DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: That's right, Berkut having a keyblade of his own can be capable of everything, such going as far as proving his superiority against Alm and challenging Roxas to a fight at some point. And Fernand would go exact revenge on commoners who killed his family.
And yes, Roxas will aid Celica after their unfortunate reunion as she and Alm chose their own paths, and the keyblade wielder will follow hers. Besides, Alm would have that obvious impression that Celica replaced him, which this could lead to a huge misunderstanding between them. But there will be a time when everything will become crystal clear for Alm eventually.
I have an Ace card of my own in the works to make the fic work and connect to Sora's main story, and to justify Roxas and Celica's appearance in Garreg Mach together, just wait for it.
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CHAPTER 5: CHOOSING A PATH
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31st of Avistym, Year 401. Valentian Calendar – Outside Sofia Castle.
Roxas and the others walked their way to what seemed to be the marvelous Sofia Castle courtyard, it was a real fortress, a heavily fortified castle as the other medieval worlds Roxas saw through Sora's eyes.
"Woah… look at this." Said Roxas having his mouth open out of impression with the place.
"Sweet jumping jesters!" Mae seconded expressing emotion. "Now THIS is a castle! It's huge, I mean, huuuuge! And it's GORGEOUS!"
"Keep it down, would you, Mae?" Boey spoke asking her to lower her voice and behave. "We're not here to gawk at the sights like a band of slack-jawed wayfarers."
"Whatever, Professor Funslayer." Mae spoke expressing slight sarcasm at this latter. "Even YOU have to admit it's great."
"I never said it wasn't impressive." Boey clarified correcting her. "A far cry from the ramshackle fishing huts we grew up in, that's for sure."
"I know, right?!" Mae understood his statement while still expressing some fantasy of living in that said castle. "Can you imagine living in a place like this? With servants and meat pies and—"
But then they all came to realize of Celica's concerning attitude and Mae's gabbling joke died abruptly.
"Shoot, Celica, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to—" Mae tried to apologize for speaking recklessly. "Actually, you know what? I think we'll just go ahead!"
Mae, Boey, Saber and the others traveled to look around the castle, leaving Celica and Roxas alone like always.
"What is going on, Celica?" Roxas asked her a question out of concern upon seeing her gazing at the floor with worry.
"What do you mean?" Celica asked back in confusion.
"I mean, since we came here, you've been gazing at the ground… like you were not impressed at all or something like that." The keyblade wielder stated after seeing her sad gaze.
"What? N-no, I'm very impressed." Celica attempted to go defensive and hide her sadness from him. "Speechless, actually. That's all."
"Oookay, if you say so." Roxas said not being very convinced with her reply, he knew something was wrong with Celica's gaze, it wasn't being herself trying to hide her true problems from the others, Roxas needed to stay close to her to discover what was going on, he was her bodyguard after all. "Shall we get inside?"
"Yeah." Celica agreed to enter the castle together, before letting out a heavy sigh. "I never thought I'd set foot in these halls again… But this is to see Alm, Roxas… And in that case… Enough, we need to hurry."
Roxas nodded with her and the two were set to hurry to the castle when they ran into two cantors and one of them struck Celica with a dark wave.
"Aah!" Celica winced in pain after receiving the attack.
"What's wrong?!" Roxas said in shock after seeing her hurt.
"Join me, O child of fate." One of the Cantors spoke in menacing voice stating his same statement, to kidnap Celica. "Come to Lord Duma's side…"
"You again?! What are you planning to do with Celica?!" Roxas snarled in anger as he interrogated them pointing one of his keyblades at them.
"Silence! Don't you dare to mess with us!" the same cantor casted the black magic attempting to hurt Roxas, but he successfully bounced it back and struck him down. "How's this… possible?"
"You bastard! We'll kill you first and then we will take that girl!" one of the Cantors threatened the two walking closer slowly but menacingly at the same time.
Roxas was about to strike when suddenly a masked knight with a white shiny armor appeared from nowhere, much to the duo's surprise.
"Begone, you base filth." Said the Masked Knight in a determined and dead serious voice. "You are unfit to lay hand or eye upon the young woman."
"Wh-who are you?!" the cantor tried to have him say his name but the man refused. "My name is a greater boon than you deserve. If you would keep your heads, you must depart this place at once."
"You dare to…" the purple-skinned man snarled in fury looking at the group. "Enough—ignore the newcomer and this jerk in black coat! Take the girl by force!"
