Never will You Surrender

Remy was itching with anticipation. Morgan here… He needed to see her.

"She's in here," Vincent said, gesturing to a tent. Remy nodded and walked in.

Remy actually gasped. For two reasons, because she was bandaged up from an injury and because of how much older she was. "Mor…gan?" he said, barely audible.

The girl on the bed perked up and said sleepily, "Whozzat?"

Remy chuckled and walked towards the bed and sat down on the wooden stool. "Don't you remember me Morgan?" he asked quietly.

"…No. You feel familiar…but no," she yawned.

"Ah…" he tried to not feel sad. She wouldn't remember Jessie either then. "I'm Remy… You're brother," he smiled.

"Really?" Morgan gasped. When Remy nodded, she embraced him. Hard.

"Oi! Leggo! I can't breathe!" he laughed.

Just like old times

"I never knew I had a brother!" Morgan said ecstatically.

"And a sister. She's my twin and will be by soon," Remy couldn't help smiling.

"Hey, am I interrupting something?" Vincent asked from the door. "It's just time for Morgan and mine's daily tactic training."

Morgan got out of bed and walked slowly to the empty table in the corner with a lantern. When light covered the table, he saw a map of Valm. Vincent and Morgan set up wooden figures around the entire map.

"I'll watch," Remy said, pulling up a third chair.

The two tacticians began taking turns moving their pieces. Remy tried to follow along with each move and its reason, but he just wasn't able to.

Father had tried to teach him tactics before, but…that didn't work well. Vincent murdered all his troops within a few turns.

I'm just not confident enough. That's why I'm not a tactician. That's why I took care of Morgan after…

"So Remy, what's the future like?" Vincent said, moving his troops while talking.

"Depressing," Remy said sadly.

"What am I like? Am I as badass as I am now?" Vincent grinned as Morgan made her move.

"Er…well. You kinda disappeared when I was a kid. I don't know the exact time, but one day you never came back home. Mother was hysterical. She disappeared a few years after you vanished," Remy closed his eyes, trying not to think about it.

Vincent didn't move. "I…abandoned you?"

"…Yeah. Jessie took over mother's shop and taking care of Morgan was my job. We went like that for a while. Some of your friends would help, but…they started disappearing too. Soon it was just us and the other children."

It was Vincent's move, but he didn't move, "Every one of my friends…gone?"

Remy nodded slowly watching Vincent's guilty expression. "Yes, Matt, Heather, Ricken, Henry, all of them. The three of us all learned the hard way how to live on your own," Remy said in a hard voice. "We taught ourselves everything we needed to know. It wasn't easy."

Vincent looked Remy in the eyes and said quietly, "And you blame me, I understand. I'm sorry."

"You don't understand father, you weren't there!" Remy lashed out. Vincent looked hurt, but he nodded and made his move in the game. Remy glanced at Morgan and saw her worried expression. He calmed down, "Sorry father, you're not to blame."

"We're always most honest when we're angry Remy. It may be the future me's fault, yet it is still my fault. But now I know, and I can try to make it up to you," Vincent said sadly.

Are those…tears!? Father doesn't cry! He's an insane bastard who doesn't feel sadness!

"Been awhile since I cried, hope Jessie doesn't blame me too…" Vincent wiped away the tears.

"Jessie practically idolizes you. She's an assassin just like you and Lowell," Remy tried to fix his mistake of hurting his father.

At least he's one of the two, maybe three men Jessie doesn't hate.

"Hah… Morgan, I win again," Vincent said to his opponent.

"But father…we haven't even begun to fight yet," Morgan said puzzled.

"Exactly," Vincent smirked.

Cocky bastard, he deserves better than a son like me.

"Jessie, can you reach me those swords?" Anna asked the assassin. Jessie had elected to help Anna out a bit before going to see Morgan.

Remy always was closer to Morgan than me. They should have some private time.

Jessie handed the swords to her mother. Her mother set them up in a display design. She then grabbed the sack of gold from below the table and set it upon said table.

Gold…

Anna must have seen her look of disgust. "What was that look for?" she asked curiously.

"I hate gold," she said venomously.

Is it a crime for a daughter of Anna to hate gold?

Anna visibly flinched and gasped at the same time. "Why!?" seemed to be the only thing she could say.

"I saw firsthand how gold takes control of people. I saw your obsession with gold in the future stop you from going after father when he vanished. I saw so many men harass us because of your gold. Reason number one why I don't trust men, 'cept for Remy and father that is," she finished thoughtfully.

Anna slowly looked to the ground, "Do you hate me?"

"Hate you? Of course not! You're my mother! I just hate those metal bits that you love so dearly. That's why things in my shop were priced so low," Jessie said worriedly. She didn't want to give her mother the wrong impression.

