A Family Reunion
Author's note: I greatly recommend listening to the song Adventure's End from Dream Team when you read the line "So get the hell out of my way!"
I also greatly recommend listening to the song Family from Super Mario Galaxy when Selena dreams of a book.
A looming silence filled the air as Caeldori waited with baited breath for the man to do something.
"Silence is exceptionally rude as well." The man spoke.
"Who are you?" Caeldori asked as her heart began to beat faster and faster.
The man turned around and revealed his face; Caeldori immediately recognized it from her textbooks on Nohrian history. "You're… Garon..." Her voice became faint; all her studies told her that this man was an unstoppable force of destruction and chaos.
"Close. I'm how Kamui perceives him. His deepest nightmare, if you will." Garon said as he looked down at the red-haired woman opposing him.
"Listen, just let my friend and I leave this place, and I won't harm you." Caeldori figured that maybe violence could be averted. Unfortunately, she was not dealing with a king who respected logic and due process.
She was dealing with a king whose entire kingdom had been founded over one concept: bloodshed.
"He looks rather peaceful in there, so I think I shall keep him as a trophy." Garon snapped his fingers again, and the crystal rose until Caeldori could no longer see it.
"Why are you doing this?" Caeldori's voice rose in frustration.
"Because, child, I wish to own Kamui's body. With him out of the way, nothing is stopping me from wresting control over him. I could destroy his entire army from the inside, and nobody would know." Garon's tone was exceptionally cold. "But, I suppose you don't want that to happen."
In the blink of an eye, Garon plunged his fist into the large organ and pulled an ax out of the instrument. The organ shattered to pieces like a fallen house of cards. The ax had a gold tint to it, and it looked like it had recently been polished. Before Caeldori could even process what had just happened, the maniacal king was upon her.
Garon's massive figure loomed over her as he swung his clenched fist towards her jaw. She dove out of the way and scrambled to her feet. "Odd. Normally, that works." Garon tightened his grip on his ax. "I suppose you enjoy doing things the hard way."
"What kind of one-sided duel is this, anyway? I don't even have a weapon!" Caeldori attempted to reason with the king. He tilted his head back and let out a hearty laugh.
"The kind of duel where I win." Garon paused his laughter and charged the girl. He swung his massive ax towards her, and she nimbly jumped over it. While she was mid-leap, Garon's massive hand grabbed her by the neck and held her above the air. "Stand still and fight, worm!" He lifted her above the ground and laughed uncontrollably as she struggled for air.
"Caeldori!" A voice shook the ground like an earthquake. Caeldori gazed up and noted the purple crystal had descended, and Kamui was now awake. He raised his hands and summoned a bolt of lightning that struck Garon.
The king was knocked back and lost his grip on Caeldori, who scrambled until she was at a safe distance from the king. "Take this!" Kamui spoke as he raised his hands again. A silver naginata materialized in Caeldori's hands.
"Insolent child!" Garon yelled as he clenched his open palm. Kamui let out a wail of pain while he shut his eyes, and his prison rose out of view. "The nerve of that boy…" Garon looked to his side, which gave Caeldori the chance she needed to strike.
She leaped into the air with a scream and slashed the end of her spear across the king's pale face. He let out a loud grunt as he clutched the side of his head. Blood soaked his black fingers.
"This scenery bores me!" He spoke before he rose off his feet. Caeldori watched in terror as Garon rose to the center of the throne room and outstretched his arms. The entire area turned black, except for a crimson Nohrian symbol shining with an ominous glow behind Garon.
Caeldori watched with anticipation as the symbol disappeared, and the pitch-black scenery changed into a familiar location; a location that she had spent eighteen years growing up in. This was her deeprealm.
The setting sun was partially covered by the log cabin that stood behind Garon, and Caeldori felt a warm breeze waft by. "I'm going to break you, child. Little by little, piece by piece, until the only thing you can perceive will be the sound of your own screams." Garon spoke as he slowly approached Caeldori. She took the advantage and slashed at his armor.
Her naginata bounced off his armor as if she had struck stone, and Garon relished the look of confused fear in her eyes. Caeldori struck again, and for the second time, her blade rebounded off his breastplate.
Caeldori paused while she drew her weapon back, and glanced up in fear at the twisted smile on the king's face. Garon pulled his fist back, clenched his fingers, and struck Caeldori directly in the gut.
