy rite to commune with Naga and regain her power."

"Really? How is that gonna work?" Lissa asks curiously.

"You will see soon enough." Say'ri replies as we clear the woods and enter a clearing that is completely occupied by a lone hill.

Tiki walks up to the top and sits down without a word. The ancient manakete calms her breathing as she closes her eyes.

Lucina walks up to Tiki and crouches in front of her. "Lady Tiki."

No answer.

"Lady Tiki?" Lucina tries again.

Say'ri places a hand on Lucina's shoulder. "Pray be silent, milady. The Voice is currently performing the rite."

Lissa raises an eyebrow. "Wait, so Tiki's just going to sit here? I can do that too."

Say'ri shakes her head. "No there is more to it than that. By calming herself, Lady Tiki will draw the divine dragon's power from the land unto herself."

Now that I look closer, it looks almost like Tiki's meditating. Interesting ritual. No bonfires, no sacred chants to cite or blood sacrifices on an altar. Just one manakete sitting down and doing her thing.

Wait a minute… What are those markings around her eyes? Is that the power Say'ri was talking about? What kind of ability is that?


Senjutsu, Lvl 73 [32%], Active
An ancient discipline where the practitioner goes through intense mental training to still their spirit and attune it to the flow of nature itself. Doing so allows the practitioner to draw upon nature's power and add it to their own. But such a technique comes with a great risk. To tap into the power of nature and wield it as your own, your spirit must be strong enough to maintain a balance between your own being and that of nature, while remaining the dominant portion. Failure to do so results in the forces of nature overwhelming you and make you a part of it. Those who have met this fate have ended up as stone statues, thus standing as a warning for all who would attempt what they failed. But the few who succeed become able to tap into a well of power beyond their wildest imagination. Such is the blessing and curse of nature.
When successfully performed, user gains the Nature Sage status effect for up to five minutes. Successfully activating this skill within this time frame will reset the timer. If the activation fails, the user is afflicted with the Petrified status effect instead. Attempting to activate this skill while moving automatically results in failed activation.


Wait… Tiki's a senjutsu user?! Actually, that explains a few things. First, it explains why she remarked that Robin seems to carry a power like her own, which happened when we first met this dragon. Second, it explains the unexpected insight she seems to have on my soul, which she demonstrated when we had out little talk in her hut. Tiki can tell us about all that, because she's trained in senjutsu, which has a side effect of increasing the user's sensing abilities. I mean, that's how Naruto became such a good sensor, even though his chakra control tends to be terrible in relation to his peers.

Lucina looks at the meditating manakete curiously. "She looks so peaceful. Almost like she is sleeping. What do you think she sees? Could she be dreaming right now?"

Hmm… I think Tiki's lips are moving. If I adjust the air flow juuust right and align it with my ears…

"Mmm… Pour that honey all over my steak, Ban-Ban…"

…I think I'll just leave Tiki alone…

Chrom looks around the vibrant nature with a smile. "Well, looks like we'll be here for a while. How about we take the time to relax a bit?"

That's when Morgan bursts out of the foliage with an alarmed look on his face.

"Morgan? What's the matter?" Robin asks our son.

"I went to pick some flowers when I sensed something approach." Morgan reveals. "They're Risen! They're headed this way from the south!"

That has everyone on high alert. Except for Say'ri, who has a confused look on her face.

"Risen?"

"Remember those undead who had invaded the village holding its harvest festival? It's those guys, except they're usually far worse than what you saw." I explain.

"It's not just from the south…" Gerome piques in. "I sense something approach from both the east and west. Hollow presences. They do not belong among the living."

Cynthia makes a quick climb on top of her pegasus. She soon lands back down with a grim look on her face. "Gerome's right! We have Risen coming from those directions as well!"

"Why in the world are those stupid corpses even here?!" Severa exclaims exasperated. "Why this continent?! And why wherever we go?!"

She raises a good point, actually. While we have confirmed that the Grimleal have set up a base on Valm, that was way up in the northern mountains. I doubt they could have expanded that fast under Walhart's nose, since the Conqueror knows we are running around and waging war against him. His entire empire is on high alert. Which must mean that the Grimleal have sent someone to watch us and planned this attack carefully. But why here? Why now?

Wait a minute… We first ran into Risen in this end of Valm in that village a few days ago. And then they're gathering here. Which means this might be their actual target. But there's just nature around here. No one lives her-

My eyes widen as the pieces fall into place.

