Chapter 7: Climactic Power
Lucina and Morgan left not long after the Shepherds reached Regna Ferox. Morale was low, and time was short. There was no time to be wasted on goodbyes.
They traveled south towards Ylisstol in silence, for the most part. Neither sister was in the mood for much conversation. Unfortunately this left Morgan alone with her thoughts. She couldn't help but wonder what they might do next.
Morgan desperately wanted to search for Marc. She missed him terribly, and could not remember a time in her life when she had been apart from him for so long. If the chain of events leading to the fall of men was once again underway, she at least wanted him by her side again, and she knew Lucina felt the same.
There was also the matter of searching for ways to help the Shepherds. Morgan could think of a few ideas, but all of them presented a challenge. The most obvious of these ideas was to go searching for the gemstones necessary to complete the Fire Emblem. With their knowledge of how their parents had found them in the past, Morgan knew roughly where each of the gems were, but there was no guarantee they'd be in the same place.
Morgan also missed her friends. They had traveled and survived together for three years, and Morgan saw them as her family. Not knowing what had happened to them after they came to the past left Morgan fearing for their safety.
She tried to distract herself from her melancholy state by watching the gradual shift in landscape as they traveled, but the effort was practically futile. No matter how hard she tried, Morgan could not keep her mind off of their failure in Plegia, or her worry over the fate of her brother and friends.
Eventually, Morgan could bear the silence no longer.
"Hey, Lu," she asked tentatively. "I, uh, I was wondering if we had a real goal in mind? Do we even know where to start?"
Lucina looked up, and for a moment, Morgan could tell how upset she was. It only lasted for a second though, before Lucina sighed, and adopted what Morgan privately called Lucina's "Big Sister Face"
"I was hoping we might be able to pick up a lead in Ylisstol," she said. "Aunt- Aunt Emmeryn had said she would help us with our search. It's possible she might've left us some kind of clue to go on."
Morgan nodded. "That makes sense. I hope we find the others soon. I miss them."
"As do I, Morgan."
Morgan waited for Lucina to say something else, but it seemed that she had gone back to watching the road ahead and her own thoughts. Realizing she wouldn't get much more conversation out of her sister, Morgan resigned herself to the monotonous silence, and did her best not to agonize over her friends, or the unknowns of the future.
Over the next couple of days, the silence was only broken by necessary communication. The terrain around them changed from the icey forests of the north into the green fields of Ylisse, and the capitol came into view.
It seemed that the news of the Exalt's death had already reached the city, as many of the citizens appeared to be in mourning.
Despite the subdued attitude of the people, the city was still bustling with activity. Soldiers were rushing about, making preparations to march for Plegia in order to meet up with the Shepherds and Feroxi army. The Ylissean army was small in number, but Morgan could see the righteous fury in their determined eyes as they hurried to fulfill their tasks.
Meanwhile, the regular citizens were also busy, helping in any way they could to prepare for the coming conflict. Some were preparing rations for the supply train, while others were polishing armour or weapons. Any tradesmen who could apply their craft were working to repair the damage caused by the Plegian raiders who had captured the Exalt.
Morgan followed closely behind Lucina, who strode through the streets with purpose towards the inn they had stayed at the last time they were in the city. For a moment, Morgan found herself reminded of when she was much younger, and followed Lucina around the castle like a lost puppy. The memory also reminded her of her missing brother, so she put it out of her mind just as quickly as it came.
As Lucina pushed open the door of the inn and they crossed the threshold, the man at the counter looked up from the glass he was polishing, startled. He stared at them, eyes squinting, before they widened in recognition.
"Marth, is that you?" He asked. "By the gods, I didn't recognize you! If not for Mo, I might not have made the connection. I'll admit I'm a wee bit curious as to why you were pretending to be a man the last time you stayed, but it ill behooves one in my business to dig into a customer's private affairs. Will you ladies be needing a room?"
"Yes please, Franklin," Lucina replied. "Just one night though. We won't be in the city long."
The innkeeper was just as talkative as Morgan remembered. While Lucina spoke with the man, she fished their coin purse out of her travel pack in order to pay for the room.
"By the way," Franklin said, catching Morgan's attention. "Before the Plegians attacked, her grace stopped by my little inn. Had a letter for you. She knew that you two had been here, and asked me to pass it on to you. You must be more important than you let on, for the Exalt herself to be leaving letters for you."
Morgan and Lucina shared a look of surprise. A letter was big news, and carried countless possibilities as to what it meant for their plans. Aunt Emmeryn was looking out for them, even in death.
"...Thank you, Franklin," Lucina said slowly. "We appreciate you holding this for us."
"Aw shucks kid, no sweat! I'm just glad I got to help out in some way. I don't know what's going on, but it must be a big deal, for her to have prepared this the way she did. I won't keep you any longer. You must be curious after all. And tell ya what, since it's just for the night, don't worry about the pay."
Morgan's hand froze, halfway out of the coin purse. "Are you sure, sir?" she asked, looking at Lucina for guidance. "We have plenty of money left."
That last part was a lie. They hadn't been carrying money on them in the future, and despite the assistance Aunt Emmeryn had given them and the wage they had earned while working for Khan Basilio, they had spent most of it by now on food and traveling supplies.
"I'm sure," the innkeeper said. "I like you guys, and, well, given our circumstances and the tragedy with the Exalt, I suppose this feels like my own little way of trying to live up to her grace's legacy, ya know?"
Morgan's breath hitched as her emotions nearly overtook her. She was half tempted to leap across the counter and give the man a hug.
"Then I must thank you again," Lucina said. "We shall find a way to repay you for your kindness one day."
"You don't need to go to the trouble, Miss Marth, besides, I want to set a good example for my little one." As he spoke, he leaned down and reached under the counter, before standing back up with a young boy in his arms. "Junior here has been listening in on the conversation. Hope you don't mind."
Lucina stiffened almost imperceptibly, and Morgan was sure she was the only one who noticed. She resolved to ask Lucina about it later and smiled. "We don't mind. You're a good father Franklin. And thank you again. Make sure you stay safe!"
"Same to you, Mo. Now run along. Go read your super important letter from the Exalt."
Morgan nodded again, accepted a key from Franklin, and together, she and Lucina headed for the stairs leading to the second floor of the building where the inn rooms were.
In unspoken agreement, they tossed their bags in the corner as soon as they entered their room and sat down on one of the beds together as Lucina gingerly held the letter between them.
"Are you ready?" she asked, and Morgan nodded. Lucina took a deep breath, and slid her fingernail underneath the seal holding the envelope together and pulled out the paper inside.