Caeldori was launched backward and sailed through the air before colliding with a tree. Intense pain shot through her body as she wailed.
Outside Kamui's mind, Selena leaned over her sleeping daughter and felt her heart skip a beat when Caeldori let out a moan.
"What's going on in there?" Her tone sounded rather frantic as she grabbed Nyx by the shoulders.
"I have no idea! Something in there is too strong for Caeldori to handle!" Nyx's eyes were shifting their focus around the room until they calmed down. "We need to send someone to her aid." Caeldori was currently writhing in the bed.
Without saying a word, Selena nodded and stood next to the bed where Kamui and Caeldori rested. Nyx walked to her side and raised her palm to Selena's face. She unfurled her hand and released a cloud of purple mist into Selena's eyes. The red-haired woman stumbled briefly before collapsing onto the bed.
Caeldori huddled against a tree in fear as Garon stomped through the forest. After a long, agonizing wait, he discovered her.
"There you are." His voice was rather cold as he grabbed her by the arm. Caeldori lost any sense of motivation as her face brushed against the dirt while Garon dragged her out of the forest like a dead animal.
The king released her arm from his frigid grip and walked forward. Caeldori slowly got to her feet and grabbed her weapon with both hands before coughing dirt out of her mouth.
"What's wrong with you?" She spoke in between coughs.
Garon ignored her question completely as he rose into the air. He repeated the same ritual from before, and now Caeldori found herself in the forests of Izumo. Garon landed on his feet while Sakura trees swayed in the distance, and moonlight reflected off his black armor.
"Let us see how you handle… this." Garon snapped his fingers and took a step back as purple smoke began to materialize before him.
A large, green monstrosity emerged from the smoke and let out a blood-curdling roar. A brown mask with holes adorned its 'face', and its arms were bound to its chest with metallic chains. The faceless let out another muffled cry and shattered the chains that kept its hands tied, and Caeldori noticed that it was about twice her height. "Break her!" Garon yelled while the faceless began to charge Caeldori.
She turned around and stumbled towards the forest while her heart beated in her ears. The sound of the monster's footsteps grew closer and closer, and Caeldori could practically feel its cold breath on her shoulders. She felt like a fox outrunning an army of bloodhounds.
Caeldori was yanked backward by her clothing and pulled backward. The faceless pulled its head closer to hers and let out a scream as it wrapped its free hand around her body. It stomped back towards the entrance to the forest with her in tow.
Garon stood imposingly with his ax brandished and reflecting the moonlight. Caeldori felt as though this was the end for her, and watched as the faceless pressed her body to the ground. "Well done." Garon clapped slowly. "You may go now, faceless." He spoke before pressing his foot onto Caeldori's back.
The faceless disappeared into a puff of smoke, and Caeldori felt Garon's cold, metallic shoe press her body on the ground. The king leaned over her and relished the look of pure terror in her eyes. "You're going to perish here." He said.
Caeldori let out a whimper as he wrapped his cold fingers around her neck; Garon lifted her off the ground. "But first, let's see how you survive dropping off into the Bottomless Cany-"
Before Garon could finish that statement, a figure leaped into the air and struck Garon across the jaw with its fist. He reeled backward in shock and dropped Caeldori to the ground. She scrambled away from the mad king and towards the figure who had just saved her life.
"Mother?!" Caeldori's eyes widened as her mother's two ponytails flapped in the wind.
"Get away from my daughter, you pig!" Caeldori felt a calming embrace as she wrapped her hands around her mother's frame. Selena patted her daughter on the back. "It's okay, mother's here now…"
"Ah, Camilla's insufferable retainer. How nice of you to join us." Garon cracked his neck and settled his gaze on Selena. His tone was rather indifferent about the current affairs.
Caeldori pulled her head out of her mother's embrace and threw Garon a menacing stare.
"It's two-on-one, Garon. Just give up." Her tone was exceptionally cold, which surprised Selena.
"You think I became a king by surrendering?" Garon laughed before he rose into the air. For the third time in a row, he changed the scenery into another familiar location.
"Why are we in the mess hall?" Selena looked around in a confused manner at the tables covered with plates.
"He has this thing with changing the scenery to Kamui's memories," Caeldori stated before clutching her spear. "But that doesn't matter."
