"So it should obviously be yours truly, right?" Zeke was the first to speak, as expected.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna stop that disaster before it starts, no way that's happening." Nia was ready to shut him down right out of the gates.
"Oh come on! I'm the best candidate. I've got royal blood and etiquette, and charisma to the heavens and back!" Zeke wasn't about to give up that easily though, and considering the prize at stake…
"I'm the best candidate to lead Agnus!"
…it wasn't too hard to see why.
After all, each of the Drivers and Blades who faced off against Torna and Indol were all gathered to once more decide the fate of the world they fought for.
That fate, of course, being who would lead the newly united nation of Agnus.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm actually surprised to hear you volunteer yourself so readily, Zeke." Brighid was now speaking from her seat. "After all, didn't you run away from the throne of Tantal?"
Rex only now seemed to recall Zeke's history, and chimed in.
"Hey yeah that's right! Why are you so eager to lead Agnus? Didn't you hate the idea of being a stuffy king or whatever?"
Zeke only sighed dramatically and waggled his finger.
"Tsk tsk, you just don't understand chum, the sheer disparity between Tantal and Agnus. Tantal was an old frigid kingdom tied back by its own traditions. This is Agnus we're talking about, the future of Alrest itself!"
He made a good point, and had some mutters of agreement among the others, but something still seemed missing…
"It's the perfect stage to spread the name of the mighty Zeke von Genbu! Or no, wait! KING Zeke von Genbu! Or wait! King Zeke von Alrest! Or maybe-"
"And so the truth comes out, Shellhead just wants it for the glory, to the surprise of nobody." Nia remarked to even more mutters of agreement among their friends.
"Bah! What do you know? Pandy, you're with me, right! I'd be the best leader of Agnus, right?" Zeke turned to his loyal Blade and partner in crime, Pandoria, who'd remained quiet up till now.
"Hmmm, sorry my Prince, I've gotta side with the others on this. I like you better as my Prince instead of my King."
Zeke hit the floor clutching his heart in an over dramatic manner that only he could pull off.
"Gasp! Your words wound me, Pandy! To think my own Blade would turn against me in such a manner! Oh the tragedy!"
As Zeke continued to have a heart attack on the floor, Mòrag took a sip from her cup of tea before deciding to join the conversation.
"Zeke, you do realize that being the leader of Agnus would entail much more responsibility than that of Tantal, yes? Are you certain you could handle all that burden? All that paperwork?"
Zeke was ready to get up and defend himself, but Mòrag's last sentence gave him pause. He sat still for a moment on the floor, before seeming to deflate and fell back down.
"Fine, you win! The Zekenator formally rescinds his volunteer."
Mythra, who had been splayed across a sofa thoroughly enjoying the entertainment, finally sat up straight.
"All right, now that that disaster's been averted, maybe we can actually get started. Which one of us should actually lead Agnus?"
Rex had a contemplative look on his face, before asking a question on his mind.
"So if we're here to decide who leads Agnus, why aren't the other leaders like Niall and Raqura here with us?" A fair point to bring up. After all, this would essentially spell the end of the individual nations of Alrest, it only made sense that the leaders of each nation would help decide the new leader of them all.
"It was decided among them that it'd be best if one of the heroes who defeated Malos and saved Alrest were to lead the united world. After all, if either Niall or Queen Raqura were to take charge, it could be seen as either Mor Ardain or Uraya taking charge of the world, rather than a proper unification." Mòrag answered. "It's best if it be one of us, the heroes of Alrest, since we're faces the people can trust."
"I guess that makes sense, but then why do we need a single ruler? Couldn't we all just lead Agnus together?" Rex, ever the optimist, wanted to choose the simplest way out.
"I'm not too sure that'd work, Rex." Pyra spoke as she came in with refills for the tea. "Mòrag said that we need a face people can trust, but too many might be a bit too much."
Mythra chose this moment to chime in again. "Not to mention, there are some of us who aren't really experienced with leading." While she tried not to, her eyes couldn't help but glance over to Tora for a moment, who'd been tuned out of the conversation the whole time.
