The Taguel Do not Play
Alright, this is where a pairing for Yarne is finally confirmed…not much of a surprise, considering Jane Glass (the one whose contest I'm writing this story for) told me I could pair him with the woman of my choosing, and…that's in this story, so you'll find out without me telling you, just in case you wanted to be surprised.
Yarne had lost himself to unconscious from the shock of the fall, and in his mind something fell and clicked into place.
"Yarne, hey, glad you're here." Severa said, looking up from a book she was reading.
"Am I due for another verbal attack?"
"No, I actually wanted to thank you for stopping that Pegasus Knight, she had me cornered and her friends were closing, I don't know why I let her get that close to me…but it was still a foolish move, you could've been sliced twelve ways to winter!"
"Really, I didn't notice…though you had a strange look on I've never seen before, the one I imagine I often have, right before I feel my life flashing before my eyes."
"Hey, why do you seem so calm about that? You could've been dead! And I wasn't scared, so that dies here."
"That…didn't occur to me…I don't know why, I was just so fierce, I could feel how fierce I was, it was like me looking at an ideal vision of me, but the reason why I did what I did…I knew you could handle them, and it wasn't to speed up our battle progress, and it wasn't to fight alongside Dad, either, though it may have looked like I didn't see the archers at first and flew from them to the nearest warrior, but it was just…just to be close to you, I guess."
"W-what, it must've been my imagination; no matter how I wish it wasn't, but did you say…what I heard you say?"
"Umm, if it was...you said no matter how much you wish it wasn't your imagination, right? You mean that, right?"
"Well, I did help you become a better fighter, I should hope that counts for something."
"It wasn't that…there was something caring in the way you scolded me, like you didn't want to yell at me, but I here you enjoy being angry, so what's real?"
"Well, I guess…it's rooted deep into the world we came from, I had a argument with my mom, and the next day…the very next day-" Severa's voice trailed off as she tried to keep herself from crying, but couldn't and sank to the ground, Yarne sat down next to her.
"It's alright," he said as he place his arm around her shoulder.
"No it's not, I wasn't…what I said to her…it wasn't pretty. I told her how angry I was that she always watched out for Chrom, she always talked about him, or to him…I know she wasn't going to leave Dad, but when I asked why she always talked to Chrom…she knew how easily flustered I was, so she just said she was fighting to protect someone special…important…and that day I snapped, she snapped back…it was about time she showed she was human, but that meant mortal too, after our argument we agreed not to fight again, the next day I didn't wake up until she was…not coming back. I asked her how she became so perfect, asked her why I was even born, why they needed me around, every time the answer was in front of me, and every time I told myself that I couldn't be the reason she kept volunteering to spy on the enemy…we all have a different expression, she had told me once…a different way of saying what we need to. That night I asked her why I was there, she was trying to find a way to tell me, but knew I'd be too embarrassed to hear the answer, maybe even afraid I would become worse about the topic, and then I told her that it made things hard for me, having a war goddess for a mother, and she yelled and said she was only a human too, and that she didn't want to be perfect, that she wished people would see her flaws better, that was the only time I've ever seen her cry, the first time she looked human to me, every hour between that and the apologies was filled with fear for me, afraid that the only one I knew could win the war single handedly had been flawed, just because I asked her to be, and looking back, I thought that was the best translation for every word I said…and that scared me, I had always wanted to be powerful, to have whatever I wanted…and when I finally saw my wish granted, I didn't know what I would do next, I actually felt alone, which is weird, because Chrom's army hadn't been to war yet, everyone was still there…but the castle was invaded, the guards drove back the initial attack, but the Shepherds had been carefully targeted, five years later and the Risen returned with terribly powerful numbers, and we fled…I had never felt easy about leaving, but that world is filled with painful memories…but we're going back, aren't we?"
"Severa…does the Cordelia of this time know?"
"And I'll never tell her, it's too painful."
"Well, does anyone else know?"
"Why should they? They don't need to know how weak I really am, besides, if they did then they'd worry about me, and I don't need if we have more Risen to fight."
"Well, why me, then?"