Unfortunately, the scenery did matter, as Garon lifted a table above his head as if it were a pebble, and hurled it towards Selena and Caeldori. They both dove out of the way, rolled on the ground, and landed back on their feet.
"Just stay still, cowards!" Garon yelled as he grabbed another desk. His focus was entirely on the counter, which gave Selena an opportunity to strike.
"Let's get this over with!" Selena let out an animal-like scream as she drew her blade. She leaped over a table and slashed her blade in a horizontal manner across Garon's visage.
The king yelled in pain as he doubled back. He writhed in pain as he clutched his head. He removed his bloodied fingers back from his head, and Caeldori noticed that his left eyelid was now shut and covered with blood.
"I could kill you with my eyes closed!" Garon began to charge Caeldori, who promptly ran out of the mess hall. Selena ran after the two into the moonlit training yard outside and watched as Caeldori sprinted away from the king, who was chasing her like a wolf chasing a rabbit.
An idea began to form in Selena's mind, and she began to enact it when she placed herself directly in Caeldori's path.
"Caeldori, vault off of me!" She placed her open hands down on the ground. Caeldori and Garon grew closer and closer.
"Get back here!" Garon swung his arms up and down in a rhythmic manner as he shortened the distance between himself and that insufferable girl.
Caeldori placed her feet atop her mother's open palms and was vaulted directly into the air. Selena dove out of the way and watched as Caeldori aimed her spear downward and at the back of Garon's neck.
The king let out a wail of pain as he felt a spear wedge itself into his back. Caeldori gripped onto her naginata for dear life, as the spear continued to stay lodged into Garon. She was suspended above the ground as Garon attempted to shake her off. "Get off of me!" He screamed as he grabbed the naginata behind him. Garon grunted in pain as he slid the spear out of his back and tossed it towards Selena like a child discarding a broken toy.
He expected Caeldori to still be holding onto the spear as it sailed through the air, but instead she was directly behind him.
"Got you now!" Caeldori spoke loudly before clinging onto his neck. She held onto his back for dear life as he thrashed around like a spooked pegasus, and she moved her hands up to his eyes.
Garon cried out in pain as Caeldori moved her thumbs over his eyes in an attempt to gouge them out. He jerked his hand towards her neck and grabbed her by the jugular.
He pulled Caeldori off his back and held her above the air while glaring menacingly with only one eye.
"You are such a pest!" Garon spoke before hurling Caeldori towards Selena, who watched all of this unfold from the sidelines.
Caeldori screamed as she hurled through the air. Wind lashed her face as she closed her eyes and braced for impact. Selena positioned herself in the trajectory of her daughter and bent her knees. She waited, and felt as though a rock hit her in the chest when Caeldori collided with her.
Selena's feet brushed up against the ground as she was propelled backward. She firmly held onto Caeldori's frame until she stopped moving. The spot where Selena was had marks on the ground that lead to where she was now tightly holding her daughter.
"I've got you." She spoke gently before helping Caeldori onto her feet.
"Thank you," Caeldori spoke before giving her mother an affectionate stare.
The sound of Garon yelling broke the touching moment, and their attention was drawn to the floating king. Again -as if he enjoyed doing it- the scenery transformed, but now it was something the two had never seen before.
Vast expanses of green meadows stretched out in every direction, and the entire landscape was flat. Garon stood underneath the shining sun and gazed toward the blue sky above. He raised his arm and snapped his fingers. A large purple crystal descended from the sky.
"Kamui!" Selena called out as she noticed who was encased in the crystal.
"Not a single step further, or the boy gets his spine crushed." Garon's voice had regained its cold, calculating nature as he raised his open palm to the sky. Caeldori and Selena glared at the king, but they made no intention of moving. "That's what I thought," Garon spoke before clenching his fist into a ball.
"No!" Caeldori screamed as green energy floated out of Kamui and into Garon. Kamui wailed in agony as Garon began to laugh. He continued to laugh, even while he started to grow. Only when he had stopped enlarging and was now the size of a castle, he stopped his laughter.
"Your bonds made you weak!" Garon's voice boomed as he slowly brought his massive foot over Selena and Caeldori. Before he could stomp them out of existence, his foot was thrown backward from an unknown force.
Caeldori had tossed her amulet towards the foot, and it was now projecting a blue bubble that enveloped her and her mother.
"What do you desire?" the Temple God boomed, which startled Selena.
