Hoï matey~
Chapter 3 is a go!
In this part, you and Gim are gonna get some answers on what's going on.
And you'll also meet another character that you weren't expecting to see this soon. :P

By the by, a big thank you to the fanfic author Gone2GroudEX. Some years ago, I read his fanfic called "Asleep" (non-updated since 2015) while I was studying in Quebec City.
My fanfic is HEAVILY inspired by his. From the writing to the "self-insertion functionalities". It won't be exactly the same and I want to avoid some complications that I could find in his story. Like, the tons of OCs that we can barely remember.
Like I said in my first chapter, I will limit myself to 6 OCs : 4 of my friends, my future child and me.
The thought of creating childrens for EACH of my friends sounded like a given, but since most of them will marry a wife that already have a child by default, I decided to only make one for myself.

If eventually I find out that 6 OCs isn't enough, maybe I'll create some more... we'll see.

Thus, it's show time!


My feet finally touches the ground.
Nah landed in the middle of a small grassy field near a cliff.
Which is…

"So, that's the rendezvous point?" I ask my draconic niece.
"Not exactly" she answers.

She crouches forward and covers her head with her manakete's wings.
What is she-? Oh!
She's transforming back!
Her scaly draconic skin turns to giant pink petals and the flower blossoms with Nah standing in the middle.
She shakes her head and looks at me with a smile.
So. All that happened, huh?

"Thanks a lot, Nah. And great job out there."

Her grin widens.

"Oh! That was nothing" she says shyly. "There, follow me."

I'ma SO gonna pat her on the head one of these days.

She walks past me and toward the cliff.
Or more precisely, toward a large rock.
And I follow her.

Once behind the rock, I see a big hole hidden.
It's not too big, but subtle enough.
Nah crawls in first and I follow.
It doesn't seems to be a problem for Nah because of her small stature.
But I stand at above six feet and four inches tall…
So, the crawling thing is a bit more demanding in my case.

I see my niece standing back on her feet in front of me.
Huzzah.
I was just getting used to the hole's constricted conduct.

"Mission complete!" I hear her say out loud.

Phew!
I stretch out my arms in the air and look at my surroundings.

"… Woah…"

I can't help but being amazed at what I see.
The whole structure is made of rock.
It's like a single room with an opened gap through the cliff, toward the ocean.
I can see that the rock structure hasn't been worked, so this place has probably been carved by nature itself.
It reminds me of 'Argun Drewniana Stopa's' forge in the 'Thorgal' comic books.
But instead of a forge, a simple camp settlement has been disposed around.
Two back-packs, a blazing campfire, a Severa, a bunch of blankets and-

"You sure took your time!"
"Gyeh!"

I jump back and-

"Ow!"

… hit my head on the ceiling of the cave
Okay.
Note number one.
The ceiling here is lower than I anticipated.
Note number two.
I am facing TWO children of the future.
Nah and…
A raven-haired Severa.

The daughter of Lon'qu, I take it.

My 'niece' walks toward the young warrior.

"Sorry, Severa. I had to wait for nightfall before I could sneak in the village, which took more time than I anticipated."
"And because of that, the dinner is all cold now!"
"Aw, don't worry. Food is still food no matter its temperature, right?"

Debatable.
Anyway, time to feign ignorance.

"So, um… who's your friend, Nah?"

The young manakete turns toward me with a grin.

"This is Severa!" she happily answers. "She's here to assist me on my mission!"
"Your… mission?"

Severa frowns her brows.

"I'm only here because staying at the base is WAY too boring!" she replies, bitterly.
"I… see."

Wait. No.
I DON'T see!
What does she mean by "the base"?
They have a base?
Not that it's mentioned in the game or…
Hold it!
Objection!
They can't have a base!
All the children of the future were separated the moment they arrived in this time-line…
Even Lucina appears only once Robin will wake up.

"Um, hellooo? Already spaced out?"

Oh! Right!
Severa and stuff.

"I apologise" I say. "It's just that… I'm still very confused about what's going on right now…"
"Well, you sure are lucky that we are here to enlighten your ignorance."

Rude.
But to be expected, coming from Severa.
My niece turns toward her.

"Severa! You know that he just arrived here last night! We were told that it would be expected."

The young lady warrior crosses her arm and turns her head away with a "mph!".
That's when Nah crouches toward one of the bags in the cavern and pulls a scroll out of it.
She then comes back to me and hands me the said scroll.

"Here! We were ordered to give you this once you were… well, 'secured'."

