9:30 Guardian ?
Wisps were the first time the mages noticed as they went into the upper levels. Small wisps with no thought of their own were floating freely in the air. Wynne and Talen looked at each other with worry. Morrigan took a deep breath and steadied her staff.
"We are entering a place where the veil is extremely thin. We must be on our guard." Morrigan warned. Everyone got the message and got their weapons out. They climbed the stairs and were in a spacious room that seemed to glow everywhere. In a corner of the room, there were glyphs traced on the ground. The air surrounding it seemed to crackle with energy. The slight green shine was extremely worrying.
"This feels like a fade rift." Talen whispered before the glyphs glowed and the center crackled green. Soon it pulsated and out came four undead and a tall Abomination roared at the group. Levi ran over where the stairs were and everyone got into formation. It unfortunately didn't work as the demon plowed through the group, causing them to scatter in different directions. Sten grappled with the monster which lifted the 7ft tall giant and threw him against the wall.
Alistair and Eren tried smashing it in between their shields but the behemoth grabbed their shields and tossed them as well. It ran toward the mages and Leliana until it got smashed by Derek. The arm was dangling until a sick green glow seemed to surround the unholy creature. The arm had healed.
"How is this even possible?" Derek wondered before the Abomination tackled him away. Zevran wasn't sure how to attack something that was pure muscle when Nia grabbed his shoulder.
"He's being healed by those glyphs. Let's kill the undead first and focus on that thing later." Nia said. She did a whistle and Alfred tackled one of the undead. Zevran followed her lead and took down another one. Nia did it to a third.
As they were attacking the undead, Alistair, Eren, Sten, and Derek were all doing hit and run tactics to confuse the large demon. Leliana was focusing on vital points on the body but even her arrows seemed like pins to the monster. Morrigan and Wynne let out cold and lightning attacks but none seemed to wear it down. The fade beast didn't know who to attack while the mages and Leliana had to keep on their toes and move so the enemy wouldn't focus on them. Talen unleashed a few flame glyphs on the ground and they exploded as soon as the giant walked on it. That was the wrong call because it only made the brute focus on Talen and only on him.
It reared back and went down on all fours, launching itself towards him. Talen narrowly avoided his first tackle but the Abomination punched into the floor, redirected its body, and flung itself toward Talen. It hit Talen's abdomen and flung him into a worn bookshelf. Talen gasped as his back hit the bookshelf, the air knocked out of his lungs before the pain rocked him as the bookshelf toppled over him. He let out a grunt of rage before succumbing to the pain.
"Talen's down!" Eren shouted as he put up his shield in time, blocking the demon's powerful arm. Leliana looked at Talen's body and got closer to the large fade creature, shooting arrow after arrow. Sten pushed his greatsword through the creature and heard the first grunt of pain. He wondered why only now it felt pain than before and looked over to the glyphs. Two undead were on the ground while the other two were still fighting Nia, Zevran, and Alfred. The savage fade creature reared back, pushing itself into Sten until they hit the wall. Sten's armor bucked inward and he felt the coppery taste of blood in his mouth before the thing took itself off the sword and headbutted Sten, bringing him down as well. Leliana miscalculated her distance when the brute focused on her after Sten. She grabbed her waist dagger and narrowly avoided a tackle only for the it to grab her by the back of her neck and knocking her face first into the floor.
"This thing won't die!" Derek growled as he swung to get the beast away from Leliana.
"It will soon! We just need to get these undead! The glyphs are powering it and healing it!" Nia shouted as she stabbed the undead in the chest.
"Keep at it then!" Eren shouted. Alistair and him smashed their shields into the creature. It growled and grabbed Alistair by the hair. Derek went to smash it only to have Alistair thrown at him. Morrigan put her all into transforming into wasps and attacked the thing. It thrashed around, trying to swat Morrigan away. Wynne had formed another paralysis glyph on the ground, hoping to catch the it as she did with the Horror last time. Morrigan led it to it and flew away at the last second. As it stepped into it, Zevran killed the last undead.
But it didn't work. The behemoth roared and the glyph disappeared. Wynne gasped as it broke through her magic. The monster rushed at her, grabbing Wynne by the throat. Alistair did a battle cry and stabbed his longsword at the demon's back. It threw Wynne away and crushed its elbow on top of Alistair's head. He crumbled to the floor, sword clanging next to him. Morrigan flew into the Abomination again as Eren got his weapons ready. Alfred nipped at the brute's feet while Zevran used a flurry of backstabs to weaken the it. Derek went and smashed his hammer into the side of the thing.