"Please," Caeldori spoke with a soft, frail voice. "Give us the strength to fight that monster…"
"As you wish." The voice spoke before the locket exploded into a blinding flash of light. Garon attempted to stomp the two again and again, but every attempt was fruitless against the blue bubble. Caeldori and Selena shielded their eyes from the flash of light, and began to doubt whether they would survive this.
Subaki leaned over his sleeping wife while a sense of dread built inside his body. He knew that Selena and Caeldori would be victorious, because they were his family. There was no way that they could lose. Selena would never lose. Never.
Or could she? Maybe she and Caeldori had met their match. Maybe they were not going to make it.
Regardless, Subaki got to his knees and leaned over Selena.
"Please come back safe..." Subaki murmured to his unconscious wife as he held her cold hand in his palms.
He began to wish for the safety of his wife and child; both of which he loved dearly.
A single house stood outside the Ylissean Castle, and inside the house, a man sat at a table. He was busy reading a book while cradling his infant daughter on his lap, when his wife emerged from the front doorway.
"Hey, Robin." Cordelia wore a straw and had a plucked radish in her hand. "Did you just feel a wave of… I don't know how to describe it… dread?" Her eyes gave him a worried look while he stood up. Robin held Severa against his shoulder and squinted his eyes at the sunlight pouring in from the window.
"What are you talking about?" The very instant Robin stopped talking, he shuddered as a wave of negative thoughts flew into his mind. All of a sudden, he started to worry about Severa; the one who had left their house about two years ago. "Oh, what in Naga's name was that?"
"I don't know." Cordelia stood before him and had a concerned look in her eyes. Like her husband, she also felt incredibly concerned about her daughter's well-being.
"Wherever Severa is, I just hope that she's doing alright." Robin placed his hand on Cordelia's shoulder as they huddled together.
They began to wish for the safety of their daughter, who they loved dearly.
"Are we there yet?" Yarne whined as he fought the urge to fall flat on his face. Sweat trickled down his forehead, and he cursed his fur coat as the sun beared down on him.
"Not yet, honey." Morgan chided him as she scanned the mountain range in the distance. She had always wanted to go hiking, and today was the day that she told Yarne they were going to go surmount the tallest mountain in Breakneck Pass, so she had no idea why he waited until now to complain.
Suddenly, what felt like an arrow of pure emotions shot through her as she hunched over.
"You okay?" Yarne asked as he hurried to her side and helped her stand.
"Y… Yeah, I'll be fine." She sounded rather faint as a single word made itself the center of her thoughts. "Severa…"
Morgan fell to her knees and couldn't stop thinking about Severa. She desperately wanted to know if her sister was okay, and it troubled her as to why she was having these thoughts.
She began to wish for the safety of her sister, who she loved dearly.
As Caeldori and her mother watched in fear while Garon attempted to break their barrier, they felt a comforting wave of relief wash over them. They weren't sure where it came from, but it almost felt as though people who cared for them were hoping for their safety.
Confidence practically flowed through Selena's veins as she yelled out to Kamui.
"Hey, Kamui! There's a time for sleeping on the job, and there's a time for action! We really need your help right now!" She yelled at the top of her lungs to the floating crystal.
Through some sheer force of willpower, Kamui fought against his glass prison and opened his eyes.
"Selena…" He spoke in a tired and slow voice. "Use… the last of my power…"
The prince raised his hands, and green energy flowed out of the crystal and into Selena. She felt extreme power course through her veins as Kamui shut his eyes.
An idea floated into her mind. Maybe, just maybe, she could fight Kamui's deepest fear with her own deepest fear.
She would need to summon him.
The barrier protecting Selena and Caeldori broke after Garon's fiftieth attempt to destroy it, and he laughed with glee as he slowly lowered his foot toward Selena and Caeldori.
"Today is the day when I gain control over Kamui's body, and the day when I squash a pair of insignificant bugs!"
Unfortunately for Garon, he failed to notice that Selena had risen into the air and summoned a massive, purple flower directly behind Garon.
The sound of a monster screeching caught Garon's attention, and he turned around to see a purple flower furled into a ball.
Frigid air blasted Selena and Caeldori as a massive, purple dragon emerged from the blossom. It flapped its six wings, which caused the grass to wave, and its six beady eyes shifted around like an arachnid.