"Who are you, sir?" Celica nervously asked the masked man his name, but once again, he refused to introduce himself. "My name matters not for the nonce. In time, all will be made clear. No more words. Fight, unless you wish to leave this place in chains."
"He's right, we have to take down those guys at once." Roxas agreed with the masked man getting his keyblades ready.
"Right." Celica prepared herself to fight alongside them.
The three began engaging the cantors giving all what they got from their arsenal, Celica managed to slice one of the cantor's chest, just like the masked man did with another one. Roxas resorted to give the Cantor leader a brutal Ars Arcanium and defeated him performing an almost-fatal Zantetsuken technique.
"GWAAAH! Fall back! Retreat!" the leader screamed in horror wincing in a sharp pain and gave Celica a threatening warning before retreating. "But know this, girl—nothing will stay us from our purpose!"
"The enemy is retreating… we did it." Celica was satisfied for making them run away. "You have my thanks, good sir. But I must ask you again who are—huh?"
"Sorry, Celica, but the man with the mask took off already." Roxas told her the news. "Who was this man, anyway? A friend of yours or something?"
"I honestly have no idea." Celica admitted not knowing anything about the mysterious masked man.
"I see. I suppose we'll investigate that mystery on the pile along with whoever attacked us."
"I suppose we will. Though for what is worth, I still don't believe they were Desaix's men." Celica let out some high possibilities about their enemies. "They were more like that man who tried to take me prisoner at sea… But who would want to take me captive? And for what purpose?"
"It's a tricky question… I can't stop wondering why those guys want to hold you captive, they all seem to be very obsessed with you." Roxas understood her concern, aside of wanting to find out those men's purpose with Celica.
"Looks like it, come on, let's head to the castle, shall we?"
/
ELSEWHERE IN A FOREST.
The purple-skinned cantor was very, very infuriated with Roxas and the mysterious masked man actions that led to fall his plan to capture Celica. He showed a strong hatred and grudge to the two, but Roxas mainly, due to being his biggest, if not, impossible obstacle.
"Fuck that masked vermin! Fuck that little pig in black coat! Fie and fie again!" he muttered in anger expressing hatred towards them. "Now I must explain to Jedah how we failed to secure the girl.
Then, a man with purple hair combed to its back, Slayde, appeared from nowhere greeting the creepy man. "…Beg pardon, friend. You with the Rigelian Army perchance?"
"Who asks such of me?!" the cantor groaned in frustration.
"Soft, friend, soft!" Slayde persuaded him to calm down before stating his intentions, evil intentions. "I'm not your enemy. I was working under Desaix, but those damned rebels kicked us out of the castle. I was thinking I might defect to Rigel… in exchange for my services, of course.
"heh. And you expect me to trust a man who so utterly lacks shame?" the cantor questioned him not willing to make a deal with him easily.
"You sure you can afford not to?" Slayde offered one last chance to make a deal. "You got your scrawny hides kicked trying to kidnap one little girl. You really want to go back to the boss-man empty-handed?"
"Hm…" the cantor looked skeptical as Slayde continued explaining the situation… "See, I know about this little forest northwest of Sofia Castle. And in this forest, there's a village…"
/
SOFIA CASTLE – GROUND FLOOR: ENTRANCE.
Roxas and Celica entered the castle, even though she had to convince the guards to let him inside due to his black coats and his lack of his noble appearance.
"Thank you for having my back." Roxas thanked Celica for her help to not get kicked out of the castle.
"Don't mentioned it, it's normal for common people to not step in the castle." Celica said letting out a smile, a sincere smile.
"Three huzzahs for Sofia's liberators, and three huzzahs for Alm!" a Sofian soldier expressed a loud praise towards the man whom Celica was looking for, and hoped for him to be there to meet again. "Truly, he is the hero Sofia has been waiting for. And he's every bit the champion General Mycen was! Make no mistake, the Rigelian Empire's as fearsome as a foe as they come. But with Alm leading our forces, we don't need fear any man!"
"Seems that everyone is praising him." Roxas lifted an eyebrow in confusion for their behavior.
"Everyone's laughing and cheering, but my gut's one big knot." Another Sofian soldier talked in a realist matter. "Only a fool'd thing the Rigelian Empire would back down without a fight. Emperor Rudolf's order of knights are scary enough… but what about that Duma priest Jedah and his horde of arcanists? How are normal folks supposed to fight against men who conjure Terrors?"