Anna looked relieved, "I have another question, how come you and Remy didn't recognize me and Vincent on sight?"

Jessie put a figure on her chin thoughtfully, just like her mother, "Well…father looks really different, and you could have been any Anna. We made that mistake early on. "

Anna giggled, "You thought one of my sisters was me?"

"Yeah! A bit of an interesting story too…"

"Hyah!" Vincent cried as he tried to hit his daughter with the training knife. She deftly jumped aside and wacked him on the back.

"C'mon father! You have to be better than this!" she said happily.

"Ugh…who trained you?" Vincent said tiredly.

"Lowell and Heather," she laughed at his expression.

"Lowell trained you? How did you get him to do that?" Vincent said aghast.

"What does that mean? Lowell volunteered, he's such a nice fellow," she said, helping her father to his feet.

"Lowell isn't like that. He wouldn't volunteer for anything like that. Perhaps he's different in the future. I'll find him later," Vincent groaned.

"I'm right here," a voice drifted over the training area. Lowell leaned against a tent post.

"Lowell!" Jessie dashed up to him and hugged him. Lowell looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Please stop hugging me," Lowell said in a tight voice.

"Oh!" Jessie jumped back, "You don't recognize me, stupid Jessie. I'm Jessie! Vincent's daughter from the future!"

"Okay."

Jessie waited for a longer response. Then she cocked her head, "What's wrong Lowell? In the future you would always have some flirtatious remark or witty comment."

Lowell looked at her blankly. As did Vincent," Um…Jessie? Are you sure you remember Lowell correctly? 'Cause I've never heard him say more than two long sentences before."

This is weird, Lowell and my Lowell are complete opposites.

"I'm not wrong!" she said defiantly.

"Let me try your knife skills," Lowell said in a monotone.

Jessie sighed, feeling as if they still didn't believe her and nodded.

Whatever, I'll prove them wrong sometime.

"Show me what you can do Lowell, Whirlwind of Valm!" she called out with her father's cockiness. She could see Lowell's eye twitch from their short distance away. He jumped at her.

By the gods! He's quicker than I remember!

She brought up her two curved knives in a cross block. He quickly disarmed her of one of them and began fighting her knife to knife.

How is he this good? In the future he wasn't even half as fast!

He reached out a leg and tripped her. And with that, he was on top of her, his knife to her throat.

"You're better than I thought," Lowell said. He stood up and walked away in a swish of tan clothes.

Vincent came and sat by her, "Don't worry about him. That's high praise from him, better than I've gotten."

"What's it like here father? Everyone asks what the future is like, but what is this like? The peace?" Jessie wondered aloud.

Vincent laughed, "I can hardly say we're at peace. But I know what you mean. I had the past two years of it. And I must say, I hope I never have to fight another war after this one. Peace suits me just fine."

Jessie shot him a look, "What about your spymaster duties?"

Vincent chuckled, "Got me there, those are very fun. Assassinating nobles, sneaking, all of it. I can't live without it."

"You're just like I remember you, father, I became an assassin because I heard about all of your valorous deeds," Jessie leaned on her father.

"My what?" Vincent said curiously.

"You know, all the nobles you've killed. The corrupt ones. We'd hear about them dying quite frequently. The public didn't know who was killing them, but it was you, Lowell, Matt and Heather. You told us," she winked in a very Annaish fashion.

Vincent laughed, "I guess when you put it that way, then I suppose I am pretty badass!"

Jessie laughed, "You've never been badass father, just insane."

"You wound me!"

Jessie smiled her first genuine smile in a long time.

"Morgan! How are you today?" Jessie asked when walking into her sister's tent.

"Jessie!" Morgan bolted up in bed, then winced with pain. Apparently, the arrow had been poisoned, and that required Morgan to be bedridden for a good few days. And she had told Jessie she was bored out of her mind.

"Careful there! Wouldn't want to reopen that wound Morgan!" the assassin warned.

Morgan looked sheepish, "Sorry, I hardly get any excitement in this tent. Though Inigo visits quite often."

Jessie cocked an eyebrow, "Inigo? He's here too?"

Morgan blushed slightly, "Yes."

Jessie was an assassin, she didn't miss small details like that, "Is that a blush I see Morgan?"

"W-what? No!"

"I think it is!"

"Is not!"

Is too!"

This continued on for quite a while.

"How are you today mother?" Remy asked as he entered the secret seller's shop.

"Remy!" Anna poked her head up from behind a table, "What brings you here?"

"Well, I need a new silver axe…and we really haven't gotten much of a chance to talk since I got here," Remy said, walking towards his mother and giving her a hug.

Anna eyed him with a mischievous glint, "Do you have gold for that axe?"

"Yep! Right here!" Remy held up a full bag of coins.

Anna looked surprised, "I wasn't going to have you pay! You're my son, I can't charge you."