"You asked me a question, I answered it, I never dreamed I'd become mean, but everyone who looked down at girl who couldn't be compared to her mom…they respected me…better, they feared me, if she was seen as a war goddess, I was seen as death goddess, they were afraid of me because I was young, no experience, no training, only raw power fueled by angry, and I always thought of how angry mother was when she heard how they made fun of me for never being able to even set a saddle on a Pegasus, much less soar like she did. Looking back, they got what they wanted, but I didn't, I wanted to be my mother, but I turned into a monster."
"You're not a monster, and I hear you stand up for Noire all the time."
"Well, she is weak, but it's not her fault."
"And I'm strong, but I be weak anyways, you've helped both of us, too."
"What are you trying to say, that I'm a nice person?"
"You try to be, so yeah, you're a nice person with mean habits, and I kind of feel like were a lot alike."
"Ha, of course we're alike, I push us both until we're better, and you remind us both of how fragile we are."
"We're perfect for each other!"
"What?! I was just agreeing that we were alike, so now what are you trying to say?"
"That, um…I like you, and uh, you okay?"
"Yes, I'm just trying to make sure I don't miss anything, continue."
"You look like you're angry, but if you're sure you're not then I have a question, will you be my girl?"
"Only if you're sure, once you're mine I'm not letting go."
"Alright, I'm yours!"
"That's what I was hoping you'd say."
"Ha, ha, you're cheeks are very red now."
"Shut up…just shut up…before I decide to give you a shave, then we'll see who's face is redder."
"We're some pair, huh?"
"Are you complaining?"
"No, I'm just wondering what Morgan will say, do you think she knows?"
"Of course she does, she probably saw this from miles away…which is kind of annoying, if we go back together now, Morgan will surely say something."
"And you'll probably say something too."
"Am I that predictable?"
"To Morgan, I'd be surprised if you weren't."
Yarne opened his eyes and recalled that he had just been falling, and that he had kicked off the face of a cliff, and something about a knife.
"Looks like I'll get my lucky rabbit's feet after all." Yarne heard a voice say, and when he turned he saw the dark red robes sailing along the ground like it was water, the figure in them chuckling, despite the scratches over the face and the soreness apparent in the arm and shoulder, "Quite a fall, huh?"
"You're still alive?!" Yarne yelled before he retransformed.
"Yes, I am, less than I can say for you in a few brief moments."
"No, you go extinct!" he yelled as he leapt forward, before turning around and kicking off of the assassin, and turning to see what the assassin does next.
"I-impressive…you are rumored to be the weakest of the Taguel, perhaps are incomplete brainwash backfired…but you will die, just not today." The assassin fled and Yarne retransformed, sat down, and rubbed his ankle.
"Did I just sprain my ankle again, or is it just sore? And where's camp…up the cliff. Let's see, umm, I guess I'll follow the cliff face until I find a way up." He said, wincing at the prospect of the long hike.
"He's not here either." Brady said as he looked under the Justice Wagon.
"Then we have to find him. Laurent, what do you think?" Lucina asked as the mage stood after inspecting the ground.
"I think our friend's gotten braver since he got amnesia, perhaps it's given him a sense of freedom, or obligation, whatever it is, he chased off an assassin invasion, it looks as though there were five of them, or ten, as indicated by the entry points, though it's possible there were more hiding in the woods."
"But you say he chased them out of here?"
"As certain as I can be, Lucina. Look at this impression, it's not human…I have never seen or heard of this sort of mark, but it's obvious that this ground was disturbed by a vicious Taguel, Yarne dug into the ground with his hind legs, this is him running into the enemy, if he had been running away then it would seem to me that the foot marks would leave a trail in the opposite direction as the impact of the toes…he was running into enemy lines, regardless of why, whether to escape or attack, he was heading to the west…or southwest, the paw marks throw me off, here it looks like he's running south, then turns back to the west, northwest for a few feet…this zigzag pattern continues into the woods, and while it's a pattern, it is unpredictable."
"Mom told us," Morgan said, "about a time she trained with Kellam, she would jump left, right, left, right, and then strike, knocking him off balance, maybe that was Yarne attacking an individual, or maybe he was scaring them back, perhaps he was just putting them off balance, whatever it was, he isn't here now…I hope he's not hurt."
"Lucina, Morgan, you two discuss how you'll arrange the search parties, I advise two, at least, with these magical necklaces that will allow us to keep track of each other…perhaps it would have been wise to have him keep one with him, considering his newfound tendency to wander."