She paused for a moment, collecting herself, before reading aloud:
"My dear Lucina and Morgan,
It is my hope that this letter will be unnecessary, and that we may meet soon so that I may tell you this information in person, however, I feel it would be irresponsible of me to ignore the possibility that we may not see each other for some time for any reason, and so I write this letter.
I regret to inform you that I have no leads on any of your friends, which leads me to believe they are either not yet in this time, or beyond our reach at the moment. Rest assured that if they are here, we will find them eventually though.
There is some good news as well. Before we departed for our families eastern estate, I asked a trusted librarian of the castle archive to research other worlds for me. After we parted ways and I returned to Ylisstol, the librarian delivered the fruits of his research.
There exists a gateway to other worlds on a remote island in the southernmost territories of Ylisse known as the Outrealm Gate. The legends speak of Outrealms where warriors of legend reside, or where one can find the weapons that influenced the outcomes of wars, or realms where your strength grows exponentially when you train.
I would like to ask the two of you to investigate these Outrealms for me. Within them may lie the keys to the future of Ylisse, and perhaps you may find some leads on your friends' whereabouts along the way. I have enclosed a map with the gates location marked within this letter, so that you may find your way.
I look forward to our next meeting, and I am excited to see what you might discover. I pray that by the time we see each other again, this dreadful conflict will be resolved peacefully.
With all my love,
Aunty Emmeryn.
P.S. I adore being able to call myself Aunty, if only in private."
Morgan wiped her eyes as Lucina finished reading. For the upteenth time, she cursed the unfairness of it all. Morgan had been overjoyed to finally meet the Aunt her Father had told her about in so many stories, but just as quickly as she had entered their life, she had been stolen away from them, and now, she would never return.
"This is a lot to process…" Lucina said after a moment.
"Mhm," Morgan agreed, mind racing with the possibilities. It was as Emmeryn had said in the letter. These Outrealms could hold the key to saving the world, if they were lucky. At the very least they could get stronger or find a weapon that might turn the tide against Grima.
"What do you make of it Morgan?" Lucina asked.
"Me?" Morgan blinked in confusion. "Well, umm, I think that if Aunty's information is legit then it's an opportunity we can't pass up. Who knows what we might find there?"
"That makes sense. But I'm worried about leaving mother and father unprotected. What if something happens while we're away? As much as I hate to say it, they're not- they're not invincible, Morgan…"
Morgan gazed at Lucina's solemn face and remembered all of the times that Lucina had cared for her and protected her up until now. She had done a good job of hiding it, but Morgan suddenly realized how hard Lucina was taking this failure.
Morgan was equally as devastated over the loss of Emmeryn, but Lucina looked as if she were on the verge of coming apart at the seams. "I have to step up," Morgan thought to herself. "Lucina has done so much for me. It's high time I return the favour."
"Lucina, I-" she said aloud, but paused, unsure of what to say as Lucina turned her attention towards her. She took a steadying breath.
"Lucina, I think we need to do this. Mom and Dad always said that having faith in each other is the most important part of being a Shepherd. It's the bonds we share with one another that make us strong, and allow us to triumph, right? Well our bonds with our parents are so powerful that we could transcend time itself! Aunty Emmeryn is gone, and it hurts. I know we're both scared, but this is our make or break moment! If we lose faith now, then we'll be ignoring everything our parents taught us. We have to trust that the Shepherds can succeed!"
Morgan paused for breath, and Lucina studied her, but said nothing.
"Just look at everything we've accomplished! We traveled through time, Lu! We're in the past, and things are already so different from our timeline! We can do this!"
Something sparked in Lucina's gaze, and her expression became determined.
"You're right," she said. "I tried so hard to be strong and handle everything, but I forgot that I shouldn't be trying to do this alone. I have you here with me, and our friends are out there somewhere fighting to change things too. Thank you for reminding me, Morgan. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You'd probably push yourself too hard and get into trouble more often," Morgan quipped.
Lucina laughed. "Please, you get into just as much, if not more trouble than I do."
Morgan rolled her eyes. "Let's agree to disagree. Anyway, even if it's unlikely we find our friends, we can only benefit from making this trip. It will make us stronger."
"I trust your judgment, Morgan. Forgive my moment of weakness."
"There's nothing to forgive. You would do the same for me, wouldn't you?"
"Of course."
Lucina folded the letter carefully and tucked it into her bag before pulling out a change of clothes.
"We ought to leave early in the morning," she said. "Let's prepare for bed."
"Sure," Morgan replied while reaching into her own bag for her sleepwear. "I'm exhausted. I did want to talk to you about one more thing though."
"What is it?" Lucina replied absentmindedly as she ducked behind the provided screen in the corner of the room.
"Downstairs, when Franklin mentioned his son, you tensed up a bit. Did you see a bug or something?"
Morgan watched as Lucina stilled momentarily, and she heard her sigh.
"I have met Franklin Junior in the future. He grows up to become a soldier. He died saving my life in an ambush once. Seeing him again brought back those memories and added to my feelings of failure. I do not want to fail everyone again."
Morgan winced to herself as Lucina exited from behind the screen, dressed for sleep, but Lucina smiled at her.
"I do not think I will be able to erase my doubts, but all the same, you helped me reaffirm my resolve, Morgan. I won't waver again. Go ahead and get changed. I am tired as well, and we have much to do."
"I'm telling ya!" Vaike said. "Those two are Royal bastards of the previous Exalt! They've got the same blue hair as Chrom! I bet we'd find the brand if we looked!"
Miriel shook her head. "While certain evidence suggests that could be possible, in my opinion it does not corroborate with Exalt Nero's character. He was many things, but unfaithful was not one of them."
"I agree with Miriel," Sumia chimed in. "Except I think they're guardian angels sent by Naga to help us."
Sully snorted. "Some guardians."
"C'mon miss Sully, you don't have to be mean about it," Ricken argued, before cowering under Sully's glare.
Chrom sat by the fire and watched the Shepherds argue over their opinions on Marth and Mo's origins. A part of him was interested in the conversation. He was curious as well, especially about what had Lissa grinning so smugly as she cheekily poked holes in everyone's theories while not offering her own.
Unfortunately his mind could not focus on it for long. The remaining knights of Ylisse and the armies of Ferox had finally gathered for what he hoped would be the final confrontation with Gangrel, and he would be leading them all. It was a heavy burden.
The log Chrom was sitting on shifted, and he looked up to see Robin next to him with a bowl of stew in each of her hands.
"Hungry?" She asked. "Don't worry, Libra made dinner tonight, not me."
Chrom chuckled, and accepted the bowl.