The savage roared in pain but it would not die. It grabbed Eren's shield and forced it from it. It bashed Zevran on his head, knocking him down to the ground. Zevran felt the warm flow of blood and noted the spinning room before passing out. Morrigan had to reform or else she would run out of mana. As soon as she did, the beast threw the shield into her, lacerating a part of her stomach. Morrigan gave out a cry of pain as she reached for the potions in her pack. She drank one and smeared a poultice over her stomach. It stopped bleeding but the blood she did lose caused her to get dizzy. She crawled to the wall, knowing that she couldn't fight anymore. Derek gave out a battle cry as the demon grabbed his hammer and they were locked in a battle of strength.
Nia couldn't move. Nearly everyone in the group was knocked unconscious or couldn't fight. She was stuck in place, watching her friends slowly get beat by this monstrosity. She had hoped that once they killed the undead, that the monster would go down. Things in reality did not reflect the games. Alfred came up to her and barked loudly, snapping Nia out of her reverie. She pushed down her fear and brandished her weapons.
The Abomination cried out in pain as Derek wrestled his hammer away from it and bashed it against the ribs of the monster. It swiped and cut into the eye of Derek. He screamed in pain as the fade creature pushed him away. Nia could tell that the thing was on its last legs. Eren only had his sword, Nia had her daggers, and Alfred stood with them. They all rushed it with Eren and Alfred giving focus on the front and Nia stabbing and punching on the back.
The beast sent out small attacks but none of its rushing from earlier. Alfred ripped a part of its lower leg while Eren was trying to get a closer kill hit. None of them realized that the energy from the still open portal resuscitated the undead again. They crawled toward the glyphs, one for each one…
It pulsed a sick green glow and it gave an eerie laugh. It grabbed Eren's head in its hands and tried to crush it. The other members stirred from where they were as Eren screamed in agony. He did a final awkward slash upward, severing an arm but losing his sword. The creature raged and Alfred took down an undead from a glyph.
It hovered over Eren and Nia launched herself at it. She did a wide gash on its back. The brute howled, turned around, and slashed at Nia. Her chestplate was destroyed as its claws tore at it. Nia crouched low and began evading. Alfred got rid of another Undead, two more to go. Nia escaped barely with small wounds but the demon only had its focus on her. She hastily took off her chestplate as it was only dragging her down. She rolled on her heels and was behind the behemoth again. She stabbed both of her daggers deep into it. It reared back and thrashed like a wild bull causing her to lose her grip.
The other members started to stir as the fight raged on. Eren clutched his head as he saw the savage throw Nia to the other side of the room. She rolled before getting up. Eren saw his family sword and started to crawl toward it.
One more undead.
Sten got back up, spitting out blood, and having a dizzy spell. But he got up and fumbled for his sword. Nia ran back to get her daggers as she saw it hover its hand over Eren. She gasped and willed herself to go faster. The monster kicked Eren and laid its foot across his chest. Eren gasped as the beast pressed down. Nia grabbed her daggers from its back, tore them off and kept on stabbing. The Abomination roared in pain.
No more undead left.
It seemed to sense its predicament. It looked menacingly at Eren and it slowly inched its way closer. Nia stood between it and Eren. She raised her daggers and decided to rush it. The demon had enough. It brought its hand up and focused all the energy to its claws. Nia slashed at it, hoping to look for a weak point. The giant reared its hand and aimed for the place where Nia didn't have any protection.
Her chest.
Time stood still for Eren as his face was splashed with warm blood. The claw of the creature was sticking out of Nia's back. His eyes widened as Nia's daggers fell to the floor. Nia brought her hand up to her chest. The demon smirked and threw her body toward the glyphs.
"NO!" Eren screamed, shaking away his dizziness, grabbing his sword and plunging it into the monster with Sten rending the head from its body. The demon turned to ashes and Eren ran toward Nia's body. He turned her over and she was barely breathing.
Her dark brown eyes looked at him in fear. She gasped and gurgled, tears flowing from her eyes. Eren had his hand over her wound and looked to the healers. They were both still out cold. Where was his potions? Could potions fix this?
She raised her hand up and Eren took it in his own. She gasped and Eren could see straight through her. It took all his willpower not to throw up.
"I…don…don't…want...t…" She gurgled and her hand grew limp.
"No…please Maker no." Eren sobbed as he drew Nia's body closer to him. Sten looked in sadness as he knows how it feels to lose a valued friend. Morrigan and Leliana both got up from where they were knocked out, woken up by Eren's loud sobs. "Why? Why must the Maker take everyone from me?" Eren growled.
"No…" Leliana shook her head as she walked closer. Alfred whined and howled in despair.