"They're after Tiki!" I exclaim as I draw Harvest Moon. "I'm not entirely sure how they found her, but they're trying to attack her before she can regain her power!"

Say'ri follows suit by drawing Amatsu. "This is not good! The Voice is defenseless in this state. We must become her shield until the rite is complete."

Good point. If Tiki takes a hit now, that could ruin her concentration and turn her into a stone statue.

"We await your strategy, Robin." Say'ri tells my wife. "Make us as a wall of steel!"


Quest alert:
Side quest: The threat of silence
While Tiki conducts a ritual to regain her powers, you detect Risen closing in on your destination with only one mission in mind; Silence the Voice of Naga forever. You and your allies are the only ones standing between Tiki and a horde of murderous zombies. The Voice of Naga is in your hands. Protect her at all costs!
Objective: Do not let Tiki take any damage.
Rewards: 10 000 EXP, 10 000 gold
Failure: One tap. That's all it takes to interrupt the rite and end Tiki in the process. The world will be robbed off the Voice of Naga, and you will lose your greatest rallying point in uniting the Resistance against the Conqueror.


BGM: Go, Satella Police! (Radio world), Megaman Starforce 3 music

Sparks dance along my free hand as the first Risen approach. "Trace on!"

Cloud's Fusion Sword from Advent Children appears amidst scattering light particles. This paralogue can be one heck of a pain in the neck because the Risen just keep coming. Using my own weapon might do the trick in most cases, but I will need some extra blades if I am to hold off a veritable flood of undead.

The Risen should be here any second now. So why don't I hear any rustling in the foliage?

*Screech!*

I look up, only to attempt smacking my palm on my forehead on a mental plane due to both of my hands being occupied with a sword each. Of course… How could I forget that every single Risen in this battle is a FLIER?!

"Incoming from above!" I shout and take flight.

*Shing!*

I cleave a Falcon Knight in two as I zip past it. Now that I've cleared the treeline, I can finally see what's going on, and part of me already regrets it.

It's not just a small army of Risen gunning for Tiki – it's more like a legion!

I land back down.

"Robin, the Risen number in the thousands! If we can't think of a way to halt their progress, we'll be overrun in minutes!" I tell my wife.

Robin creases her brow in thought while preparing a lightning spell.

"Libra, can you do that thing you did to the Risen back at the harvest festival?" my wife asks our resident War Monk.

"I regret to inform you that that spell only affects entities close to the ground. If they attack from the sky, the light of the hallowed ground I can manifest unfortunately comes up short." Libra reveals.

Well, ain't that inconvenient…

Robin fries a Griffon Knight moments after it comes within her line of sight. "We can't just defend Tiki from our current position! Shepherds, move to the other side of the treeline and form the defensive line there! All fliers, thin their numbers as much as you can before they reach the hill! Archers and mages, fire at will! Bring those Risen down!"

I'm back in the sky even before Robin finishes giving her orders. She wants those Risen taken out of the sky? That's exactly what she'll get!

I charge headfirst at a Dark Flier and bring Harvest Moon down in an overhead swing. The Dark Flier blocks, only to be left open as I flip the Fusion Sword in a reverse grip and stab it through the undead's face. I rip out the sword and spin around to decapitate it before I zip off to my next target.

Dash, climb, slash, drop, roll, corkscrew, spin, toss the Fusion Sword into an undead's face, kick off a reanimated wyvern's side, rip the Fusion Sword back out and bring both swords down!

I look around me. There are Risen almost everywhere I see. And now that I've started attacking them, I also have their attention to an extent. I already have a few going for me instead of Tiki. Might help, since I can handle them better than a manakete preparing Sage mode.

*Screech!*

I pivot and get ready to block, only to realize that the cry came from Future Minerva with Gerome riding on the wyvern.

"How nice of you to drop by." I tell my student before I slice a Silver Lance apart and then split a Wyvern Lord right down the middle.

"Robin insisted that I aid you." Gerome replies before he has Minerva flip to slice a Griffon Rider apart while he brings his axes down on a Falcon Knight behind the wyvern. "She wants someone by your side so you don't go off on your own again."

My expression turns sour. "Ugh. Might need to find a partner faster next time we fight. Think you can cover the right side? I can focus on the left then."

"…Which side is right?..." Gerome asks quietly. "And don't give me that look!" he adds indignant.

"Fine, fine. Yeesh. Right side is, uh…"

How do you explain that to someone with nigh zero sense of direction?