"Looks like we are in a dangerous area, Celica." Roxas began to figure out the situation as they walked around the castle.
"We are." Celica assured him as they stepped in Central Hall.
/
CENTRAL HALL
Roxas and Celica encountered two maids and greeted them.
"Are you guys headed for the Temple of Mila?" the older woman asked.
"Yeah, we're heading there." The keyblade wielder replied nicely.
"Oh, I do wish you'd reconsider." The woman warned them. "That whole area is crawled with thieves working in the employ of Grieth."
"We already have taken care of the pirates, it won't be much a trouble." Celica assured her showing confidence.
"The very ground itself is rotten! Hunks of cliffside slough off near every day. You might easily find yourselves with no way back… so be careful, okay?"
And then the duo turned their gazed on the young maid as well. "Sure, Desaix and those Rigelian thugs turned tail and ran, but our crops still aren't growing and we've no shortage of Terrors… What do you suppose could've happened to Mila? Some men have gone to the temple to investigate, but none have returned. I say we've bigger problems than fighting a war, but no one asks me…"
All of this was like a golden and important intel for Roxas, the Rigellian Emperor's name, Alm being the leader of the Deliverance, Jedah's role with the Terrors, Mila's fate… most of it.
/
STAIRCASE
After going through few more rooms, Roxas and Celica headed to a place where there was upstairs at their front, but not only that, they came to meet with an unexpected person, someone relative for Celica.
"Grandpapa?!" she said out of surprise.
"Do you know each other?" Roxas asked out of curiosity.
"Yes, young boy." The old man assured him. "Celica and I are grandfather and granddaughter. What is your name?"
"I'm Roxas, nice to meet you, sir." The keyblade wielder bowed introducing himself.
"I'm Mycen, the General of the Sofian Army and grandfather of Alm and Celica."
"So, what are you doing here?" Celica asked him the question out of intrigue.
"It's been so long, Celica."
"Oh. Grandpapa! I'd half resigned myself to never seeing you again." Celica spoke in happiness for meeting with her grandfather.
"As had I. And yet here you are, grown into a beautiful young woman." Mycen replied showing the same feelings towards her granddaughter. "Though I fear we lack the time for leisurely reunion. Surely you left the island with some purpose in mind, yes?"
"I did." Celica admitted her actions, aside of stating her purpose. "I'm going to the Temple of Mila. All that's transpiring in Sofia now is tied to the Earth Mother— I can feel it in my very narrow. There's more to be done than simply fighting the foes laid before us. I must learn Mila's will in all of this. I also intend to pray that she intercedes on behalf of her people. That she might save us all."
"I see." Mycen understood her purpose. "Just as Alm has chosen his path, it would seem you have chosen yours."
"Alm?!" Celica was surprised by her grandfather's statements; did she hear well? Did Alm already made his dangerous choice already? "I'd suspected as much, but you being here confirms it… He's leading the Deliverance, isn't he?"
"Why don't you go upstairs and see for yourself?" Mycen advised her to figure it out if everything about Alm was true. "I expect that's where you'll find what you've been searching for."
"Okay, thanks, grandpapa!" Celica said as she ran upstairs to meet with the guy he's been longing to see for a long time, leaving Roxas to wait down there.
Celica went upstairs and reached the balcony, and then, she came to reunite with her childhood friend she had left long time ago, Alm.
He was facing at front when he heard the sounds and turned to see a happy Celica.
"Alm! It's really you!" she exclaimed as she ran towards him with tears coming out of her eyes.
"Wha—?" He tried to speak but Celica jumped on him to give Alm a big hug which led him to lose balance and hit a crate full of oranges and make them spill onto the stairs below.
"Wait a sec… Celica?" Alm groaned in pain aside of trying to get his sight clear. "Is that really you, Celica?"
"Alm… I'm so glad to see you… I have dreamt about this day for seven days— At last… I have finally found you!" Celica expressed a lot of joy putting her face against his chest.
"You have. I've missed you too… so much." Alm replied hugging her.
Shortly after breaking the hug, Celica told Alm her whole adventure before heading to Sofia.
"…Wow, that's quite the story. I'm trying to picture you swashbuckling pirates, and… Yeah, just wow." Alm was very impressed by her actions against the pirates.
"I didn't mean to swashbuckle anyone. It just sort of… happened." Celica corrected him in a playful voice, but then they joy was short-lived as the reunion began turning serious, real serious. "But forget all that for the moment. Alm, you aren't REALLY planning to fight the Rigelian Empire, are you?" she interrogated him out of suspect.