Remy's eyes widened, "Er…you did in the future."

Anna looked shocked, "I must have been a terrible mother…"

"What?! No! You were a great mother, mother!" Remy tried to remedy his mistake.

"I'm sorry you two and Morgan had to grow up in such a way…" Anna began to cry.

"Mother!" Remy grabbed both of her shoulders. "What happened to your cheeriness? Where are your catch phrases like 'Cha-Ching!?' You may not have been the best mother, but you always were in an upbeat mood!"

"Really…?"

"Yes really!"

"Cha-Ching!" Anna nearly screamed. "Alright, let's do some shopping!"

Remy laughed. His parents were different from the ones he knew. And you know what?

He liked it that way.

"Hectic few days, huh?" Remy sat down next to Jessie.

Jessie nodded. Meeting your parents from the past and your sister from your present was a bit…difficult. But they were better people than she remembered

"Hell yes!" Jessie exclaimed. "But I don't see how that's bad!"

Remy laughed and Jessie grinned. "They're different, did you notice?" Remy said quietly.

Jessie rolled her eyes, "It's my profession to notice these things Remy, I'm not as stupid as you."

"Hey! You may be the older twin, but I'm the smarter one!"

"Whatever makes you sleep at night Remy," Jessie stuck her tongue out at Remy.

"That hurts Jessie, you wound me!" Remy said theatrically.

"But back on topic, yeah, mother and father are different. And I think it's good, how 'bout you?" Jessie said curiously.

"Agreed, but it's still…weird," Remy said thoughtfully.

Jessie nodded, and gazed off at the Mila Tree. King Chrom and the Ylissean league had apparently fought a battle soon before they arrived. Now they rested here, planning their next move.

"Father called a meeting, and he wants us there. Apparently he has the Evanescent Team assembled, and he wants us to join," Jessie said eagerly.

"Us? He wants us to join his team? Does he know what that team has done?" Remy said shocked.

"No stupid, he doesn't know the future. And about that, I think we should watch what we say about the future from now on. We might say something we regret," Jessie said worriedly.

"Agreed," Remy said after a pause.

Vincent sighed as he sat in the meeting tent. He and Anna were early, as usual.

"It's odd to think we have children, when we don't have any in the present," Vincent wondered aloud.

"Would you like to change that?" Anna said seductively.

Vincent's face burned red, but was saved answering with Henry walking into the tent. And Henry looked strangely happy. Or happier than usual that is.

"Henry! What're you so happy about?" Vincent asked in order to avoid Anna's question.

"Nyah ha ha! I was just talking to my future wife and she told me a funny joke! It was CAWmpletely hilarious!" Henry cackled.

Wife?

"Your…wife?" Anna said curiously.

"Yeah! Olivia!" Henry's face looked almost sane for a moment.

Almost.

"Hey! Can't have a party without us!" Matts and Heather walked in. Holding hands.

Give credit where credit is due people.

"Have I missed anything?" Gaius walked in, clueless as ever with a sucker in his mouth.

His teeth must look terrible.

Lowell walked in without saying anything.

Didn't expect anything else.

Kid walked in next. Vincent almost missed him.

That hat gives him away.

Morgan walked right in behind Kid and took a seat to the right of Anna.

Remy and Jessie walked in together. They stopped and gazed in wonder at everyone in the room casually talking. When they sat down, Vincent asked Jessie about it. She said, "What else would you do if you walked into a room with all your heroes in it? Of course you'd freeze up."

"We're heroes?" Vincent raised his eyebrows.

"Of course you are," Jessie said absolutely.

I hate it when she does that. Say good things about me like I should know them. I'm not a good person.

Not all of us have seen the things you did as Vincent the Spymaster of Ylisse. Assassinating nobles just because they might pose a threat isn't that bad.

Vincent stood up. "So! Since none of you know why we're here, let me enlighten you! There is a small Valmese army near our current position. And they have siege weapons. So we're going to destroy them tonight. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I have one," Gaius said, raising his hand. Vincent motioned for him to go on. "Can you hear that sound?"

The room fell quiet. Clanging of steel could be heard from outside the tent.

The sound of battle.

"Dammit!" Vincent yelled. "Let's go people!"

Everyone got out of their chairs at the fastest possible speed. Weapons were in their hands in seconds. They all ran out of the tent.

The guards outside of the tent were dead. Twenty red armored soldiers awaited them outside of the tent.

They posed little to no match for the Evanescent Team. Even the new comers, Remy and Jessie fought through the elite troops like they were butter.

"We need to protect the King! Follow me!" Vincent shouted over the chaos of battle.

For ten minutes they weaved in and out of battles, trying their best to make it to the King's tent. An arrow hit Vincent in the shoulder. He turned to find Anna so she could heal him.

She wasn't there.