"Thank you, Robin. I appreciate it," he said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You'd push yourself too hard and get into more trouble, for one thing," Robin sassed.
"I had to save you from Sully's 'Demon Horse' as you called it just a few weeks ago," Chrom teased.
In the firelight, it was hard to notice, but Chrom was pretty sure Robin blushed. She seemed to be doing that a lot around him lately. It made him feel a lot of different things he didn't quite have the energy to figure out, given his current circumstances.
"What's on your mind, Chrom?" Robin asked, ignoring Chrom's jab about the horse. "Are you feeling nervous about the coming battle?"
"That, and other things," Chrom confessed. "I can't stop thinking about Em and Gangrel, or Marth and Mo. I feel burdened, Robin. Though I am sure you can relate."
Robin nodded. "I understand. The past week hasn't been easy. We've hardly had time to collect ourselves."
She sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "But we must stand firm. If we falter now then everything will have been for nothing. We have to trust in our friends and allies, and that our bonds will be strong enough to carry us to victory."
Chrom smiled. "Glad to know that you listen when I talk about our bonds."
"What can I say," she replied. "You're a good speaker. People listen to you. It's a good quality."
"Thank you again Robin."
"I promised you back in Ferox. I'm here to support you Chrom. Two halves of a whole, right?"
"Right," Chrom agreed. "The stakes are high, but we'll pull through."
For a while, the pair sat on their log and ate while watching the other Shepherds bicker, until eventually Robin picked up the conversation again.
"You said you were thinking about Marth and Mo earlier…" she asked, "if you don't mind talking about it, what were you thinking?"
Chrom put his spoon into his now empty bowl and set it on the ground in front of him and leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him.
"… It's strange," he answered. "It's clear that they want to help us, but their motivations are a mystery. They talk about the future as if they've seen it, but I don't see how that's possible."
He sighed and massaged his forehead.
"And strangest of all, I can sense an immense sadness within them whenever we speak. It makes me want to do all I can to alleviate whatever burdens they have. I've never felt that way before, even with my sisters. It's odd…"
Robin nodded. "I actually feel much the same. I spoke with Marth briefly before the raid in Plegia. She seemed so tense and reserved. I said something to her that made her go rather pale, though I can't quite remember what it was... They're very strange girls."
Robin shivered and rubbed her hands together. Chrom hadn't realized, due to the fire and his own body's constitution, but the night had grown cold, and Robin had apparently left her cloak in her tent. Wordlessly, Chrom unclasped his cape and draped it over Robin's shoulders.
"They certainly are," Chrom agreed. "Still, I can't help but feel a connection. I hope we see them again soon."
"I- Yes. I feel the same," Robin stammered.
Chrom sighed. "I suppose we should call for lights out. We've got a long march tomorrow, and we should be ready for the coming battle."
Robin took a moment to collect herself, and Chrom watched while she did. She seemed flustered, and Chrom realized it was because of his own actions. The thought made him smile, just a little.
"Yes, I agree," Robin eventually said. She stood, Chrom's cape still drawn around her shoulders. "As much as I love the Shepherd's banter, we need to be ready. I'll tell everyone to go to bed. You should go too. You need rest most of all, I imagine."
Chrom laughed good naturedly. "Yes, mother," he said teasingly, causing Robin to laugh as well.
"If I'm the Shepherds mother, then you're their father," she said between laughs.
Chrom felt heat rise to his cheeks, but Robin seemed oblivious to the implications of what she said.
"Hah hah," Chrom chuckled, shaking his head. "Please, if anyone is the father, it's Frederick!"
That only caused Robin to laugh even harder, which drew the attention of the still arguing Shepherds.
"What's so funny?" Anna asked curiously. "You gonna share with the rest of the class?"
Chrom and Robin chuckled. "Oh, nothing important," Robin replied. "Anyway, we should all turn in. We need to be ready for tomorrow. If anyone dies in battle because they're tired, I'll be very disappointed in you!"
That drew a laugh from most of the crowd, and slowly, the group stood and began to disperse to their tents or to take over guard duty in some cases.
Chrom took a deep breath in as he stood. Tomorrow, they would march back into Plegia, and Naga be willing, they'd put an end to this infernal war.
Naga be willing, he and Robin would both survive the conflict to come. There was a lot he wished to say to her.
"Welcome!" A cheery young woman said as Lucina and Morgan entered the building near the cliffs dropping into the southern sea.
Lucina did a double take, because the woman looked just like Aunt Anna that traveled with and fought alongside the Shepherds. It was clearly one of her many, many identical sisters who shared the same name.
Borrowing a pair of horses from the castle stable master, who had been more than happy to help them once they had shown him the letter with Emmeryn's seal on it, Lucina and Morgan had reached the location Aunt Emmeryn had marked for them on the map in just four days, where they had found a single, ornate building built into the side of a rocky outcropping.
"Are the two you looking to enter the Outrealms?" The Anna continued. "Wonderful! I'm here as a guide. Do you have any questions?"
Lucina shared a surprised glance with Morgan, surprised with how casual this all was, but stepped forward anyway, and cleared her throat.
"My name is Marth, and this is my sister, Mo," she began, before Anna cut her off.
"Oh you can use your real names," Anna said. "I know you've already used an Outrealm before, or something close to it anyway. I got a message from the big lady upstairs saying you'd be coming!"
Again, Lucina felt surprised, but attempted to take it in stride.
"My apologies…" she said. "My name is Lucina, and this is Morgan. We are here to investigate this Outrealm gate on the orders of the late Exalt Emmeryn, in order to find a way to end the war with Plegia as soon as possible."
"That's better," Anna said with a knowing smile. "I know just the Outrealms for the job! One will make you stronger, so that you're capable of reaching new heights, while the other is home to legendary weapons! For a small fee, I can help you reach both!"
Morgan laughed. "That's so like you!" She said, and pulled out their coin purse.
"Oh, have we met? I don't think we have," Anna asked.
"No, that's not the case," Lucina replied. "We do know one of your sisters though, and we know how your family can be."
This time, Anna laughed.
"Fair enough," she said. "And since you obviously keep good company if you know my sister, I'll give you the friends and family discount. It's a total steal. Not many people get this honour I'll have you know!"
"Yes, we're aware," Lucina smiled. "Thank you. We'll accept your deal."
Even with Anna's discount, the trip to the Outrealm still cost them practically all of their remaining money. They would probably need to find work of some kind if they managed to stop the war so they could continue to sustain themselves.
"Hey, I was wondering," Anna said as she rummaged around behind her counter, completing their transaction. "I can sense the Outrealm magic on you, but I know you've never been through this gate, which is the only active one on this continent, as far as I'm aware. I know it has something to do with Lady Naga, thanks to her message, but I still want to know what your story is."