"Listen, it's not… it's not something I chose." Alm tried to explain her. "They were the ones who attacked us."
"But there must be a way to resolve things other than bloodshed, no?" Celica asked him if there was a harmless way to end the war, but Alm's face said everything.
"That's pretty thought, Celica, but… I'm not sure it's true. If it were, no one would risk life and limbs on the battlefield." He spoke showing a lot of concern on his face.
"Is it so naïve?" Celica was now beginning to become annoyed by this. "Sofians and Rigelians are both people of Valentia, are we not? I know we can reach some kind of accord if we just try. Besides that, I… I just can't imagine Emperor Rudolf is the monster some claim him to be."
"It doesn't matter what sort of man he is." Alm clearly stated his mandatory role in the war he really had to play. "The Rigelian army chose to cross Sofia's border—that's a fact. We aim to drive back the invaders, nothing more."
Their conversation was now turning into a heated argument between the two, for one side, Alm had a duty and this is something he didn't chose to, Celica was definitely disapproving his actions as a leader of Deliverance and the whole violence he's been dealing against the Rigelian Army.
"But why do YOU have to lead this rebellion?" Celica asked him out of frustration. "Mycen's grandson or not, you're neither knight nor noble. So why do you make yourself a target like this?"
"Nrgh… if I didn't know any better, I'd swear I was speaking to a blue blood." Alm also replied in the same manner trying to do something to reason with her. "My station doesn't matter, Celica. I'm here because I was called, I have a duty to perform, and I'll perform it. No more, and no less."
"Listen to me, Alm! Is this what you really want? To throw your life away like this?!" Celica called him out letting out an angry outburst. "Alm! I'm really worried about your safety! And you still risk your live for many people you don't know or anyone's interests?!"
"Do you think I WANTED this fight? This all started because Lima IV went and angered the empire. If you wish to point your fingers, point them at the ruler who failed his people. It's his fault we're in this mess." Alm filled Celica with one brutal detail about that man, which led her get really upset, even if she didn't have her father's love, this somewhat was like a huge middle finger-slap on her face, and this made the emotions and anger get better of her.
"That's not… Well, so what if it is?" Celica spoke coldly but then she went talked to him harshly, to his shock. "Maybe you should go becoming king if it such a damnably easy job!"
"What? Celica, that's not—" Alm attempted to explain and apologize but she cut him off sternly.
"You're awfully free with accusations for a boy with no idea what royalty entails! And now you're a "Hero," I imagine the throne is next on the list, is that it?!" Celica snarled in anger to him for being a reckless man due to joining the war.
"No, it's not like that at all, Celica!" Alm defended his reasons to become the leader of his own army. "I just want to keep Sofia SAFE! Besides, there's an heir. A princess of the royal family may have survived. If she turned up and fixed all this, I'd happily return to Ram. You could… come with me, you know? It would be like old times."
"Come on! There's no secret princess!" Celica retorted reacting harshly. "The Sofian royal family is dead!
"But how can you be—" Alm tried to reason with her but Celica dead silenced him. "Enough! Just…enough." Her words were like a bullet which was fired from a gun to his heart. "Go fight your war if it makes you happy. I'm going to the Temple of Mila. Good bye, Alm. You… You stubborn jerk!"
Celica sank and tears came off her eyes as she walked away from Alm, however, unbeknownst to the pair, Roxas was listening to the whole conversation in a stealth way like leaning to the wall and not expose himself through a window.
"Celica… you're one to talk about stubbornness, geez… ah, damn it all. I didn't get to ask her about the village… about why she had to leave. Oh, Celica… I had so much to say to you. How did it end up like this?" Alm spoke expressing sadness after watching her leave.
Alm and Celica's heartfelt reunion was dashed by heated words, and once again, the two were parted.
One chose the battlefield… the other, the Mother's succor.
And while they both sought to attain peace in their own way, their chances of finding it together seemed to grow increasingly slim.
END OF CHAPTER 5
Oh boy, Celica got really pissed off while having an ugly argument with Alm and the two parted ways on their own accord, poor Celica, she wants to save Alm by any means necessary.
Surely Roxas can help her to make smart choices and to have a clear judgment unlike in the original version of SoV.
This is the end of Sofia's Call Arc, next time we will enter to War of Deliverance, the first portion of The Valentian Cold War Arc.
See you next time.