"Poppi detects condescension."
"My thoughts exactly, Pyra." Mòrag, regal as ever, picked up the conversation before it could be derailed. "It's best if Agnus has a central figure among the ones who saved the world."
Rex seemed satisfied with the answer, and closed his eyes thinking of the best candidate.
"Hmm, maybe if…? No, what about…? Hmmm, dammit! This is tricky!" He paused as he remembered something, then turned to Nia. "Hey Nia, you're pen pals with someone from that other world, right? They were in a similar situation, so how did they figure out who to lead them?"
"First of all, Melia and I aren't pen pals, and second of all, I'm afraid their situation was a bit easier to solve than ours. Of them all, Melia was the only one with the qualifications to lead Keves." She paused, before speaking more to herself, "Actually, I think she was the only royalty left in that world after their battles." She turned her head back to Rex and the others before continuing. "Either way, we'll have to put some more thought into the decision than them, since there's a couple more of us here with the right qualifications to lead Agnus." She turned her head to Zeke, who was still lying on the floor seeming cut off from the world. "Barring Shellhead, of course."
"Of course." Came a resounding affirmation from everyone paying attention, except Zeke himself who just groaned from his place on the floor.
"In that case, would Mòrag not be best candidate? Poppi estimates that Mòrag has best qualifications of everyone present."
Dromarch hummed in agreement.
"That is true, Poppi. While not the Emperor of Mor Ardain, she has more than enough leadership experience as the Special Inquisitor, and is of the royal family of Mor Ardain to boot. What say you, Mòrag? Do you agree?"
Mòrag seemed ready for this question, and shook her head neagtive.
"I had thought of it myself, but unfortunately it's precisely because of my experience that I may not be suited. As I said earlier, it's best if someone unaffiliated to Mor Ardain or Uraya leads Agnus. I do not believe that Uraya would be so agreeable to having a member of the Ardainian Royal Family lead them." She paused for a moment, her stoic face turning slightly bashful, "Not to mention, my experience in leadership is more centered around the military. Agnus is supposed to be a peaceful nation. If I lead it, I'm afraid I could unintentionally set it down the path of further war and bloodshed."
"I too will have to decline." Brighid spoke up. "As Lady Mòrag's Blade and the Jewel of the Empire, I am also too connected to Mor Ardain to safely lead Agnus."
"That's a shame, that's two of our best candidates out the window there." Pandoria spoke, ignoring Zeke's further groaning on the floor. She sat there thinking for a moment, before getting up excitedly. "Of course! If we need a neutral party that also helped beat Malos, then why not Rex?! He's the very picture of neutrality, and he's the main reason we could beat Malos! He's perfect for the role!"
At the high praise being sung of him, Rex could only blush and scratch his head.
"I mean, if you guys think I'm up for it, I'm willing to give it a try!" His blushing face turned to a determined one, as he gained resolve in his own words.
"That's great and all, but aren't you forgetting something?" Mythra spoke up from her sofa. "Rex, how much experience do you have to be a king?"
At that, Rex froze, and his resolve crumbled in an instant, leaving the bashful face to return.
"Aha, I'm uhh… sure I could learn as I go?" Even as he said it, he seemed unsure. Mythra smirked at his sudden lack of confidence.
"Listen, Rex. You did a really good job leading everyone in our journey across Alrest. It was thanks to your leadership that we managed to come this far, and find a new Elysium. But leading a country isn't the same as leading a small group like ours, or even leading Garfont. No offense, but I don't really think you're the type of guy suited to be a king of a nation." Mythra glanced towards the still prone Zeke. "Plus, I don't think you'd handle the paperwork any better than Zeke over here."
"Well I mean, when you put it like that, I can't help but agree." Rex seemed dejected, but also relieved after realizing what Mythra might've just saved him from.
"Just so you guys know, this still puts us at square one, right? We've knocked off a fair few people, but what we need is the opposite of that. We need someone willing to be a ruler." Nia quickly reminded everyone of what they were supposed to be doing.