"Morrigan…can't you do anything?" Eren whimpered.
"I…am no healer and she is already…" Morrigan sighed and looked away. Eren's tears freely flowed, mixing with Nia's blood.
Another crackle came from the fade tear but Eren' didn't care. There was nothing left inside of him. Nothing more to grieve over. A ball of light came from the tear, a very large, extremely shiny ball of light. Morrigan, Leliana, and Sten all readied their weapons until the ball of light began to extend until it had a human shape.
After it stayed in its shape, the light began to dim. The ball of light transformed into a recognizable but very different person. Leliana gasped as the others brought down their weapons. Eren looked up only to see Nia and yet it wasn't her at the same time.
"Nia?" Eren wondered.
"No. I am not her. I am her failure." The spirit person looked sad. "There isn't much time. Your world holds on to your souls before they go from the beyond. I can save her."
"You are an unknown spirit, why should we trust you?" Morrigan glared.
"Do not talk to me child of Flemeth. This is not somewhere you can stand in." The spirit person shot back. Morrigan scoffed. "Place her body in the center of this altar and I will revive her."
"This is not a wise decision." Sten stated.
"I don't care." Eren said, carrying Nia's limp body in the center of the four glyphs. He closed her eyes and prayed. "Please save her." He looked to the fake Nia.
"I am truly sorry." It said as he knelt to Nia. It held its hands over Nia's chest wound and all four of them were blasted back as green and white energy came forth. Nia's body glowed while Morrigan gasped.
"He is harnessing the energy of the direct link of the fade to bring her back! The ambient energy is pouring into her!" Morrigan shouted.
"Is that bad?" Leliana asked.
"We shall see." Morrigan closed her eyes as the shine was too much. Sten had a firm grip on his greatsword, awaiting to see if this creature needed to die. Eren had his eyes closed as he prayed that Nia will come back.
In the long hours of the night, When hope has abandoned me, I will see the stars and know, Your light remains.
I opened my eyes and all I could see was white light. Weren't we outside? I thought we were going to go through the caves tomorrow. I did feel something underneath so I got up. I wondered where I was. There was white for as far as I can see.
"This is so weird. Where am I?" I said.
"Good, you have not crossed." I heard someone say behind me. I let out a small shriek as I saw that it was me and yet not me. It was hard to pick out the differences. For one thing, the clothes made sure to make it look like I was androgynous. My face was different too, well not my own face but the face of the other person.
"Who are you?" I asked. The person shined until it transformed into a ball of light. "Halo! Wait, Halo? Why are you here? Why are we here?" I asked. Halo looked down. "Halo?"
"You don't remember?" Halo wondered.
"Remember what?" I asked. Halo sighed.
"You were at Soldier's Peak. There was an incredibly strong demon there…You died." Halo explained. My heart sank to the floor. I let out a light chuckle.
"I died? I mean…no…It's…if I died, wouldn't I have gone through the fade or something like the first time? You, you would have stopped it right? Right? Halo?" I began to ramble. Halo didn't say anything. "No…No!"
"I can save you but at a cost." Halo said, motioning me to follow him.
"What do you mean at a cost?" I asked.
"I must expend my energy to bring your soul back to your body as well as tying it. It is a difficult process which will utilize nearly all my energy on you. You will not be able to go back home anytime soon." Halo described. The weight of his words hit me and it almost didn't seem real. "But for now, I can at least give you this one thing." We were met with a door. Halo motioned me to open it and I did.
It was my home. It was morning too. I looked at Halo and he nodded his head. My eyes widened and I gasped, running toward the bedroom. I held my hand over the door, my heartbeats booming in my ears. Was this a dream? Was this real? What will I find beyond this door? I didn't have to wonder as the door opened by itself.
There stood my husband Louis. The bags under his eyes grew. Although he still had a belly, he wasn't as fluffy as he used to be and there were more grey hairs peeking through his black hairs. He stood stock still and I couldn't control my tears.
"Puppy? Can you see me?" I whimpered.
He stood frozen then shakes his head. "Not this dream again. Spare me from this feels trip and wake me up now." He said solemnly. I hesitantly reach out and I could feel his body. He flinched when I did that and Halo floated behind me.
'This is no dream.' Halo replied.
Immediately his eyes welled up with tears. "Oh my god. OH SWEET YEVON!" He yanked my arm and embraced me and sobbed into my shoulder. "W-where were? How? Wha?! Kitty I missed you so much. Please tell me you are staying."
My heart wrenched when he said that. I couldn't help but start sobbing into his chest. We eventually couldn't keep standing and we both ended up sitting on the floor, crying into each other. That must have awakened the children.
