"Meeting in the war room! Right now!" Anna called out repeatedly as she quickly moved through the halls.
Sharena turned away from the source to me. "Sounds urgent; let's go." I nodded as I started following behind her.
When we arrived, Anna began. "Good, you're here. Matthew just got back. The World of Conquest is next on our list."
"Conquest," Alfonse breathed out. "But we freed Prince Xander, did we not?"
Anna nodded. "We did."
Matthew shook his head. "Then, he went back. Let Princess Veronica put him under contract again. This time with his siblings and all their retainers."
"Maxis, we're going to need back up on this one," Anna said as she tossed a small thatch bag to me.
I caught it and opened it. "Marbles?" I took one out to examine it better. It was one of the large ones used for shooting at smaller ones, and the inside of it was decorated in a miasma of color.
"Those are orbs. Meant for summoning Heroes, as you did. I'd like for you to use them before we head into battle."
"Sure."
We arrived at the summoning grounds sometime about noon. I didn't know what I was doing, but everyone else expected the opposite. I turned Breidablik over in my hands, looking for some sort of magazine release button. Giving up on that, I grabbed the knob at the bottom of the weapon and pulled. It instead twisted and spiraled open, revealing a glass tube with a hole for the orbs. It was a creative mechanism, but the magazine was stuck to the gun. If I wanted to change magazines, I would have to break something. Though the relic wasn't designed by anyone with any practical firearms knowledge, was it? More than likely, it wasn't for combat at all. I pushed in some orbs until it held its maximum of five shots. I slid the magazine shut and scanned for a target. There was none, but I was thinking like I was at a shooting range. I should've been thinking like a god who pretends to know how to use a gun.
I aimed at the hole in the tree engraved into the tombstone in the middle of the summoning grounds. A mess of words, but that's what happened. I pulled the trigger. A flash of light erupted from the barrel, and five colored lights swirled their way into the hole. A red, glass sphere about the size of a softball materialized in the hole. A visible circle of white smoke blew up and away from the tombstone. Blue light passed through the engraved tree and shot upwards in a blinding flash. Once we could see again, a scantily clad, pink-haired woman with a sword at her hip stood in front of the tombstone.
She let out a relatively soft shriek and covered her face with her hands. "Wha—?! Where am I?! Please don't look!" I admit that I was already looking down and away from her once I noticed her lack of clothing, but that was of my own volition. I generally didn't look at people, though I cast my gaze towards the others because I didn't know what I was doing.
Alfonse stepped forward. "Lady Olivia, we apologize for summoning you so suddenly, but it is of the utmost urgency."
"Wh-what? Who are you? How do you know my name?"
"My name is Prince Alfonse of the kingdom of Askr. Our world connects to many others and records the history of each of them, including yours. We beg of you to aid us in our time of need. Even one Hero's skills would be a great boon to our kingdom. Will you join us?"
"Hero? No, I'm just a dancer. And not a very good one…"
"No way!" Sharena interrupted. "You're a great dancer! I just know it!"
Olivia fidgeted in place and looked down at the ground at the praise. When she looked back up, her eyes widened. "Lord Virion?!"
Virion stepped forward. "Hello, Lady Olivia! I apologize for not making my presence known before; I'm sure a familiar face would have done wonders to ease your beautiful face. But I'm afraid that we must skip the pleasantries for now; Prince Alfonse's words ring true—and I know that your dancing skills are superb! So will you be joining us?"
"I-I suppose…"
"Thank you," Alfonse breathed out. "I can assure you that you will be among allies."
Olivia moved away and stood with all the others, on the end behind Virion. I turned back to the tombstone and readied Breidablik. I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. I pulled it back, examining it for a jam, but then I remembered that it was made by someone that shouldn't have anything to do with guns—whoever that was. Pulling the "mag" "out," I found that all the orbs were gone and a liquid identical to the inner decor clung and moved around at the top of the tube, ignoring gravity completely. I loaded more orbs, only able to load four this time. I readied it again and pulled the trigger. Light shot forth, this time into a blue ball. After the blinding light disappeared, another woman appeared. She looked similar to the other, wearing less than optimal clothing, had long, long aqua blue hair, and amber eyes. Not to mention her bare feet and the lance in her hand. "Ah! What's—? Where am I?"
Alfonse gasped nearly inaudibly. "Lady Azura," he spoke as he lowered himself to one knee, everyone else but me following suit after a moment. "We apologize for summoning you here so unexpectedly. However, we are in desperate need of your help. Our kingdom, Askr, is at war with Embla. Our world connects to many others, and the Emblians intend to enslave all the Heroes in each of them. Your aid would be of great help to us."
"I see… I will help then."
"You will? Thank you so very much!"
Azura moved to stand with the others, though she cast glances in just about every direction. I turned back to the task at hand and dropped the mag. The four orbs were missing, but the liquid remained. I loaded four more orbs and readied myself. The sphere was green this time, and an aged soldier in black armor appeared before us. He sat atop a horse, and an axe hung from his hand. He simply cocked an eyebrow drastically at his new situation.