"The side I usually wield my weapon with." I tell Gerome.

"You tend to shift hands depending on what form your weapon takes." he points out.

Drat. He got me there. Give me a moment. Flip over a Silver Axe, kick a Pegasus Knight off its mount and then blast a few more fliers with a barrage of wind spells. That should do.

"Uh… The hand you hold the knife with!" I shout.

"I haven't used utensils in years." Gerome replies while Minerva roasts an undead wyvern at point-blank range.

Oh, come on! Screw it, Plan B it is!

"Just… Just pick a side already! I'll take the other one!" I tell Gerome as I focus some mana.

"Should have just said that from the start." my masked student mutters before he flies off to chop more flying undead.

"Cheeky brat…" I mutter back.

I twirl the Fusion Sword a few times, building up speed with every turn. Then I thrust it forwards, using Telekinesis to disassemble the sword into its six separate parts. I let go of the core sword and shift my hold on it to another telekinetic one. With all six swords floating through the power of my mind, I grasp Harvest Moon with both hands as I move the six swords behind me in a slowly spinning circle. Killer Bee's seven swords hook has nothing on what I'm about to do!

I fly straight at a throng of Risen fliers. As I bring down Harvest Moon, I move the Fusion Swords to follow the same trajectory as my initial swing, thus turning each swing into a string of seven instead. Two more swings, redirect two swords to form a cross block behind me, backflip over four simultaneous thrusts, pin the weapons down with Harvest Moon and set the circle of swords to spin around me! The resulting attack carves through the undead fliers like a bladed saw before they fall in thinly sliced pieces.

We're holding up fairly well for now, though I doubt it will be that easy. I remember quite well that we've had fights with armies of Risen before where we gain the upper hand, only for something big to hit the field and instantly put us in trouble again. Even as I send my Traced swords to spin around and wreak havoc on the Risen ranks, I look around the battlefield.

Our fliers, and myself, act as the first line of defense, trying to thin the Risen as much as possible. The Risen who make it past us are welcomed by the second line; our archers. Everyone who can wield a bow fires at the incoming undead likes there's no tomorrow. The triple streaks of light followed by explosions in the air tells me where Noire specifically is. Anyone who uses magic adds to our antiair defenses to keep the Risen away from the clearing. And then there's the third and final line; anyone who can neither fly nor fire projectiles unless with significant effort. Heck, it's probably the reason why Owain and Severa are in this group, since both can technically blast Risen out of the sky, but would tire themselves out in the process. This line has the added bonus of taking out any Risen who go for a low approach in the hopes of giving us fliers the slip. That only puts them in range for our ground fighters.

I'm forced to drop in order to avoid decapitation from a Griffon Rider. Curse it, the number of Risen coming from the south is increasing. Which means that's most likely where the main portion of their army is coming from. And that's where we will strike. Just clear out this wave, and back to Robin.

I touch down in the clearing while I send the Fusion Swords to pin down any Risen who made their way here.

"Robin, I think the Risen are mainly coming from the south. If we can eliminate them in that direction, the flood should abate." I tell my wife.

Robin nods. "All right. Get some help and clear out the south." My wife brings down a thunderbolt on a Dark Flier before she burns it into a crisp with a Bolganone spell. "Just don't get too overzealous. Our main objective is still to defend."

I nod before I zip back into the sky.

"Cynthia, with me!" I shout as I change directions towards the southern Risen.

"You got it, Sensei!" the Pegasus Knight responds with enthusiasm and she switches her lance for her Savage Lynel Crusher.

Between me wielding seven swords like a boss and Cynthia being an unstoppable wrecking machine, we plough through the Risen ranks at…a slower pace than I expected. They're just that tightly packed. Alright, fine. Really big guns it is.


Union Strike: You Say Homerun

"Full blast!" I shout and charge ahead of Cynthia.

"Eyes on me!"

I let up on my speed upon hearing Cynthia's declaration and allow her to overtake me. This makes her grab the Risens' attention, which in turn gives me the opening to sneak in from below. Hurricane fist to the gut, corpses!

The violent winds launched from my fist scatters the throng of approaching Risen right as Cynthia reaches swinging distance. The sparks of One for All leave a zig-zagging trail of broken undead soldiers as my student zips through their ranks in an erratic pattern. I join Cynthia in the sky, throw each of my seven swords at any Risen that has yet to be clobbered and pull them back through Telekinesis. An extra hard yank pulls the swords out of their bodies before I grab two and unleash a double circle swing to cleave them in two.