"What in the name of Anankos are you?!" Garon was exceptionally surprised by how macabre this dragon looked.
Grima had only one goal: to kill Severa and finish what he had started. Fortunately for him, it looked as though someone else wanted to kill his prey. "You would be wise to leave me alone so I can kill these pests." Garon spoke, and he thought that maybe the dragon could be an ally.
Unfortunately for Garon, he was dealing with an apocalyptic monster who had nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
"You think you can kill those two?" Grima's jaw unhinged, and he began to let out a child-like laugh. "Friend, I've been trying for years to kill that girl, and now it looks like she just summoned me here! So I'm not gonna let some wrinkly, beat-up king from a dying country stop me from finishing my job!"
"Dying?! The proud country of Nohr will never falte-" Garon attempted to speak, then noticed that Grima was rearing his long, serpentine neck back.
"Just shut up already!" Grima unleashed an ear-splitting roar, and his six eyes lit up like a searchlight. "THAT GIRL IS MINE! SO GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!"
Garon covered his ears from the roar and lowered his defenses. Grima took the opportunity to quickly spiral through the air and ram Garon in the stomach. His mighty horns pierced his chest like an arrow cutting through paper. Garon let out a yell as he grabbed the massive dragon by the horns, and pulled him out of his chest. He tightly held Grima by the horns, and he began to spin around in place. The mere action of these two giants spinning around sent wind rushing against Caeldori and Selena, who watched from afar.
Garon stopped his spinning when he released his hold of Grima's horns and watched as the dragon was hurled through the air. Grima screeched in an ear-wrenching manner before hitting the ground, then skidded along the surface before he stopped. He began to flap its wings, and he rose into the air and unhinged his massive jaw like a serpent. Purple flames began to build inside his throat, and he unleashed a gigantic fireball towards the king, who attempted to block the projectile with his arms. Garon was knocked onto his back from the strength of the blast, and Grima flew towards the fallen king.
Garon slowly got to his feet before the dragon could reach him. He raised his hand skyward, and a portal materialized in front of him. Nohrian soldiers poured out of the gate until an entire army had assembled around Garon's feet.
"Soldiers! Attack formations!" Garon commanded as the men formed themselves into a square formation. Each of the soldiers grabbed a bow and began to pelt Grima with arrows.
"Insolent fools…" Grima spoke before bringing his front-most wings to his head in an attempt to shield himself. While he was doing this, a pair of figures descended from his back. The two figures that Caeldori recognized as Selena's father and Cordelia now began to charge an entire army.
"Why is your father fighting that army?" Caeldori asked as she watched the battle begin. She was absolutely in awe of the power of this dragon.
"That's my father after he got possessed by Grima. I don't know who that other figure is, though." Selena mildly laughed. Caeldori decided that the identity of the Cloaked Woman wasn't that important to Selena.
The shrouded pair locked gazes and nodded silently as they sprinted towards the battalion. They each ran into a different direction and began to unleash havoc on those poor soldiers.
Grima (his possessed form) gripped his lightning bolt-like sword tightly as waves of soldiers surrounded him. He raised his sword to the sky and smirked as thunder crashed into the soldiers before him. A soldier behind Grima attempted to strike the back of his cloak, but unfortunately, made so much noise that he was promptly melted by the destructive power of Valflame.
As the battle between the army and the pair of hooded figures raged on, Garon and Grima were still trading blows in the background. Garon swung his fist directly in Grima's horns, which shattered his horns and broke his face. Grima pulled his head back, then roared as he revealed a human-like face that was concealed under its reptilian facade.
The Cloaked Woman gazed toward the pile of corpses at the foot of her husband before turning her focus back to the approaching soldiers.
"Come 'ere girlie, we ain't gonna hurt ya. We promise…" A soldier spoke with a twisted smile as he approached her. Unluckily for him, the Cloaked Woman was more than willing to hurt -and potentially kill- him. She dove underneath his legs and thrusted the blunt side of her lance into his gut which knocked him to the floor. He moaned in pain before she drove her lance through his chest. The other soldiers backed up in fear.
"Send in the weapon!" Every soldier chanted. Garon's ears perked up and noticed that only a quarter of his army remained.
"This will not do at all!" He yelled, then raised his arm and summoned another portal.