Vincent began to panic, "Remy! Jessie! Morgan!" When he had their attention he cried out, "Find Anna! Hurry!"

After they had left, Vincent began his next set of orders, "Henry! Matts! Find the King and protect him!" He turned to the remaining members, "Lowell, Kid, Gaius and Heather! We're going to find the commander and kill him!"

"Or her," Heather automatically corrected.

The group of five went through the same process of weaving through the battles.

We must have been misinformed, there are more troops here than there should be!

"There!" Lowell called, pointing slightly to the left at a large entourage. There was a scream of pain behind them, Heather had an arrow in her stomach.

Vincent located a healer on the Ylissean side. Heather was quickly taken away by said healer, and the party was down to four.

"Alright, here's the plan! Kid, I need a distraction, can you do that?" Vincent called out.

Kid nodded and ran over to the right. Blasts of wind magic began showering the Valmese soldiers. They began to all charge at Kid. He had acted too soon, or Vincent had acted too late. Kid had to run, he ran from his pursuers.

Though it still helped, there were fewer soldiers around the commander now.

"New plan! Gaius and I will make a distraction, Lowell, you kill the leader," Vincent said breathlessly.

"Going through a lot of plans now, aren't'cha Vinnie?" Gaius commented with a smirk.

Lowell nodded wordlessly and ran off to get into position. Gaius and Vincent moved in.

All was going well until that moment.

The one thing Vincent never foresaw.

The thing that caught him by surprise and he nearly died from it.

His near downfall.

Gaius stabbed a knife into Vincent's chest.

Vincent fell over, flat onto his back. Gaius stood above him looking at him, "Yep, I'm the traitor. Never suspected me. Never suspected anyone. You're too trusting Vinnie. And I was too good for you realize."

Vincent felt blood in his mouth. Punctured lung. "W…why?"

Gaius threw back his head and laughed, "Why not? I never owed any allegiance to Ylisse, nor to you."

"Why…am…I st..ill alive?" Vincent croaked.

"Oh, I will kill you, but I'm going to humiliate you first. And you'll find out soon enough. Or maybe I'll just kill you and humiliate your poor corpse. What to do, Vinnie, what to do…" Gaius drew another knife, his other one being stuck in Vincent's chest.

A knife was thrown at Gaius who jumped aside at the last second. Lowell rushed at Gaius, out for blood. "I will kill you bastard, the penalty for traitors is death. One that I will eagerly give!" Lowell screamed, attacking Gaius ferociously.

Gaius held of Lowell for longer than he should have been able to. "Oi! Retreat! We've got what we wanted!" Gaius yelled. He threw a powdery substance at Lowell's feet. A cloud erupted from it and Gaius disappeared.

Vincent couldn't hold out any more, his head rolled back and he blacked out.

The Next Day…

Vincent woke up in his tent, his arm in a sling. He looked to the left and right of him to see Kid and Heather on either side.

Damn! I will KILL Gaius!

Vincent got out of bed and left the tent, not caring about the pain or that it was bad for his health. He made his way to the command tent. He walked right passed the guards into the tent.

"Vincent!? What are you doing, you should be resting!" Chrom said startled.

"I must kill Gaius. No one betrays me and gets away with it!" Vincent snarled.

A generic soldier ran into the tent, "Milord! There is a group of Valmese that demands the presence of you and your tactician!"

Vincent looked at the soldier, "Take me there."

"Hello Vinnie! Great to see you back on your feet! I should have expected that though, your plans always went wrong and someone else had to pull you out," Gaius said, now wearing red Valmese assassin clothes.

"What is that supposed to mean," Vincent said coldly.

"Tch, not very friendly. The point is, you always rely on your friends for help. You can't do anything by yourself," Gaius smirked.

"I will kill you, I swear it!" Vincent yelled, drawing upon his fire magic despite Chrom's warning remark.

"I wouldn't do that…" Gaius baited.

"And why is that," Vincent said hatefully.

"Because if you want your wife and children back, you need to hand yourself over to us," Gaius said victoriously.

NO!

"Prove that you have them," Vincent's voice slightly quavered as he called the bluff.

Gaius noticed it though, "I don't need to, he will." Gaius pointed at a man running towards them. Remy.

"Father! They took them and knocked me out! I couldn't do anything…" Remy said with tears in his eyes.

Vincent turned back to Gaius, "And what happens if I don't hand myself over?"

Gaius' sadistic grin grew even bigger, "I'll kill them myself, and no prior friendships will stop me!"

He wouldn't…NO!

"You have twenty four hours Vinnie, don't disappoint," Gaius began to walk away.

Vincent drew up what false confidence he had left, "Didn't anyone ever tell you? There's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there's one thing you never, ever, put in a trap."

Gaius cocked his head to the side, "And what is that?"

Vincent smirked a false smirk, "Me."