"Nia's right. So how about our resident legend? Either of you want to rule Agnus, Pyra? Mythra?" Mòrag turned the attention to the two Aegises.
"Yeah, no way. I saw how Addam ruled Aletta, and that was just part of a country. I don't want to imagine trying to rule every nation in Alrest." Mythra shot down the suggestion as quickly as it was offered, though Pyra seemed to be mulling it over.
"I mean… I've never really been a leader before, but I have access to all of Mythra's memories of Addam. Maybe I could try to imitate his style of leadership?"
"Lemme stop you right there. I don't think our year's worth of memories of Addam is gonna help you there. And don't you think piggybacking off of someone else's leadership is kinda doomed to fail?" Mythra raised a good point, but she wasn't done yet. "Besides, Addam hated the idea of being a king. I'd bet he was one bad day away from following Zeke's footsteps."
Zeke seemed to contemplate getting up, but couldn't decide if Mythra's comparison was a compliment or an insult, and fell back down.
"Well shoot, we're running out of ideas here." Pandoria muttered. "Hey Tora, want to become the King of Agnus?"
"Hmm? Friend say something?" Tora looked up from his corner of the room, where he had numerous blueprints layed out
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Nevermind!" Pandoria turned away from Tora's corner and back to the rest of the group. "Well, I'm flat out of ideas. Guess Agnus is screwed!"
Rex gained a thoughtful look on his face.
"You don't suppose Gramps would be up to the task, right? I mean, he's smart and wise after all."
Pyra didn't seem to agree.
"I… think Azurda might have even more trouble with the paperwork side than you and Zeke."
Pandoria glanced back over to Tora's corner.
"Well, I guess if all else fails we can download some or something into Poppi, right?"
Tora seemed to have heard that much, and looked ready to join the conversation just to explain how complicated a ' ' would be to install into Poppi, when a voice rang out.
"I think you've all been forgetting someone."
Nia glanced over to the risen Zeke with a deadpan stare.
"No, I think we already ruled you out Shellhead. And shouldn't you still be having a heart attack or somthin'?"
"I may be out of the running, but I'm not out of the conversation. And you've all forgotten about another candidate in this room."
Rex looked around the room, before suddenly realizing something.
"Oh shoot, we didn't hear from Pandoria or Dromarch. So, do you guys think you'd be…" Rex trailed off as he looked back to Zeke, who had his finger pointed outwards, but not towards Pandoria or Dromarch, or even Poppi or Tora, but rather…
Nia.
"You wot? What's this about, Shellhead?"
"It's exactly what it looks to be about. Out of all the Drivers, bar Tora since he's off in his own world, you've been the only one glossed over. The only one left."
Mòrag looked between the two before putting her hand up to her chin in thought.
"Hm, it's true, Nia may well be the best candidate now that I think about it."
At Nia's shocked expression and Rex's confused one, she clarified. "After all, while the Gormott Province is under the jurisdiction of Mor Ardain, it's well known that the people of Gormott have no love for the Empire, so there likely won't be any claims of Nia siding with Mor Ardain over Uraya."
Rex's face scrunched up as he thought of all of the qualifications thus far, but he seemed to be looking more accepting every second.
"Waitwaitwait! Aren't we forgetting something?" Pandoria however seemed unconvinced. "Nia doesn't have any experience with nobility or leadership? She was even a terrorist for a while!" Nia seemed somewhat offended, but was willing to suck it up in favor of keeping Pandoria's defense.
Mòrag, however, seemed to disagree.
"Indeed, she was a member of Torna for a while, but I believe she actually has had some training in noble etiquette." She paused and looked over to judge Nia's face if she should go on, knowing that this could be a sore subject for her, and while Nia had a look of realization, there was no aggression in it, so she continued.
"After all, Nia was once a member of Gormotti nobility, was she not?"
At that, Rex shot up in sudden realization.
"That's right! Back in the Crucible! She said her da was some big shot lord!"
Nia seemed shocked at Rex's words.
"Wait, you remember that story?"