A gigantic machine leaped out of the portal and before the hooded woman. It was made entirely of wood -including its wheels- and had several large cannons aimed directly at her.
"Get her!" Soldiers yelled as they stood atop the vehicle.
Caeldori watched from a relatively short distance as a large machine chased after the Cloaked Woman, who dodged and leaped over every cannonball that was fired at her as if it were child's play. It wasn't until the machine passed by Grima that she noticed his hood was drawn down to reveal his white hair, and he had a look that read only one emotion: pure, unstoppable rage.
In a flash, Grima jumped on top of the machine and began what could only be described as a massacre. He set the commanders aflame and kicked them off the vehicle before burning a hole in the roof and entering the interior.
Inside the vehicle, soldiers sat in their preordained positions as the wooden floor rumbled. A pillar of flame burst in from the ceiling and scorched the commander, and the soldiers watched in terror as a white-haired man smashed his feet onto the commander and brandished a sword. Everyone flew into a panic as he began indiscriminately slaughtering the cannon crew. Half of the bodies were burned, and the other half were still convulsing from electricity as the machine stopped dead in its tracks.
A single man remained inside the vehicle, and he was currently pressed up against a wall and begging for mercy.
"P-P-P-P-Please don't kill me…" He spoke as the white-haired man looked absolutely furious as he held the soldier against the wall.
"Don't…" Grima gritted his teeth while he drew his blade; lightning crackled within the sword. "Trifle…" The man stabbed his blade into the soldier's gut. "With…" The man was now stabbing the deceased soldier repeatedly. "My… bride!" He threw the corpse aside and burned a hole in the vehicle.
The Cloaked Woman stopped running and gazed toward the burning hole in the vehicle, and felt slightly relieved when her husband strode out. They approached each other and held hands as they walked away to the sidelines.
Grima (his dragon form), on the other hand, was now above Garon, who laid prone on the ground. He lowered its mouth towards Garon's neck until he bit down on his neck. Garon yelled in pain as he felt a sharp pair of fangs bite into his jugular, and flailed his arms in a desperate manner. He grabbed Grima by the neck and clenched his hands; Grima threw its head around while he was being strangled.
"If I die, you're coming with me!" Garon screamed as his grip tightened in response to Grima's jaw clenching.
Grima's long neck stopped flailing as he rested its head on Garon's chest. Garon's remaining eye was shut, and he made no movements. Grima closed its eyes and grew still as it laid atop the dead king.
Little did Garon know, it would take much more than strangulation to kill a divine dragon like Grima.
"Is… Is it over?" Caeldori gazed out at the two massive corpses. She noted that Garon still looked angry; even in death.
"I think it is." Selena's voice was calm, which was a large contrast to her voice before
Both of their gazes shifted to the large purple crystal above, which had cracks running along it. The gem shattered, and Kamui slowly descended towards Caeldori.
"Thank you for rescuing me." He spoke before rushing into Caeldori's arms. Selena smiled as her daughter embraced the prince, and failed to notice the sound of ominous chanting in the background.
Unbeknownst to the three heroes, Grima was still breathing. He knew that only by feigning death could he beat Garon. And once he beat Garon, he could finally kill Severa.
Caeldori heard the sound of massive wings flapping, and turned her head around to see the massive dragon floating in the air.
"Uh… Guys…" Her voice sank as the dragon reared its head back.
Selena had failed to realize that the strongest of fears can grow their own thoughts. Much like Kamui's fear of Garon, her fear of Grima was so deep that it obtained a mind of its own.
"Bring me their heads!" Grima roared, and two hooded figures emerged from behind the dragon.
Kamui's eyes nervously shifted around the area while Grima's six red eyes glossed over him, and onto Selena. The dragon unhinged his jaw and prepared to blast the trio with a fireball, but was stopped by a force field that protected them. Said force field was projected by a little girl with a red ponytail.
"Get away from my friends, you big meanie!" The little girl with the red ponytail stood before her friends and maintained the barrier.
"Caeldori?!" Everyone questioned in awe of the little girl.
Grima snorted his nose in frustration as he repeatedly tried to shatter the barrier. It was until he rammed his horns against the force did he realize he could send someone who wasn't made of darkness like himself.
A certain someone who was under his control thanks to a mask.
Selena watched in terror as the Cloaked Woman -who had been an absolute nightmare to deal with back in Ylisse- effortlessly stomped her way through the forcefield. She passed by the little girl as if she couldn't see her, and her advance continued until she lunged at Selena.