I leave Cynthia to mop up the stragglers while I concentrate on the new ones coming in. I make a Shadow clone to wield each sword while I concentrate mana for a Rasengan. And then I Supercharge it while straining my focus to make it denser – much denser. Right as I reach my limit, I slip under the Risen once more before I pop up behind them with Cynthia on the other side.

"Incoming!" I shout and hurl my Rasengan at the Risen.

With my hold weakened on the sphere of condensed mana, it expands to enormous proportions as it swallows up any Risen in its path, all while it flies towards Cynthia. The Pegasus Knight, in turn, readies her Savage Lynel Crusher and flies to meet it.

"Okay, you got this…" Cynthia mutters as green sparks dance along her weapon.

Cynthia gives a shout as she slams her massive club into my Supercharged Rasengan. My hold is barely strong enough to contain its rotational fury even with that impact. More importantly, Cynthia's swing sends my Rasengan back the way it came at much faster speeds than what I myself could accomplish – and right in the general direction of where more Risen are coming. By the time the shell containing the mana finally breaks, nearly a hundred Risen have been swallowed up in the sphere as it unleashes its full payload in a gigantic spinning shockwave that pretty much wipes out any more Risen coming from there.

Cynthia gives me a grin and a V-sign. "Nailed it!"

I return the grin. "All according to plan!"


AN: If you're one of those people who scream "The Rasengan doesn't work like that!", consult the amount of care I give that. You'll find none.


Alright, looks like we finally have the south side under control. We just need to mop up the rest and we'll be in the-

*FWOOM!*

BGM ends

I turn back towards the clearing to see a massive vortex of azure flames rise above the tree line. Then I see a figure blast into the sky with azure wings and blitz any Risen coming from the east.

I squint my eyes. "Is that…Nah?"

Nah makes a sudden U-turn to the west and unleashes azure hell on the Risen coming from there as well, only to repeat the process. But every time she does, more Risen refill the ranks she just turned to cinders. This isn't good. As powerful as she may be, she can't hold off two hordes coming from opposite directions on her own! Where the heck are the other ones supporting her?!

"Cynthia, can you handle the rest here?" I ask the Pegasus Knight.

My heroic student nods determined. "I'll be fine. Just don't overdo it, right?"

I nod. "Good, you've learned." I make a few Shadow clones. "Just in case things get hairy."

With that, I zip back towards the clearing. As impressive as it may be seeing Nah plough through the approaching Risen like a wildfire on a haystack, I also notice that she's slowing down.

"Nah! Stop!" I hear Nowi shout as she climbs into the sky after her daughter.

But her words fall to deaf ears. Nah keeps flitting through the air and throws around dragon fire like a girl possessed. Now that I can take a closer look, I notice that her eyes are glowing. What happened to her?


Dragon Force, Lvl 2 [38 %] Active, Cost: 250 MP per minute
A legendary stage of development where a Dragon Slayer channels the full power of a grown dragon. Just unlocking this power generally requires extensive training or consumption of a power source at least as great as the user themselves. But be warned. To channel the full extent of a dragon's power puts an enormous strain on the body. Prolonged use will either see you collapse as you tear yourself apart – or you eventually turn into a dragon yourself.
All offensive skills associated with "Dragon Slayer magic" have their effects increased by 100 %. Damage taken decreases by 10 %. If user has not unlocked this skill through enough training, they must first consume mana with an MP value equal to or greater than 10 times their maximum HP before this skill can be activated.


Wait a minute… I never trained Nah to do this. Which means she must've eaten something insanely powerful. Only question is; what?

"Nowi, what happened?" I ask my sister figure as I reach her.

"Jack, it's terrible! We were getting overwhelmed by the Risen when Nah pulled her stone off her neck and ate it!" Nowi explains.

"Nah did WHAT?!"

"RrrraaaAAAAGH!"

Nah unleashes a swirling inferno of flames and incinerates at least a dozen Risen fliers in one go. Then she blasts off to intercept the next wave.

"She flew into a frenzy after that and is unleashing all this power on the Risen. But her body can't handle that much power." Nowi continues. "I'm trying to make her stop, but I can't reach her!"

"You can't give up now. Keep trying to reach her, both of you." I assure both her and Donnel. "That's still your daughter at the end of the day. At some point, she has to recognize your voices."