"Sir Gunter," Azura spoke before Alfonse could. "It is good to see you here!"
"Lady Azura? Yes, it is. What's going on, may I ask?"
"It seems that this group needs our help. I believe that we can lend our aid."
"I see… Alright, then." He moved towards the group and cast his own glances around.
I loaded four more and created another green sphere. A muscular man with a great mustache and his own axe appeared. "Hm? What's going on?"
"Sir Bartre," Alfonse spoke. Rinse and repeat. "Will you aid us?"
The buff man crossed his arms. "Hm. Can't say I ever imagined being called to battle again, but I wouldn't mind it. Let's do it!"
Alfonse thanked him as the burly man approached. I turned my attention back to summoning. Opening the mag again, I cocked an eyebrow at the doubled amount of magic liquid in the tube. I loaded the last three orbs from the pouch, satisfied that I had the perfect amount. The final summoning sphere was gray. A red-haired little girl in a white dress and holding a staff appeared before me. "You're—!"
"Huh? Ah! You're the people that saved me!" Without warning, she dashed towards me and hugged me, her arms wrapped around my hips. "Thank you!" She looked up at me. "You're trying to save others, right? I wanna help you!"
I looked back at the others. Everyone was just as, if not more, surprised than me. Sharena was the first to approach. "Princess Maria! We would be honored to have your help!"
I moved away, and Anna came to join me. "Something wrong?" she asked.
"She's just a kid," I said lowly.
"I know, but Heroes are Heroes."
"You're going to let her fight?!"
"No way! We're not monsters!"
"Then, we should send her home if we can."
"I would agree, but she wants to help. And besides, who's to say that she won't be in even more danger in her home world? Just keep her by your side; you're both noncombatants. On top of all that, we could use a healer period."
"…Fine."
"Thank you." Anna turned to everyone else. "Listen up, everyone! I know it's sudden, but we're headed into battle! The royalty of Nohr needs our help!"
"Pardon," Gunter spoke. "But what do you mean? The Nohrian royals are formidable fighters, and their retainers are always at their sides. What could have befallen them that would call for outside aid?"
"I'm afraid it connects to why we need your help," Alfonse replied. "Our kingdom is at odds with the neighboring empire of Embla. They seek to enslave as many Heroes as possible and destroy our kingdom. I mean no offense when I say this, but Prince Xander has voluntarily entered himself, his siblings, and their retainers into one of Princess Veronica's insidious contracts."
"What?" Azura gasped. "Why would Xander do such a thing?!"
"We don't know either," Anna spoke. "But there's only one way to find out, and that's to free him."
We emerged from the gateway in a field with a river splitting it. Across said river was what I assumed was Xander's siblings, A dangerous-looking lavender-haired woman on a wyvern wielding an axe, a blond boy on a horse with a tome clutched to his person, and an even younger blonde girl on a horse clutching a staff. Xander himself was across another bridge. "You came," he spoke. "I had hoped that you wouldn't, but I couldn't deny the fact that you would. Then come! Attack us when you are ready!"
"What's the plan, Maxis?" Anna asked without facing me.
"You're the tactician?" Azura asked me fairly aggressively.
I raised a shoulder and let it fall.
"Yep!" Sharena answered for me. "And a great one at that!"
"I wish to face Xander," Azura spoke. "I must know why he gave himself so easily to the empire."
I looked at her, scanning up and down. "You're not armored."
"I know that, but I'm more than capable of facing him. I know him well."
"Anything can happen on the battlefield."
"…Fine."
"Sharena, you'll face him."
"Got it!" the blonde said.
"Alfonse, protect Virion from the wyvern rider. Virion, take care of the tome wielder."
"Understood."
"I should inform you that their names are Camilla and Leo, respectively," Gunter told me.
"Got it."
"And what of Elise?" Azura asked. "The troubadour."
"She'll flee."
"I wouldn't count on it, but I hope so…"
"And what about the rest of us?" Anna asked.
"On standby."
"Ahhh," Virion sighed. "Just one lesson and he's already a master of his craft. The mark of a fantastic teacher!"
I watched as everyone moved to start the battle.
Alfonse moved into a small wood with Virion lying in wait just on the border. Sharena readied herself before the bridge. Xander charged, and his horse skidded to a halt before Sharena. He swung his sword downward, and Sharena lifted her shield. The two metals clanged together, and Sharena thrust her lance up at Xander. The rider pulled his horse to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike. Sharena sidestepped and thrust her lance at Xander again. This time the prince wasn't quick enough to evade, and the lance dug into his ribs. He swung his sword down, catching the girl on the arm, leaving a deep cut. Sharena stabbed again, but Xander guided his horse away. He charged again, and Sharena once more blocked his strike. She thrust her lance up and punctured his lung. Xander let go of his reins to grasp at the wound. His horse moved unexpectedly, and he fell to the ground in a heap.