Selena struggled to push the Cloaked Woman back as she fell onto the grass, and felt her gut sink when the woman sat atop her. She brought her fists to Selena's head, and Selena desperately fought against her overwhelming strength.
Selena jerked her knee into the gut of the Cloaked Woman and reached for the cowl that covered her head. She wanted to know who she was dealing with, so she pushed the hood back and revealed the Cloaked Woman's identity.
Long strands of crimson hair spilled out of her hood, and she had a masked face that Selena never thought she would see.
Cordelia.
"Oh, gods…" Selena couldn't believe it. For all these years, she thought her mother had been killed, while in reality, she was alive and working for Grima. "That's… Oh my…"
Cordelia continued to press her hands against Selena's, and Selena could tell that she was going to lose this fight. This was her mother, alive, and in the flesh, attempting to kill her. Her mother who she had mourned for years. The mother who she wanted to scream at for going off to die; the mother who she wanted to hug, and who she wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright.
Selena wasn't sure what to do, and she began to cry as she pressed her head into Cordelia's chest. "Mother… Please, stop this…"
Cordelia stopped her hands and jerked upright as Selena pressed her head into the fabric of her cloak.
Scholars say that those under the effects of hypnosis can obey orders, but they cannot go against their key morals. Cordelia's key morals happened to be the protection of her family.
Selena watched with tear-stricken eyes as Cordelia moved her hands to the mask that covered her visage, and removed it from her face. "Mother?" Selena asked, then continued to watch as Cordelia snapped the mask into two pieces as though it were paper.
"It's okay, Severa." Cordelia pressed her daughter to her chest. "Mother's here now." Finally, she had been reunited with one of her two favorite things in the world.
Cordelia turned her head to the figure outside the blue barrier and stood up. She tenderly patted Selena on the head then shot Grima a glare.
She was going to make Grima pay for ruining her family.
Grima watched in horror as Cordelia stomped out of the barrier and towards him.
"N-Now hold on a minute." Grima's voice cracked, which was something he had never done in his entire existence. "We can work this ou-"
Grima's plea for mercy was interrupted by Cordelia wrapping her fingers around his neck. She enjoyed the catharsis of strangling the dragon who had killed her husband and traumatized her daughters.
"Do you know what I'm going to do to you?" Cordelia growled in his ears as Grima struggled for air. "I am going to beat you within an inch of your miserable life until all you can feel is my fist punching your godforsaken skull into a pulp." Cordelia struck Grima directly in his jaw; blood spattered out of his quivering lips, and she struck again. She continued to strike until Grima's jaw was nothing more than a bloody mass of flesh and teeth.
Kamui and the others watched from afar and noticed that every time Cordelia punched Grima, his massive dragon form also reeled back in shock.
Grima laid on the floor as Cordelia placed her foot to his throat. Her blood was practically boiling. "This is for killing my husband and my friends." Cordelia grabbed Grima by his left arm and smashed her fist into his skull. Grima howled in pain. "This is for ruining my life." She lifted him into the air with only one hand and smashed him into the ground.
Grima wheezed for breath as Cordelia leaned over him with a vicious snarl. Caeldori looked down to the silver spear in her hands and walked to Cordelia.
"Here you go, miss." Caeldori was slightly afraid of this crazed woman as she handed her the spear.
"Thank you, dear." Cordelia nodded as she clutched the metallic spear in her hands. Her gaze turned back to Grima, who attempted to crawl away. "And this…
This is for trying to kill my daughters!" Cordelia let out a berserker-like scream as she plunged the tip of the spear through Grima's chest. Grima let out a shriek of agony as he felt his inside boil, then slumped over on the ground. Cordelia left the spear in his chest and noted that the massive dragon above her was also dead and lying on the ground.
Selena watched with bated breath as Cordelia turned around to face her.
"You guys should go back to the real world. I'll be there soon." Selena looked to Kamui and Caeldori, who began to walk away without saying a word.
Cordelia began to sprint toward her daughter and collapsed to her knees before her. Tears streaked her eyes.
"O-Oh… Severa…" Cordelia's mouth trembled as she hugged her daughter. "I thought I would never see you again." Cordelia never knew that her daughter escaped, and seeing her now made her heart beat faster and faster.