"Oh, well," Lucina said, once again caught off guard by the chatty merchant. "We're from the future?"
Lucina winced at how unsure of herself she sounded, and how it had been phrased like a question, rather than an answer. She had been taught better. Anna didn't seem to notice though, or even seem all that surprised.
"Ah, I see now," she said as she stood back up. "Yeah, that makes sense. It explains why the traces of Outrealm-y magic on you are sort of different. I imagine this is Naga's work, amiright?"
"…Yes," Lucina answered slowly. "We're here in the past to save the lives of our parents and stop the Fell Dragon from rising.
Anna whistled loudly. "That's a big task, especially for such young girls."
Morgan made a noise of indignation, but Anna kept talking.
"Guess that means it's doubly important we get you two strengthened up in the Outrealms as fast as we can! C'mon! I'll be your guide! Just let me lock up the shop and we'll be on our way!"
Anna moved to the front of the building and locked the door, before gesturing at the girls to follow her. She led them back behind the counter, and through a door that opened into a dark room, lit only by a pulsing blue light emanating from a familiar looking swirling cyan portal held between rocks inscribed with various magical symbols Lucina vaguely remembered from her mother's magic lessons long ago.
"Ladies, welcome to the Outrealm Gate!"
Stepping through the gate was entirely different from when they had traveled back in time, Lucina decided.
For one thing, it was much quicker. Perhaps because the gate had been destabilized during the ambush, Naga's gate in time had taken them several minutes to traverse.
This time, all it took was one step. As Lucina opened her eyes on the other side, she was greeted with a quaint little village surrounded by farmland and green fields. Not that different from one of the many hamlets dotting the landscape of Ylisse.
"Where are we?" Lucina asked their guide.
"Ah, bonjour!" A voice interrupted before Anna could explain.
"You are een ze Outrealms," the second Anna said. "A place where all your fantazees come true. We have more exotic adventures here zan you can shake ze steek at!"
"That's right!" The Anna they'd traveled through the gate with said. "Lucina, Morgan, meet an alternate Anna!"
"Oui!" The other Anna agreed. "Alternotte, as you say, hon hon!"
"I see," Lucina said confusedly. "…I think."
"Anna! You have brought zese travelers at a good time! I am een need of ze help!" Other Anna said, turning to Lucina.
"Could you destroy ze Entombed zat are pouring out of zees ruins?"
She pointed, and Lucina looked off in that direction. Indeed, there were Entombed Risen pouring from a ruined structure on the edge of the village.
"Zey have been raiding our village and stealing all ze crops from ze fields!" She continued, genuine fear on her face.
"That's terrible!" Morgan said. "Lucina, we have to help!"
"Wait a moment," Lucina asked. "Why did you even build your village right on these ruins? And what kind of monster zombie eats vegetables?"
"Zey are alternotte, too, Cherie!" Other Anna exclaimed. "Eet is ze alternotte world!"
"Can you not fight them yourselves?" Lucina asked. She had come through the Outrealm Gate with a purpose in mind, and fighting vegetarian zombies wasn't exactly high on her list of priorities.
"Moi?" Anna asked incredulously. "I am just ze poor defenseless woman pretending to have ze ridiculous accent! I cannot actually do ze fighting."
"Besides!" The Anna from Lucina's world said, "I brought you here for a reason. Fighting these foes causes your strength to grow exponentially! The experience you gain here will help you reach new heights!"
"Eet iz okay if they will not help Anna," the Anna with the fake accent said. "We shall just starve. I can peekture ze lamentations of ze women and ze children even now…"
Lucina immediately felt bad. She had been so focused on one goal that she had forgotten her other. To save as many as she could.
"We will fight them," Lucina said. "Just leave it to Morgan and me!"
"Yeah!" Morgan agreed. "We'll take care of your Risen problem, tout suite!"
"Oui! Toot de suite!" Anna exclaimed. "Zis is wonderful! I zank you! And bon chance!"
"Le sigh…" Lucina muttered under her breath at the dramatics of the otherworldly Anna. Even Owain's tomfoolery was preferable to this.
"Come, Morgan, to battle!"
Together, the sisters charged through the village to where the Risen were gorging themselves on the plants.
"Hey!" Morgan said as they ran. "Do you think they came from our future?"
"I do not know," Lucina replied honestly. "But their journey must have been difficult for them to turn to plants for food. Such unnatural suffering must be ended with all due haste!"
Lucina leapt into the air, and drove Falchion into the ribcage of one of the entombed. It screeched and wailed as it disintegrated, alerting the others to their presence, but then, something unexpected happened. Instead of attacking Lucina, they turned and ran.
For a moment, Lucina was stunned. They'd never done that before. Perhaps they really were Risen of an alternate world, with different behaviour than the ones she knew.
The whistle or Morgan's magic wind snapped Lucina out of her confusion as the glowing green blades of air shot past and cleaved another monster in two. Darting forward, Lucina intercepted their path, and jabbed another in the gut before twisting the blade and yanking it free. The Risen dissolved with a gurgled cry.
More blasts of wind shot into the crowd of monsters as Morgan approached from behind, and the Risen faltered. Again, Lucina was surprised by this behaviour. She had never seen a Risen do anything except single mindedly hunt down more victims to slaughter.
Her hesitation did not last though. If these Risen weren't even willing to fight, then they would be easier to defeat than ever. Out of nowhere, the emotions of the past week came crashing in all at once. Lucina felt her hatred of Grima and its minions bubbling beneath the surface, the sensation of her skin crawling all down her sword arm. She felt her guilt over her failures weighing her down, and the pressure of living up to her parents and keeping her friends safe tightening around her chest. It was overwhelming.
With an anguished cry, Lucina recklessly stepped inside the guard of the nearest monster, sword held perpendicular to her chest, and drove it forward.
"Wait!" Morgan yelled, but it was too late. Lucina's body was wracked with pain as if she herself had just been stabbed. Both she and the Risen recoiled, and Lucina glanced down to look at her chest. There was no wound. What had happened?
"Some of the Risen have Counter sigils!" Morgan warned. "Let me attack those ones at range while you heal yourself with Falchion's power!"
Lucina struggled to catch her breath. As far as she could tell no damage had actually been done, but her body still shook with the pain. Apparently, the Risen could sense her weakness. Their cowardly attitude immediately fell away. The one with the chest wound lurched forward, claws raised. Lucina tried to scramble backwards, but the pain still hadn't subsided, and she tripped backwards, falling on her rear.
"NOO!" Morgan yelled, and a blast of wind magic tore through the crowding zombies, but it could not stop all of them.