"Right, Morgan, follow me."
"Right with you." The tactician said as she followed her commander to a room with a desk at the end, a long table with a few papers and maps scattered about.
"According to these were about out of bows, so we won't be using many arrows."
"That's not a problem, Luce, considering the enemy has the woods pretty well surrounded…but I would advise have Noire carry as many bows as she can, just in case she can get a clear shot."
"Very well…how about this bow, a lot of users find this one very easy to use." Lucina said as she pointed to a bow on a weapons manifest.
"Yeah, but we have a lot of these right here; Noire will only be able to carry so much."
"True, perhaps we should employ the buddy system in our search party, what are the team's interactions?"
"Noire still relies heavily on Severa, and come to think of it, Severa doesn't need to carry much…though she might not be fully recovered."
"Yarne wouldn't have let things get that bad, he may have few memories, but think about it, can amnesia alter him to such an extent?"
"He definitely was the same guy, whether he remembers or not…but we know he's braver, maybe he had fewer things on his mind, now he can be brave and keep his race from dying…my race from dying…he has more confidence in his current perspective, and he's my brother, he has to at least live for my sake, if not for this time's Mom and Dad."
"I agree, he still remembered us to some degree, he's still our friend, he will survive for us, now, here were the buddy-ups we had last time."
"Switch Kjelle and Cynthia."
"Huh? What's changed?"
"Gerome and Kjelle are getting along better, apparently there was some notion of 'Eternal rivalry'."
"Huh?"
"I don't get it either, but things have smoothed out some for them, but Cynthia…Gerome's current buddy…she's been annoying him, I think, and Kjelle's current buddy is Owain, fortunately he's perfectly flexible in these situations, but Severa has to stay with Noire, I think it would be a good change for Noire to be on the supporting side, rather than be the supporter, it might give her a sense of greater self-respect, while also letting Severa have the feeling that she is capable of protecting our archer, I mean, she did suffer some ugly scratches, so this will be like us telling her that we believe she knows her own limits, who knows, it might make her embarrassed to know that Noire's able to see how bad she does, or maybe make her feel a renewed sense of strength and dependability, either way she knows there isn't any pettiness in our strategies, but I also want everyone to carry a few medicines with them, Noire will carry one pack for herself, Severa will carry a few for herself, plus some bows for Noire, you and me are taking the Justice Wagon."
"I was buddied up with Laurent last time, who were you paired with?"
"Yarne, he's not available, so I guess that means we'll take Laurent along with us…I was hoping so, this way I can look while you drive, and he does all the fighting, instead of me having to fight and search."
"Alright…wait, no, that seems like we're not maximizing our potential, you should focus on being combat orientated, while Laurent searches."
"What, but think about it, he has the highest magical aptitude of anyone here."
"And you're not too far behind him, not to mention you're physical combat aptitude…and you have the power Ingis, not many folks are born with such latent abilities! Only Grandmasters ever possess that skill!"
"I guess so."
"Think about it, you'll be able to add your magical power to your physical attacks, your strength to your magic attacks, it's perfect! You have to be the combat orientated one!"
"Yeah, I know, but my brother's out there…I have to search, what if Laurent's glasses slip off or something?"
"If he's the one searching then all he has to do is focus, if he was on the offensive…look, there probably won't even be a battle, we might not even be the ones to find him, you're going to help us look anyways, until we need you to fight, no one said you couldn't search until then."
"I know, but as a battle plan…we're wasting time, and you're right, I have special powers, let's go find Yarne."
"Alright, I'll mobilize the team."
Yarne followed the cliff until he collapsed, groaning from his extended fast, which should have ended in the morning. He glanced up at the sky and was sure he heard a voice talking to him, and then he passed out.
Yarne looked up from the floor, where he had been sitting down stacking blocks, when Morgan dropped herself next to him, "This is boring." She said exasperatedly."
"It's not boring." Yarne said quietly.
"Fine, but you know what would be more fun?"
"What?"
"Well, I was thinking, why stack blocks, when we could stack books!"
"But that's what we're doing, stacking blocks."
"Hey, you're not listening, I said stacking books would be better."
"But isn't that what happens to them anyways, getting stacked?"
"I mean miles and miles high, all the way to the roof high!"
"And if they fall then we'll get hurt, no thanks, this is more fun."