"I t-thought I wouldn't see you either…" Severa collapsed in the same manner as her mother while they embraced. Finally, her mother was alive and here. "Did I do alright?"
"Yes, Severa. You were absolutely perfect." Cordelia whispered into her ear.
The mother and her child embraced for what felt like an age until Cordelia stood up.
"No, don't go…" Severa begged with a quiet voice.
"I'm not going right now." Cordelia continued to tenderly hug her daughter. "I'll leave when you're ready, dear."
Severa continued to hold onto her mother like there was nothing else she could do. Only until she felt that she was ready did Severa speak.
"O-Okay." She began to wipe her eyes. Cordelia placed her warm finger on Severa's forehead.
"I'll always be right here, in your thoughts," Cordelia spoke in a soothing voice, then began to fade out. In her wake was Severa, who picked herself off the ground and stood upright.
Unlike when Severa ran through the forest back in Ylisse, she wasn't sad to see her mother go. Rather, she was happy.
She was happy that her mother was always going to be with her.
Cordelia found herself in the interior of a house that she had created a family in. She was certain that this was the core of Severa's mind, and that was reinforced when she noticed a man sitting at a table.
He had his cloaked back facing Cordelia, and he had hair white as snow. He was a man Cordelia loved with all her heart, and she walked up behind him.
"Hey, dear." Cordelia wrapped her arms around Robin's chest and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Next time you get possessed by an ancient dragon god, try and warn me, okay?"
Robin let out a hearty chuckle as he kissed Cordelia on the cheek.
"I'll try, sweetie." He joked as he wrapped his fingers around Cordelia's warm hand.
Kamui and Caeldori awoke in the infirmary to a chorus of cheers.
"Oh, thank the gods you're alright!" Subaki beamed with delight as he helped his groggy daughter out of the bed. He was overjoyed that his wishes were answered.
Kamui rose and began to think. Only one thought circulated his mind, and he simply had to know the answer to this question.
"Where's Hisame?" He asked.
Nobody had an answer to that, but Subaki had a question of his own.
"Why is Selena still sleeping?" He asked.
Caeldori looked over to the bed her mother was in, and sure enough, she was still blissfully asleep.
"Maybe she's dreaming about something…" Caeldori spoke in a hopeful voice.
Severa dreamed of a book that had a dusty cover to it as it rested on a table. She opened the heavy book and began to inspect the pages within. Each page contained no words, but only images.
Two friends, one with a purple cloak, and the other with long, red locks sat in the barracks of an army while exchanging coy glances at one another. A blue-haired man walked by, and the red-haired woman didn't even bother looking at him.
Two lovers stood at the altar while a crowd cheered. The man with white hair slid a ring onto his crimson-haired bride's finger. Her bright smile warmed his heart. They passionately kissed as a bell rang in the distance.
Two married companions sat in their house at a table. The man with white hair cupped the side of his wife's head before he stood up and walked by. Bright sunlight shone in from a nearby window while they smiled.
Two parents cradled their newborn daughter as a fireplace crackled nearby. They both beamed tenderly at their little bundle of joy.
A widow sat mournfully in a chair of her house while her two daughters played. A picture of a man with white hair rested above the fireplace. Her friend with brown hair sat in the other chair and attempted to soothe her.
A mother stood guard over her two favorite things in the world as they played together in a field of flowers. Her daughter with short, red hair stumbled and bruised her knee. The mother hurriedly walked over before helping her daughter get to her feet. She kissed the bruise on her daughter's knee and applied a salve to it.
A soldier stood in the doorway while wearing a full suit of white armor. Her teenage daughter with long, white hair screamed at her from inside the house, and the soldier shut the door before walking away.
A ruined house stood in the middle of a destroyed town. Inside the wreckage was a single picture. It depicted a father and a mother holding their two daughters, who they loved more than anything else in the world.
Two graves sat atop a hill overlooking a forest. One grave had the letter R engraved onto it, and the other had a letter C scrawled onto it. Both of the graves were hollow.
Two eternal companions rested in their house, and the outside of the house was depicted as an outline of a girl's head. Said girl had long, white hair.
Two tears rolled down Severa's cheek as she shut the cover of the book and noticed a single word was engraved onto its back.
'Family'.
That Garon Vs. Grima thing is one of my favorite moments in this story.