An Entombed loomed over her. Lucina stared into the glow of its wretched eyes peering through its patchwork hood. She berated herself for her foolish behaviour, desperately scrambling for her sword, which lay in the dirt next to her.
Just as her hand closed around the hilt of Falchion, Lucina realized that even if she managed to strike first, it wouldn't matter. The Risen had a counter sigil carved into its body. She would be wracked with more horrible pain as soon as she struck.
Desperately, she recalled her mother's lessons on magic and skills.
"Counter is a skill derived from a magical sigil carved on an amulet or etched onto the body somehow," her mother had said. "It punishes the bearer's attacker with pain equal to what was inflicted on its bearer. Typically it's only wielded by Berserkers or Warriors who can take the pain and retaliate while an enemy is stunned from the shock. Its weakness lies in the fact that it cannot activate if its bearer dies."
That was all well and good, but Risen were made of sterner stuff than ordinary men. Lucina scrambled to her knees, desperately attempting to reach a position where she could fight back.
As the Risen swung its clawed fist at her face, another memory flashed through Lucina's mind.
"The key is to draw upon our bloodline's connection to Naga," she remembered her father saying. "This technique is unique to only two families. Ours, and that of the Radiant Hero's descendants. It soothes our wounds and increases our strength, and it can turn the tide of a battle like few other Skills can." Her father had chuckled then. "Well, I can think of one Skill that might be its equal."
Aether was her only chance. Lucina's training had only just begun to cover the technique before her Father had fallen in battle, so she had never mastered it, but there was no other choice but to try anyway. Either she succeeded, or she would die in this blasted Outrealm, leaving the future to burn.
No time left to think. Lucina focused on the image of her Brand, hoping it would guide her, and lunged forward before the creature could strike.
There was a tugging sensation in her gut, and a blazing blue aura burned into existence around her as she drove Falchion into the creature's chest. The effect was immediate. Aethers flames soothed her aches while the Entombed crumbled to ash in front of her.
Between Morgan's wind and Lucina's newly discovered divine fire, the remaining Risen were almost immediately cowed back into their cowardly panic.
One attempted to flee as Lucina shakily rose to her feet, but she slashed at it with Falchion, sending it sprawling to the ground, where Morgan shot another gale of wind at it.
"Lu! I- that was incredible!" Morgan cheered as the magical winds whipped around her. "Was that Aether?"
Lucina gaver her sister a small smile as her flaming aura faded back out of existence. "I think so," she called back. She was shaken from her brush with death, but she could also feel the fresh energy that Aether had provided her with bolstering her tense muscles, and soothing her rapidly beating heart.
She straightened, and again walked towards the cowardly vegetarian zombies, while Morgan closed in from the other side. The few remaining Risen attempted to flee to either side, but Lucina darted in with Falchion and cut its legs out from under it while to her left, Morgan drew her own blade and sliced the fleeing monster's head off.
Only one Risen remained, but its path back to the ruins was clear now that Lucina had gotten out of the way. It tried to run, but Morgan was faster.
With a cry of "Elwind!" Morgan cast a gust of wind that blasted the Entombed Risen into purple smoke and dust.
Lucina sheathed Falchion, and tried to relax. Aether's flames were gone, but her body still felt like it was pulsing with energy.
"Are you alright?" Morgan asked as she ran up and caught her breath. "That was really unlike you, Lu."
"I, well…" Lucina trailed off. "I suppose that I am not feeling better after all, if you remember our conversation at Franklin's Inn."
"I think I get it," Morgan said. "You still had all your emotions bottled up inside. What's that got to do with it?"
"I think that when I saw the Risen, it all came rushing back in," Lucina replied. "All my grief and frustration exploded at once. It was foolish of me. I'm sorry for scaring you, Morgan."
"You'd better be sorry!" Morgan huffed. "Can you imagine what I would've told Marc and the others if you had died? It would've been horrible! But please don't be so hard on yourself. It's like I told you before. I'll support you with everything I have, so you don't have to worry so much!"
Lucina flinched, but smiled at Morgan anyway. "Thank you. I promise to rely on you from now on."
"That's more like it!" Morgan said. Then she winked. "You can make it up to me by teaching me Aether."
"It would be my pleasure."
"Et voila!" The Outrealm Anna interrupted. "Ze Entombed are no more!"
"You bet!" Morgan replied cheerfully. "And we're stronger for it!"
"Oui!" Anna agreed. "I saw ze pretty flashing colours! I think such heroism iz deserving of a reward, do you not agree, Anna?"
Anna from Lucina's world agreed. "I certainly think so, Anna. I bet you guys have some treasures stashed away in that big temple the Risen came from, eh?"
Outrealm Anna nodded. "Come! Let us investigate!"
Lucina shared a glance with Morgan, who shrugged in response. Dealing with the many Anna sisters was always confusing, and it appeared that fact held true even across the borders of worlds.
Lucina followed the two red haired women towards the temple the Entombed had come from. Inside, the temple looked just as ruined as it did from the outside, but at the end of the building, sitting on a dias, were three chests.
"Hmm, that's interesting," Anna said. "If I'm right about what kind of treasure you'll find in this chest, you two will be able to head back home sooner than expected. Why don't you two go ahead and open them?"
"Thank you, Anna," Lucina said. "You've been good to us. We appreciate you. Both of you."
"Think nothing of eet!" Outrealm Anna said. "Now go ahead and open zem! I am très curious!"
"What she said!" Morgan agreed. "C'mon, Lu!"
Lucina smiled, despite herself, and followed Morgan up to the dias. Morgan clambered up and reached the first chest before Lucina, opening it before she could catch up. She gasped.
"What is it, Morgan?" Lucina asked curiously.
Instead of answering, Morgan reached inside the chest, and pulled out a long, wickedly sharp sword Lucina inhaled sharply in surprise. She'd seen pictures of the blade before.
"Is that… Mercurius?" She asked in disbelief.
Morgan nodded, equally stunned. "That's not the only thing in here either," she said, and reached inside the chest again with both hands. When she stood back up, she held a bow in one hand and a lance in the other.
"I'm pretty sure this is Gradivus and Parthia," Morgan said, and Lucina's jaw dropped.
"The three Regalia of Archanea?" Lucina asked. "But those were lost a millenia ago during the schism! How did they get here?
"I know!" Morgan cried. "If only Marc were here! Or Owain and Cynthia! They'd be totally freaking out over this! Marc and I used to dream about being the ones to find them before Ylisse fell!"