Donnel nods grimly. "Y-yeah. Yeah, yer right. We ain't stoppin' 'till she hears us."

A different roar shakes the atmosphere at that moment. Don't tell me there's an even bigger Risen on its way here!

No, wait. That's not it. Where-

! The clearing! What is going on over there?

A massive vortex of green flames rise from the hill. An emerald manakete with glowing scales ascends into the sky before it lets out another roar and charges against the next wave of Risen.

As the manakete flies by, I notice orange markings lining its body. Is that…Tiki? Did she finally draw enough nature energy into her body?

Tiki tilts her head back and inhales before she unleashes the biggest gout of flames I have ever seen. Even when they barely dodge the attack, the heat of her flames is so immense that the Risen are turned into ashes in mere seconds. Then Tiki turns around and repeats the process anywhere that Risen may be coming from. It's only a matter of time before the Risen invasion is wiped out and the air itself burns from the mere aftermath of Tiki's rampage.

Holy dragonstones… I knew Tiki was sealed away due to her power being too great for her to control, but it's only now that I'm starting to fathom the true extent what she's capable of.


Quest alert:
Side quest: The threat of silence
After a hard fought battle, Tiki has successfully regained her power and is ready to fight once more. Your ranks are stronger than ever now that the Voice of Naga herself is on your side. Just make sure to take good care of this mild-mannered manakete. She needs plenty of happy moments and memories to bring with her when the time inevitably comes for you to part ways.
Objective: Do not let Tiki take any damage
Objective cleared!
Rewards:
You gain 10 000 EXP! You gain 10 000 gold!


Tiki's in the green now (pun not intended). Finally!

"Nah, we won! You can stop now!" I happily shout to my niece, only to get no response. "Nah?"

Nah hasn't moved much through the air since Tiki went divine dragon on those Risen. She's remarkably still for someone using ethereal wings to keep herself afloat.

Wait, why are her wings fading? Why is she not moving? Why is she silent, even while freefalling?

No… No, this can't be happening!

Nowi flaps her wings harder as she flies to her falling daughter. She won't make it alone. Fortunately, Donnel springs off her back and manages to catch Nah. Father and daughter tumble through the air before Donnel manages to land feet first with a heavy thud. Nowi and I reach them within a minute.

Nowi reverts back to her human form and kneels before Nah. "Nah! Speak to me, Nah!"

Nah's body lies limp in Donnel's arms. Her breathing is shallow and ragged. Her eyes are glassy and unfocused.

"Nah! Stay with us! NAH!"

To be continued


Jack's encyclopedic corner

Fusion Sword, Sword, Base damage: 105, Unique
A greatsword commissioned and wielded by Cloud Strife after he had defeated his nemesis Sephiroth and helped save the world from destruction by a meteor. This weapon is actually made up of six smaller swords who fit together like a puzzle. Each sword can be attached and separated from each other in just about any way the wielder wishes, allowing for on-the-fly adjustments of the sword's weight and stopping power, as well as switching between single wielding and dual wielding at any moment in time. Whoever made this razor-sharp metallic marvel deserves an engineering award, 'cause the structure of this thing is nothing short of mindboggling. Badass motorcycle with customized storage compartments not included.
Skills available while wielded: Blade Beam, Climhazard, Omnislash ver. 5

Castelia Cone, Consumable, Uncommon
The signature sweet treat of Castelia City. Cool to the touch and soft on the tongue, this frosty snack is best enjoyed on a bright summer day together with a loved one. Rumor has it that the inventor found inspiration in the Ice-type Pokémon Vanillite when trying to make a new addition to their ice cream stall. Can be served with mint flakes on top for an extra cool experience.
Restores 20 HP.


For real, Tiki's paralogue can be a real pain due to the Risen just respawning over and over. The first time I played it, I thought the reinforcements would never cease. That being said, Galeforce really trivializes that battle, as does it any other battle in the game.

The year is coming to an end. It's been an eventful year, in no small part due to the mayhem caused by a little microbe known as the Covid-19 virus. Still news of promising vaccines give me hope that, despite all the tragedies and hardships that have befallen the world, this year still has the chance to end on a bright note. I personally wish that so much more good could have been achieved these past twelve months, but most of that was out of my control. I'll simply settle for what we got and try to reflect upon what lessons we can carry with us as the year reaches its end.

If I don't post anything more this month (which probably won't happen), I wish you all in advance a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Until next time.

VipeR out.