"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?" At Rex's simple answer, Nia couldn't help but laugh to herself before quieting down.
"Yeah, they're right. Way back before I joined Torna, I was raised by the Lord of Echell as one of his own, alongside my sister. Since she was sick, I took her place and received training to become the Lady of Echell."
Dromarch got up from his position and walked over to Nia.
"Indeed, I believe that out of everyone here, you are most qualified to lead Agnus, my Lady."
"Even you think so, Dromarch?"
Even Zeke seemed surprised, despite being the one to offer it.
"I nominated you since you're the only one not to give a reason otherwise, but you really are the best candidate, aren't you?" He began raising fingers with each point. "You're one of the heroes of Alrest, you're unaffiliated with any major power, and you've got training in the nobility. Not to mention, you're already buddy-buddy with the Queen of Keves." At that last sentence, he suddenly turned to face the rest. "She's made more headway in interdimensional relations than any of us!"
Mòrag looked towards Nia.
"I understand that you may not feel up to the task. You're free to refuse just as all of us did. We'll figure something out together. We won't leave Agnus to rot after coming this far."
Nia took a moment to think.
"Bloody hell, I really am the most qualified, aren't I? What a sorry lot you all are, if I'm the best candidate of all of us. Fine, I'll do it. I'll be the Queen of Agnus. But you lot better be there to catch me!"
Rex seemed insulted that she'd think otherwise.
"Of course we'll support you the whole way! That was gonna be the case no matter who ended up leading Agnus. That's what friends do!"
Nia yawned, and got up.
"All right, as my first order of business as Queen, I'm gonna hit the hay. We can save all the politics and whatnot for tomorrow, yeah?" At Mòrag's nod she let out a relieved sigh. "All right, that's good, we can save tomorrow's affairs for tomorrow."
As everyone began to gather their belongings, Nia paused as she remembered the one who didn't participate in the discussion.
"By the way, Tora, what've you been working on all this while? You've been in that corner the whole time."
Tora got up from his corner and turned to everyone else.
"Meh, while friends all argue over who gets to sit in big chair, Tora has been beginning work on latest masterpiece!"
Poppi looked over.
"Masterpon's greatest creation is still Poppi, yes?"
"Of course, of course. Tora said 'latest' masterpiece, not 'greatest' masterpiece!"
Pandoria stepped forward.
"All right, so what is this big masterpiece? Don't keep us in the dark! It's gotta be something if it kept your attention throughout the whole discussion."
"Tora just getting to that, meh! Impatient friend is impatient. Tora remember issue brought forth by Queen Melly. Whole Intersection thing, yes? So Tora spend time working on solution. Tora proudly introduce… the Miracle Egg 3000!"
It certainly looked like an egg, though with the sketches Tora showed off, it could've looked like anything so long as it was round.
"I uh, think your naming skills could use some work."
"And so we in Keves have gathered the best engineers and mechanics for this project." Queen Melia Antiqua spoke with a regal tone that suited her status, but with a softness that she reserved for her friends.
"As have we in Agnus, with one of my, uh, own dear friends leading the development. I have sen- er, forwarded his early blueprints to you prior." Queen Nia Echell spoke with a semi regal tone that gave away how much she was trying to act in a way a Queen should.
"Yes, I have already looked over it myself and handed them to our own head engineer. Though if I may, I believe the name could use some work. No offense to your friend, but 'Miracle Egg 3000' doesn't quite hold the gravitas that suits the device that will save both of our worlds."
"It's a work in progress, trust me. Ah, er, I mean, we are currently working on improving various aspects of the device, name included. You needn't fret, Queen Melia, we'll have it honed to perfection soon."
"Yes, I believe I may be able to get Shulk's help there. By the way, Nia, there seems to be something different about you. Are you ill in some manner? Actually, I don't believe you've ever called me 'Queen Melia', just Melia will do as it has."
"Oh, uh, that. I-I am simply trying to act in a manner that befits my status as Queen of Agnus."
"Oh, you've been crowned Queen? I suppose congratulations are in order then. But, er,
I think your royal mannerisms could use some work."