"I remember," Lucina confirmed. "You used to talk about them a lot, and I know just how significant this is. These weapons have played pivotal roles in battles throughout history, and some say Marth himself wielded Mercurius before he recovered Falchion! Morgan, this is amazing! Imagine how much these could help the Shepherds!"
Lucina climbed up next to Morgan, who held the Regalia in her arms with all the care she would have for a baby. Reaching up to her neck, Lucina unclasped her cape, and gave it to Morgan.
"Here, wrap them in my cloak," Lucina ordered. "We can find a more permanent solution to carry them later. Let's open the other two chests."
Moving to Morgan's right side, Lucina unlatched the second chest, and peered inside. To her disappointment, it was just a book.
"I was expecting more after the first chest, but- Oh!"
Lucina had been about to complain, until she lifted the book into her hands. Lucina was not as gifted with magic as her mother or siblings, but the rush of power she felt when she touched the tome was immense. In a way, it was like holding Falchion. She could feel the power of Naga within. She searched her memory for just what this tome could be. Surely her lessons would have covered a spell book with such a connection to Naga.
Morgan gasped behind her.
"Lu! That's the Book of Naga! Nobody has seen it since the days of the Jugdral Holy War thousands of years ago!"
"How can you tell?" Lucina asked. "If nobody's seen it for so long, how could you possibly recognize it?"
"Can't you feel the power coming off it? Not many tomes have that kind of power. Plus, it's exalt blue and has the Brand of Naga on the cover. I don't see any other possibility for what it could be."
Lucina nodded. "That makes sense. That would make this more valuable than even the Regalia. Assuming we can find a wielder of course. If I remember my history lessons correctly, the Book of Naga and other weapons of the Jugdral crusaders were just as picky about their wielders as Falchion."
"I don't think that will be a problem in this case," Morgan replied. "Lemme see it?"
Lucina handed the tome to Morgan, and she quickly opened it up and began examining the contents.
"Well, I can read it," Morgan said. "That's a good sign. I figure we're capable of using it because of our connection to Naga. In the old days, the Crusaders needed to have a certain amount of what they called "Holy Blood'' in them to be compatible with a Holy Weapon. Those with the blood of Naga wielded this tome. Since our family is connected to Naga at several points in our history, I'm willing to bet my tactics primer on us being able to use it!"
Morgan turned the book around, and showed Lucina an open page. Inside, Lucina saw a spell matrix and a description of the magic.
"Can I try it, Lucina? Please?" Morgan begged. "This is so cool!"
Lucina sighed. "Just be careful Morgan. The Holy Weapons powers are immense."
"Relax!" Morgan replied. "I'm not even gonna cast a spell. I'm just going to channel my magic through it, so it'll be fine!"
Without waiting for an answer, Morgan held the page open, and turned her palm upwards. She whispered, "Naga," to immediate effect. A plume of rainbow hued flames erupted in the palm of her hand, and Morgan stared intensely, transfixed by the beauty of the divine dragonfire.
After a moment, Morgan shut the book, and the magic dissipated. She looked back at Lucina.
"Jackpot," she said smugly, and Lucina began to regret handing one of the most powerful magic tomes in the world to her impulsive younger sister.
"Incroyable!" Outrealm Anna said behind them, and Lucina jumped. She had nearly forgotten about their guides.
"It iz a shame I never investigated zese ruins! I could've turned quite ze profit, no?"
"No kidding," Anna replied. "But there's no use crying over missed opportunities. C'mon! Open the last chest! The suspense is killing me!"
Lucina rolled her eyes, but moved to open the last chest. After finding such powerful legendary weapons in the first two, Lucina's expectations were high. Compared to the other two, however, the contents were lackluster.
"Well? What is it?" Morgan asked curiously as she carefully secured the sacred tome in her pack.
Lucina reached inside and pulled out several different items, from charms, to books, to vials. There were even a couple of shields tucked inside.
"If I am correct, it's a collection of items that make their wielders more powerful. Draco shields, speed wings and the like. Not quite as amazing as the other chests, but still useful. If we gave these to the Shepherds, they would become even more unstoppable."
"You're right," Morgan agreed. "Not as cool as a legendary weapon, but still super useful."
"Now to figure out how we're going to transport all of this back to Ylisse…" Lucina pondered aloud. "I doubt we can fit it all in our saddlebags."
"I can sell you a cart if you like," Anna offered, but Lucina grimaced.
"As nice as that would be, we hardly have any money left. I doubt we could afford it."
"No worries!" Anna replied. "We'll call it a loan, and you can pay it back when you do have the money. I figure you two are the type to be good about those things, considering your connections to the Divine Dragon. Your family is typically the heroic type across all the outrealms I know of."
Ignoring the implication that Anna had met versions of them or their relatives from the Outrealms, Lucina stepped down from the dias and shook each of the Anna's hands.
"I would appreciate that," Lucina said. "Can I send the money to you with one of your sisters?"
"That'll work," Anna confirmed. "Now come on. Let's get you packed up. Thanks for your hospitality sis! I'm going to take our guests home now."
"Ze pleasure was all mine," Outrealm Anna replied. She turned to Lucina and added, "be sure to come again! We never know when ze Risen might return."
Lucina nodded. "That can be arranged. Next time we'll bring more allies as well. Goodbye Anna, and thank you."
"Au revoir!"
With somewhat of a struggle, Lucina and Morgan managed to carry their spoils back to the village and the Outrealm gate that would take them back to their own world.
"Hey, Lu," Morgan asked as they walked. "When we find Marc, can we give him Mercurius? I want to apologize for what I said to him, and with an apology present as awesome as that, I don't see how he could be upset with me."
Lucina laughed a little. "That sounds like a good idea, Morgan. Actually, I wanted to ask you if you would keep the Book of Naga."
"Really?" Morgan asked. "You'd let me?"
"Well, aside from Owain, Aunt Lissa, Father, Marc and I, you're the only one who can possibly use it, at least, you're the only one who's actually tried it and proven it's possible so far," Lucina admitted. "It's possible that the magic might not even respond to anyone else, even within our family. Falchion operates that way. Actually…" Lucina trailed off, coming to a realization.
"We've never tested to see if you can wield Falchion, Morgan. And that is useful information we should've discussed by now."
Morgan laughed. "Can you imagine how strong a warrior wielding both Falchion and the Book of Naga would be?"
"Yes, that would be rather impressive," Lucina agreed. "But I was more concerned with practical reasons. If I'm not able to wield Falchion, having someone else around who's capable would be invaluable."
"What, like, if you're busy?" Morgan asked good naturedly.
Lucina sighed. "Like if I'm dead, Morgan. That was almost the case today. There's always a risk I won't come back from a battle."