"Oh, come on, this is so boring! Hey, I know, let's fight, go on, I have my beaststone right here, whip yours out and we'll fight right here!"
"No, what if we get hurt? Then what happens to the future of the Taguel, we can't die!"
"I'm not going to kill you…but our uncertainty of that makes it all the more thrilling, don't you think?!"
"Or more dangerous, I don't want to fight, we'll get scratches, those could get infected, and we could die."
"How about a game of chess, I can teach you."
"With chess pieces, you mean…I don't know, I've never played chess before."
"Come on, I'll teach you! We can start with the horse guy piece, see he jumps three spaces, but not in a straight line, oh no, no, not him, he jumps in corners!"
"This sounds confusing already."
"Only because we don't have a chess board, come on, it'll be fun."
"Fine, I'm coming, just give me a minute."
"Hey, kits, what're you up to?" Panne asked, smiling with a bowl of carrot stew.
"Nothing, I'm about to beat Yarne in a game of chess, is all…after I teach him about the pieces."
"Alright, sounds like fun, I'll watch."
"Where's Daddy, Mommy?"
"He's reviewing some papers, again…he heard there were reports of Risen near the Haunted Mansion, it might be nothing, but we're never sure about these things."
"Yeah, but he was looking at papers yesterday, too."
"I know, but he has to keep everyone safe, it's important that the Risen don't catch us off guard…though I lived on my own for a while before joining Chrom's army…I know how to use a couple of maps…having him do all the work is an insult to my intelligence, so I'm going to have him come down here while I organize a few things for him, he needs a break."
Yarne woke up and found himself under the shadow of night, feeling more ill than he remembered, so he started to lay back down, curled up in hopes of easing his stomach cramps when he heard bushes rustling and twigs snapping. He was still his transformed state, so he stayed low to the ground and kept his ears and eyes alert. Yarne checked his options, a tree was behind him, to his left; there was dense foliage behind him, into which he considered running. He winced as he considered these choices, and decided his best options were to stand and fight. Yarne stared at the bush were he had heard the movements and rolled himself suddenly onto his side, leapt left, and dove forward, knowing that whoever it was, they would have expected him to jumped right, as is the method applied before the killing blow by most Taguel…or so he had the feeling his mother once told him, but he was sure he wasn't wrong, and he knew he saw his target try to sidestep him, but it was too late, the Taguel was upon them.
Yarne stared at his target, glaring furiously, until he looked at his victim: Panne.
"Mother, what are you doing?!"
"Nice to see you again too, Yarne…nice attack just then."
"I could have torn your face off, and all you have to say is 'nice attack'?!"
"Ha, you could have spared the energy to jump to the right before you dove in."
"I knew you'd be expecting that, I just didn't know that you'd be…you."
"I'm I to take it I'm complimented?"
"I don't know, but how did you know where to find me?"
"Miriel told me she had contacted her kit in this general area."
"Um, did she use the exact words?"
"I'm paraphrasing, she said Laurent, name and all, but we must hurry to your friends, I heard several heartbeats pound in the forest, it was as thunder, there must be at least twenty—no, more like thirty of them…I smell the stench of that one assassin among them."
"One in particular I should be worried about?"
"Yes, your scent was present, I take it you've met her, she wears a knife on her belt, concealed by her coat…or at least an empty place for the knife…her shoulder armor had been torn, she was covered in scratches, I presume you won?"
"I think so, ah, feels like my stomach's about to kill me, oh, my stomach."
"Here, you, turn back into a human, I'll carry you."
"Not a problem!" he said as the beast form vanished, leaving Yarne to fall forward, caught by his mother who helped him to lie down, then raised him up and carried him along the cliff, "So, you used maps a lot when you were on your own, huh?"
"I know a few things about planning ahead with a map, why?"
"Umm, you answered pretty specifically."
"You asked a little apprehensively, I could tell you were worried that it was related to the chapter of my life where the…warren fell…so naturally you would be asking about long distance travel, how I survived the harsh conditions."
"Not exactly, but how did you survive?"
"I didn't survive, I fell further and further into the depths of despair and loneliness, the only thing sadder than a last Taguel, is a last Taguel with no warren."