"Papí what happened?" I heard a young boy's voice said. Louis looked back into the bedroom and I wanted to cry into the floor. My son had grown so big. He had my eyes but now his masculine features made him look more like his father. He was thin, wearing only a t shirt and his undies.
"Ace? Papas?" I wept.
Louis sucked up his emotions and laughed. "Papas it's Mamí! You remember Mamí right?" Ace looked from his dad to me. I gulped down my emotions and held out my arms for a hug.
"Papas?" I breathed out.
"Mamí!" Ace cried out happily and ran into my arms. I exhaled sharply, hugging my son close to me, running my hands through his short spiky hair.
"Let me get the Turkey!" Louis said, going into the next room.
"Mamí don't cry. No cry." Ace said soothingly.
"It's hard not to." I cleared my throat. I carried him into the living room, afraid to let him go. I sat on the couch and Ace sat next to me. He grabbed my arm and made me hug him. Louis came back with a young girl walking in front of him. Last time I saw Alice, she couldn't even stand on her own. Now here she was walking. She looked just like me but with crazy curly hair. She had on a pajama dress and stopped at the end of the hallway, looking at me.
"Alice! It's Mamí!" Ace cried out.
"Mamí!" She giggled and ran to me. She rubbed her head against me, making small content noises. She got up the sofa and sat to the left of me. My two babies were with me. Everything felt right. Louis stood with his phone and took a picture but frowned.
"What the hell? Why isn't it showing?" Louis wondered. Halo floated near him.
'It is only her soul. She has not come back.' Halo described. Louis looked at him with a glare.
"What do you mean she's not back. She's sitting right in front of me." Louis got heated. The kids looked nervous. Halo sighed.
'Come with me.' Halo said and they went back into the bedroom. Both kids got up and each got their own tablet, showing me all the videos and games they had there. Alice still had trouble speaking while Ace missed out on a few but could word his sentences. This was happiness in its true form. Eventually Halo and Louis came out from the room.
'I have explained your circumstance. You only have today. Enjoy it.' Halo said, floating inside my chest. Louis sniffled and wiped his eyes.
"Hungry?" He asked while clearing his throat.
"Starving." I breathed out. He went to the kitchen while the kids were glued to their tablets. He took out the bacon, bread, eggs, and cheese. He took out various ingredients that I recognized were for pancakes. I put a pan on the stove and turned it on.
"No kitty, let me do it." Louis said.
"I'd rather do it together." I said, trying my hardest not to cry. He nodded while wiping his eyes. I made the eggs while he focused on the bacon and mixing the pancake mix. Once the eggs were cooked, I separated them into four plates, no cheese on mine. He put the bacon on paper to soak up the grease while getting pancakes ready.
"Ah comer!" I said. The kids shouted happily as I put the plates of food down and they both sat in their chairs. I put one of their tablets up so they can watch it. I cleared the dining table and Louis came with two plates with bacon and eggs. He set up another plate with pancakes.
"So, besides the whole dying again thing, what's been happening?" Louis asked, taking his first bite.
"Oh man, this is going to take a while." I laughed.
I started telling my story from when I was dumped in the harbor of Denerim. He had trouble accepting that I landed in a video game. He did believe in the multiverse so I had that to go off of. I moved to Rael and how he saved me. Louis could see the sadness in my face but decided not to pry at that time. I explained that I saved Oren and got employed at the Couslands. I told him about the fighting and he remarked on my excellent body. "I bet your ass is so firm I can bounce quarters off it!" He roguishly grinned at me.
We flirted after that but then I got back on track. I told him about the extreme training, how Eren was a ginormous dick, and what eventually happened. I broke down when I told him that I killed a man. Ace even consoled me and told me it was ok. Louis took my hands into his and consoled me. "It was necessary to survive. You know how I feel about people in general. In your situation I would do the same. Don't worry my kitty, I don't see you any less of who you are." He kisses my hands.
"I probably killed a guy but I'm not sure since I walked away." He laughed. It made me laugh too.
I talked about the massacre and how I failed to save everyone, about how we fled to Denerim. I told him what I did for Rael and what he said to me after.
"He's a fucking asshole for doing that do you. Too bad I can't knock some sense into him." Louis scoffed.
We found Duncan and recruited Derek. We traveled to the Circle and found Talen. I had waited in Lothering for Eren. I convinced them that I should join them. I described how the darkspawn looked. How we moved to the Circle and that Halo was making me visit the fade periodically. The dreams, the state of the tower, finding out Eren's feelings. He wasn't too happy with that.
I told him I killed the pride demon. He patted me on the back and told me how proud he was. I told him about Zevran and he disliked how he was fond of me.