Morgan paled under Lucina's gaze, and she felt guilty for putting this on her sister's shoulders, but at the same time, she couldn't ignore the very real possibility.
"Look, Morgan, I-" Lucina started, but Morgan interrupted her.
"Oh look! Here we are at the Outrealm Gate!" She said and ran ahead up to where Anna was waiting.
Lucina sighed again. "We're not done with this conversation," she muttered, but hurried to catch up anyway.
Together, they passed through the Outrealm Gate back to the one the world they had come from with Anna, and the merchant helped them hook their borrowed horses to the cart that would carry their spoils back to Ylisse. Lucina could only hope they reached the Shepherds in time to make a difference.
Morgan tried not to feel guilty about how hard they drove the horses in their rush to reach the Shepherds. Morgan did not know much about the early stages of the Ylisse-Plegian war, as she had been born well into the conflict, but she knew it was hard fought and bloody. The Shepherds, Ylissean Knight order and Feroxi warriors needed all the help they could get.
To that end, she and Lucina drove in shifts, allowing the other to rest, and driving from dusk to dusk for the next two days, allowing them to make the return trip to Ylisstol in half the time they had taken to reach the Outrealms.
They had planned to briefly stop in the capitol and ask to borrow fresh horses from the castle stable master and ride all the way to Plegia. She had expected the city's atmosphere to be subdued and melancholy, so Morgan was extremely surprised to find the city in a state of celebration as she pulled up to the city gates
"Lu!" She shouted after being waved through by the guards. "I mean, Marth, wake up!"
Lucina had been sleeping in the cart, sprawled uncomfortably over the tarp covering their loot, but she sat up when she heard the sound of Morgan's voice. Her hair stuck up at odd angles as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.
As soon as she realized what was happening, she climbed over the cart and into the driver's seat with Morgan, and together they tried to make sense of the huge crowd of people gathered along the main road of the city.
"What's going on?" Morgan wondered aloud.
"Haven't you heard?" a civilian told her. "The Shepherds defeated the mad king! The war is over!"
Morgan looked at Lucina, and they stood in the seat of the cart, looking over the crowd. They saw the Shepherds march through the street in a parade. Some were injured, Morgan could see Aunt Miriel Supporting Uncle Vaike as he hobbled along on a limp. The expression on his face was completely the opposite of a wounded man though. He grinned broadly and held his battle axe aloft for all to see. She saw Aunt Nowi riding on Uncle Donny's shoulders, and an exhausted yet still smiling Uncle Ricken riding behind Aunt Maribelle on her horse. Every single Shepherd had returned alive, and triumphant.
"Morgan, look," Lucina said.
Morgan looked in the direction her sister was pointing, and smiled. At the front of the parade, her mother and father walked arm in arm, with smiles so bright they were almost blinding. As she watched, Chrom raised their linked hands skyward in a gesture of victory, and Morgan caught sight of a ring gleaming on her mothers finger. She smiled, and saw that Lucina looked equally happy.
A thought occurred to her at that moment. "So…" she asked Lucina. What are we supposed to do with all this stuff?"
Fun fact for this chapter. Originally I was planning on having the girls do the series of DLC with Old Hubba and the Einherjar, and bring the cards into play for the Shepherds. While writing this chapter, I decided against it for a couple reasons. I didn't want to overly complicate things, as I've been working on checking my writing ambitions before I kill my own motivation with a story whose scope is beyond my capabilities. The Einherjar cards and what I had planned for them would've either ended up complicating things in the story pretty greatly, or left them an unfollowed plot thread which would've been unsatisfying for me and for readers as well. I also didn't want to inflate this chapter or write multiple on the subject of them because I'm already behind schedule. Because of this I compressed the several DLC outrealms I wanted to cover, those being EXPonential Growth, Infinite Regalia, and the Champions of Yore series, into just this one chapter. I cut Champions of Yore, and made Infinite Regalia part of the reward for Exponential Growth. Speaking of rewards, I'm really excited about these weapons. They're super cool pieces of FE lore and should be a lot of fun. Hopefully Morgan won't cause too much trouble now that she has access to one of the most powerful magic tomes in Fire Emblem History.
What is the schedule you may ask? Well my goal is to upload once a month, but I'm no longer satisfied with that pace and I feel like I'm giving myself too much time and therefore am not working on this enough as I'd like. My new plan is to try and get a chapter out roughly every two weeks, on the 15th and 30th/31st of every month if I can help it. I make no promises, but that's my new goal. Maybe a tighter deadline will help me focus up.
I'm aware that the title is a bit of a misnomer, but I thought it was funny so there it is. Anyway, I tried to include a lot of the stuff I've gotten feedback on over the last couple chapters. Hopefully I delivered. Also, I used Nero as the Exalt before Emmeryn's name because he was never given one and the real life Nero was also a jerk. Again, if you recognize any of the lines the characters used in this chapter, it's because I borrowed them from the game. I appreciate advice and feedback, it helps me improve my writing and that's what I'm here for, so as always, I'd love some constructive criticism! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and will look forward to the next!
Also, I've got another Outtakes from the Outrealms for you this time! It's very on brand with the theme of this chapter, and Marc fans should be especially happy with this one! This time we explore the meeting of the children of my Robins in the three save files on my physical copy of Awakening, with a bit of "Challenging Fate" twist.
Outtakes from the Outrealms 3; Fire Emblem: Three Save Files
Lucina wasn't sure what she had expected from this outrealm. The gate had dropped them into a dark, cavernous expanse, with three branching paths that each led to their own gate, one of which Lucina and her siblings had come through.
"Well that's anticlimactic," Marc said. "There's nothing here except more Outrealms."
"Yeah," Morgan agreed. "Like some kinda nexus. I bet the other two gates connect to worlds very similar to ours."
"Perhaps you're right," Lucina said. "However, we're not really here to explore worlds like ours. We're here to search for Einherjar cards for that old coot Hubba because father was too nice to say no. We're not going to find any in worlds like ours. We should turn back."
The twins looked like they were about to argue, but a voice coming from one of the other tunnels interrupted them.
"Gawds, you two are getting on my nerves!"
"Severa?" Lucina asked in confusion.
Three people had appeared from down one of the two remaining tunnels. The one in the lead was clearly Severa, but also… not. Rather than the muted green colour she had inherited from her father Stahl, Severas hair was silver. In fact, she looked a little bit like Lucina's mother. Behind her were two familiar looking individuals with bright red hair.
Severa jumped when Lucina called her name. "Lucina? What are you doing here? And who's that with you?"
"It's the twins, of course," Lucina replied in confusion. "My younger siblings. Who are those two with you?"