'Secured'…
What am I?
Some kind of high-valued package?
In any case.
I take the scroll in my hands.
There's a red seal with a "BK" in its center.
'BK'? 'BK' for what?
'Burger King'?
Anyway, I unfold the scroll…

"Dear Gim,

Welcome to the royal Kingdom of Ylisse, old friend. If you are reading those lines, then it means that my young apprentices, Nah and Severa, have succeeded a part of their mission. To find you and secure you. The second part of their mission will be to train you in the art of combat.
In the timeline we come from, your lack of training as a manakete was a huge part of your downfall. By spending time with Donnell and the villagers, you built your physical strength and stamina through the hard occupation of a farmer, but you never learned to fly or use your breath if only too late.
With Nah, you will be able to fight like a true manakete and face the future challenges that you're already too familiar with.

On a side note…

Don't even THINK about getting romantically close with either Nah or Severa.

Their fathers would probably kill you. And no, I'm not telling you who their fathers are, for they might not even be who you think they are.

As you might already know, those 'informations' are very dangerous in this world. And even though you may know a lot about the coming events, there are still some surprises that must be kept away from you so that the future of this timeline may keep a certain balance.

So, please. Do not bother my apprentices about the future, or their past. For your sake and theirs.

Until the day we meet,

Your old friend,

Lord Black Knight"

… 'Lord Black Knight'?
'Old Friend'?
Am I supposed to know him?
Or perhaps, I will meet him?
I raise my head toward my niece and Severa.

"Who is Lord Black Knight?"

Just by mentioning it, the two young ladies crisp their lips and avoid my stare.
Oh… is that a spoiler?

"We were ordered not to tell you." answers Severa.
"Yeah…" continues Nah. "Lord Black Knight was specific that any information about the future should be kept to a minimal. Especially about his identity and… any of our parents or their children."

Yeah… figured.
But still… that Black Knight… is he…?

"The Black Knight of legends? The one who fought Ike the Radiant Hero?"

Both Nah and Severa makes an 'X' with their forearms.

"Nope." they answer in unison.
"Oh. Got it…"

Alright…
In any case, if they won't tell me about anyone…
As MUCH as it is BURNING my CURIOSITY.
I might ask about the other important thing at hand.

"So, you girls are here to train me?"
"Eyup!" my niece answers.
"And for how long?"
"According to Lord Black Knight, the townsfolks of the island will be raided by bandits in less than three months."
"So, you're gonna train me for three months?"
"Not exactly. Severa and I are going to train you to the best of our capabilities until we see you fit of continuing on your own."
"Is there a problem with that?" Severa bitterly asks.
"Huh… No, why?"
"Mph! Nothing! I was expecting you to prefer a real soldier to teach you how to fight instead of two kids."

Sigh…
Severa is tensed.
Luckily, I am blessed with the patience to deal with her temper.
… I just hope to have enough of that said patience for the next three months…
I sit down on a rock, facing the young girls.

"Look. You girls have been through a lot. That I know as much. You have been living your life through fear, battles, survival… and I can barely imagine how it was."

Nah's expression turned to sadness as she looked at the floor.
Severa kept staring at me with her jaw trembling.
I try my best serene smile to ease them a bit.

"But now, you are here. In a peaceful and green Ylisse. It still has its share of brigands and wild animals, but the danger is little compared to what you have faced before."

Now that I think about it, I chuckle a bit.

"I might be older than you, but I am still the one who needs your help."

I point at the scroll.

"You girls are going to train me to be stronger than I was in your time. How could I reject that? I mean… of all the people that could help me, I am really glad that it is you two."

The cave turns to silence, except for the campfire's crackling noises.

"Uncle Gim…"

Nah is standing up. Tears are dropping from her eyes and her shoulders are shaking.

"Can we… really prevent all this?"

I raise my hand above her and pat her gently on the head.

"Together, we will."

Her eyes are over-flowing with tears. She passes her arms around my neck and hugs me as if she would never let me go.
I… think I have a piece of dust in my eye…

I turn toward Severa, looking for her answer. But she's already walking toward the opening of the cliff with her arms crossed.

"Severa?"
"You should both just eat and get to sleep" she answers. "We'll start the training very soon tomorrow, so you better get ready!"
"… gotcha."

Severa is a good girl.
She doesn't mean any harm when she gets stingy with people…
But that's a self-defense mechanism she developed with time.
If I want to gain her trust, I'll have to give her some space.
Tonight is a night of tears and joy for these two child.

Our… children…

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Oh crap.

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Oh crap am I gonna be a father oh shit one or two kids but who's the mother WHO'S THE MOTHER OH CRAP OH CRAP OH CRAP.