"I mean, I get it. You're really hot. You've always been my sexy kitty but you're MY sexy kitty. No one else's." He commented.
I told him about Flemeth and her cryptic warning. Then I remember what she said to me in the Korcari Wilds about a choice.
There comes a path, a choice, to stay or leave. If you can't make the choice, then it will be chosen for you.
Was this the path that Flemeth warned me of? Because I couldn't make the decision before Soldier's Peak to go home, I am now forced to stay? Louis saw my distress and held my hand. I didn't want to let go. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay.
But just had Halo said before, I was only a soul at this moment. My body was back in the Dragon Age world, not here.
I skipped what happened with Flemeth and told him about the travels to Soldier's Peak. That was all that I could remember.
"Did Halo tell you anything?" I asked, holding my now cold cup of coffee.
"Just ran by the fact that you got killed in Soldier's Peak and he's trying to revive you. But damn, my poor kitty. I wish I was there with you so I can beat the shit out of anyone that tries to hurt you." Louis said.
"Thank you puppy but then the babies! What will we do?" I said.
"Oh noes, the babies!" He dramatically said. I went to sit down on the sofa and the kids came to me every now and then. They were too busy going off and playing. Louis and I sat next to each other just talking about everything and anything.
He explained to me how they found my van, totaled with blood in it. The blood matched mine but I was nowhere to be found. After half a year, they had listed me as deceased. He kept the house with the money from my life insurance. He's had a difficult time raising both of our kids. He had plenty of help from our families and he made sure to show the kids how I looked like. He always reminded them that I loved them.
He pulled out his phone and showed me all the photos he took in case one day I came back. From his words, he didn't believe I was dead. I saw birthdays, all of the holidays, parks, and everything in between. I saw baths, sleepy faces, crying faces, silly videos of my babies. I saw how Ace grew taller and taller and more rambunctious. I saw how my daughter became unexpectedly lady like, gossiping with her stuffed toys.
We moved to the bedroom when it became their nap time. I laid there watching how my son fell asleep. My daughter was in the other room, sleeping by herself in her crib. After my son fell asleep, I watched him. He is just the same baby I remember all those years ago. I went into my daughter's room and burned her face in my memory.
Louis and I stayed out in the room. Feeling content with our company. We sat together, hand in hand. Giving each other kisses here and there. We had 2 hours together. We made the most out of it. Ace woke up eventually and separated us and sat between us. Then my husband had to get my daughter. We ate dinner of pizza. I never realized how much I missed the food from home.
It started to become darker and I knew that I didn't have much time left. I made the bath for my kids and they had a lot of fun. I dried them, dressed them, and did everything I could to remember how they looked like. Night settled in and I started to get sleepy. Louis realized that I was going to go soon. Halo came out of my chest and my kids swatted at him.
'There is one more thing. In order to bring her back, it would be best if we made an anchor. Your necklace.' Halo said. I took it off. 'Bring everyone here.' We all gathered together. 'Place your hands on your necklace, all of you.' We all did though my kids were laughing. The necklace shined before it became normal. 'Keep that here and we will find you again.'
"It's getting late." I rubbed my eyes. I helped my husband get the kids ready for bed. We moved my daughter in our bed. It was cramped but I wouldn't have it any other way. Louis and I held hands, holding our babies between us.
"I'm sorry I can't stay puppy." I cried in my pillow silently.
"You'll come back. I know you will. I'll wait for as long as it takes." He sniffled. I nodded. I couldn't fight back the sleepiness and I closed my eyes.
The next time I opened them, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. I was cold and I was in a cot, alone.
I was alive, feeling dead inside.
Beta'd by FearaNightmare and Syutaku (Thanks for your support! 3 )
Yeah this chapter got away with me but it was awesome! I've been planning this for ages! Also I am very sorry about all the cursing. My husband got to write his own dialogue and he has a sailor's mouth. This chapter hit me hard as I was writing the part about my kids. I won't deny, I did cry.
Thank you deadtrooper for following! Thank you FearaNightmare, Syutaku, and Chimera Spyke for reviewing!
Guest: lol Basically this is one part of a saga that I've been writing for 2 years now. The first story I uploaded was Days of Our Lives, the second which follows Dragon Age Awakening is Days of Our Time, the most recent was about Dragon Age 2, Days of Our Past. I am writing all of the games but encountered really bit plot holes and details that wouldn't make sense unless I expanded it. That's how Days of Our Start came out and it will be continued with another Dragon Age Awakening story to replace Days of Our Time and that will be the last of my fix it fics before continuing Days of Our Past.