"What? The twins are MY siblings," Severa retorted. "Cynthia is your sister!"
"What are you talking about?" Lucina asked, now absolutely baffled.
"Are you daft? Did you hit your head or something? Honestly, and you-"
"STOP!" Four voices shouted at once. Both Morgans and both Marcs blinked in surprise at the sound of their voices overlapping, and then all shook their heads at the same time.
"It's clear that we're from different worlds," Lucina's Marc said.
"Mhm," Severa's Morgan agreed. "It seems like we come from worlds that are similar, but where the Shepherds married different people. Our parents are swapped."
"Pretty trippy stuff," Lucina's Morgan said.
"You can say that again," said Severa's Marc. "Let's start over. Hi! I'm Marc, and these are my sisters, Morgan and Severa. Nice to meet you!"
Severa huffed and crossed her arms. "This still doesn't make any sense," she muttered.
"Who says it has to?" Lucina's Marc replied. "Great to meet you, Marc. My name is also Marc, and these are my sisters, Morgan and Lucina!"
Lucina waved shyly, while the two Morgan's enthusiastically shook hands.
"Judging by your hair colour 'other me', your mom must be Cordelia," Lucina's Morgan guessed. "I can't even imagine not having our mom be our mom. So weird!"
"You want to talk about something weird, look at you guys! You have to be related to Chrom, obviously, but I don't understand how he could possibly, well, you know, with Robin, them both being men and all."
Lucina's confusion grew even more as she watched the two girls converse. "I beg your pardon, Morgan, but Robin is our mother. She's a woman."
"Weeeeiiirrdd!" Both sets of twins said at once.
Lucina felt the beginnings of a headache coming on, so she leaned against the wall behind her and sat down on the floor. After a moment, Severa sat down next to her while their siblings got together and began talking animatedly.
"Just when I think my life can't get any weirder, this happens," Severa muttered. "I suppose that makes you my sister too, on some weird technicality. Gawds, I'll never be able to look at my Lucina the same way after this!"
Despite herself, Lucina chuckled. "Tell me about it," she said. "For a moment, I thought you were my mother. With your silvery hair, you look almost just like her."
Severa glared at her, before bumping her shoulder against Lucina's playfully. "Some things never change. You're just as weird as the Lucina from my world. Who even says something like that?"
"My apologies Severa, I didn't mean-"
"Forget it," Severa huffed.
"You are quite like the Severa in my world as well," Lucina replied after a moment. "And it looks like the only thing that's different about the twins is their hair colour. And the brand of course."
"I'll say," Severa agreed. "Those damn Exalted genes are powerful."
They shared a laugh, but before Lucina could say anything else, two more voices floated down the remaining corridor leading to the last portal.
"Oh my gawds…" Severa gasped. "Now there's three of them!"
Another set of twins poked their heads into the room, looking around curiously. This set was much more different than either Lucina's or Severa's siblings though. They were shorter for one thing, and maybe even a little younger. They had pointed ears that stuck out from their heads far more than normal humans, and their hair was a soft minty green colour. Each had a stone pendant around their neck.
Lucina facepalmed. If there was one thing that could make her already energetic siblings even more chaotic and playful, it was the boundless energy of a young Manakete.
"Hello!" Six nearly identical voices said at the same time. They laughed together, and the two newcomers were quickly absorbed into the conversation. Lucina wasn't even sure they had noticed her and Severa sitting against the wall.
Lucina watched all six of them interact with curiosity. She caught glimpses of the conversation. Her siblings were catching the third set of twins up to speed on the situation.
Privately, Lucina thought to herself that her sisterly instincts were flaring up. Seeing them interact together warmed her heart in ways she didn't know how to describe. When Lucina glanced to her side, she saw an expression on Severa's face that suggested she was feeling similar emotions. Surprisingly, Lucina found that idea made her a little jealous, and even competitive, but she quickly quashed that feeling deep inside herself. She could share her adorable baby siblings, if only for a little while.
It wasn't long before Severa's siblings drew the young Manaketes attention to Lucina and Severa, who had been sitting quietly and watching the whole time, and the green haired twins gasped.
"Lucky!" The new Morgan whined. "You guys have big sisters? No fair!"
"I wish we had an older sibling too!" Marc complained
"Awwww," Lucina and Severa cooed simultaneously, before they stood and walked over to the group.
"We can be your big sisters too," Lucina said reassuringly.
"Oh aren't you two just the cutest with your little pointy ears!" Severa gushed. She caught herself a moment later though. "Don't tell anyone I said that!" She snapped.
The Manakete twins blushed, but eagerly threw their arms around Lucina and Severa anyway.
"Hey!" Lucina's Morgan said indignantly. "Save some sisterly affection for us!"
"You guys get sisters all the time!" Manakete Marc said. "You can share just this once, can't you?"
Morgan blew her bangs out of her face, and she bore a jealous expression, but she didn't complain. Lucina smiled and pulled her and Severa's brothers into the hug as well. A moment later, Severa pulled the red and blue haired Morgans into her hug.
"So," Manakete Morgan asked. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Searching for Einherjar cards for that old Hubba character," Lucina responded. "Father was quite annoyed with his pestering."
"Oh, same!" Manakete Marc replied. "I guess that this Outrealm is a dead end though, as cool as it is to see versions of us from another world."
"I suppose you are correct," Lucina agreed. "We should probably be getting back before our parents start to worry."
"She's right," Severa agreed. "I've already been responsible for these two dweebs for long enough. I want to hand them back off to Mom and Dad already."
"Rude," Severa's sister muttered. "Anyway, can we visit again? After all the fighting is over maybe?"
Immediately, all the other Morgans and Marcs agreed with her, and turned to Lucina and Severa to plead their case.
"It'll be fun!" Lucina's brother said.
"We can introduce each other to our parents!" said Severa's brother.
"Yeah!" Manakete Morgan cheered. "Just imagine the look on your Robin's faces when they find out they married the daughter of the Divine Dragon! Hilarious!"
"Relax," Lucina interjected. "Of course you can come visit after your fight is over. We'd be glad to see you again!
"Hold on a minute!" Severa interrupted. "Did you just say what I think you said?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, Our mom is Tiki."
Manakete Marc giggled. "Grandma was so mad at dad when she found out he was courting her daughter. It was a really funny story to hear about."
"That's it," Severa decided. "This has officially gotten too weird. I'll see you again some other time, but I'm out of here!"
Severa grabbed the hands of her siblings and marched back down the corridor she came from, disappearing back through the Outrealm Gate.
"How is finding out her dad married Tiki any stranger than finding out that her dad is a woman in another world?" Morgan asked, to which nobody had an answer for.