"But your warren is…-"
"My old warren is dead, but I've long since associated the same feelings with the Shepherds with the ones I felt in the presence of the warren…what I say I do for the warren, I say I do for the Shepherds; they are the warren, now, now that I've found them."
"How did you find them?"
"By doing a favor for a friend, because of that favor I was able to indulge the Taguel instinct of being with the warren, and a few key warriors were able to help me find that ability, your father included…I always thought the warren was something that simply was, and that it could be no other way, now I see I was wrong, I was born into the warren, they accepted me as I grew older, but aside from whatever shaped my ideals, I still had trouble accepting the loss, so I exiled myself…not in the most literal form, but I would have, if that instinct had died with the original warren…but still stayed there, and I dreamt of other Taguel, but I couldn't expect there were anymore…which was sad, and while it's true I was alone, it wasn't true that it had to stay that way…Taguel are going to want to be around other Taguel, I saw too late that I was born a Taguel, I was raised a Taguel, and anyone bearing a beaststone had better prove their worth for it…like you did."
"So, you're not upset I leapt at you then?"
"Hmm, not really, I was trying to figure out if I heard my own heart beating, or if it was yours."
"Ah, so you thought I had…that I just…died?!"
"I hate to admit it, but I was scared that I was too late."
"I heard you whispering, I think."
"Our ears are strong, and yes, I was muttering to myself, regarding your wellbeing."
"I was scared too, I thought it was curtains for me!"
"Curtains, for you?" Panne chuckled lightly.
"Hey, it's not funny! I could have been killed!"
"Hmm, so you've not changed that much, I see…yet the way Miriel described Laurent's words…are you sure you can't remember anything?"
"Hmm, well, you and Dad, Morgan and me…from the other world, I mean…it before the war where you and Dad…left me."
"Yarne-"
"I had always been skittish, but you always promised that you'd be there for me, but when I needed you the most…it was when you were the reason…that was hard for me and Morgan, but somehow we survived…or maybe it's like how you said, we didn't survive…we just kept each other's hopes alive, until that fateful day at…Mount Prism."
"Is everyone ready?" Lucina asked as they reached the mountain, and a gentle slope with Risen scattered across it.
Cynthia and Gerome nodded they flew side by side, soaring over the camp, distracting the Risen while the rest of the humans ran up the mountain, cutting down the Risen archers nearest to them, running inward until the archers were destroyed, keeping close together and fighting off any other units that weren't distracted by Gerome and Cynthia, who had split up to pick up Owain and Lucina; Minerva and Gerome's steady pattern allowed Owain to stay balanced, while executing a series of speedy combination slices, while Cynthia's sudden dives gave speed to Lucina's calculated strikes, especially considering she could read Cynthia's actions to figure out the best attack.
Yarne and Morgan watched from a distance, Yarne was trembling at the prospect of rushing into the Risen camp, "We'll be killed if we stay, Yarne, so let's go, now!"
"I can't, what if I mess up, either way I'm dead!"
"Hey, I'm right here, you know?"
"Please…don't…they promised to come back!"
"And I swear not to leave you, so just follow me, okay?"
"When you say it like that I-hmm…fine." Yarne conceded, and the two transformed their battle form.
Yarne looked back often, and watched as the path they took up the mountain was swarmed with Risen, and suddenly, the well-formed units fell into disarray, not that Yarne noticed, as far as he was concerned the only form visible was chaos and death, the only pattern was fear, and the only feeling not numbed was the pace of his heart as his body promoted the flight or fight program…and he choose flight, and broke through the enemy lines, back to where they had come from.
"Yarne!" Morgan yelled as she turned to follow her brother, with losing focus of her safety. Morgan raced up to him, but as they closed distance, attacks meant for him were passed to her, "Yarne, stop!" she pleaded, and the Taguel saw the various cuts and scrapes, and thought of how his mother must have looked in her final battle, he almost resolved to fight the Risen, but before he did Morgan had drunk a vulnerary and swapped her beaststone out for her blade
"Morgan, what are you doing?"
"Changing tactics, run to Lucina, I saw her and Laurent protecting Brady, I'll find Cynthia and have her airlift our units."
"But you might get hurt!"
"I can't worry about that…I know how they must have felt, promise not to leave us, and then all their choices are snatched away…I have no choice, I can't let this opportunity to regroup slip away!"
"Please, don't go, send me!"
"Yarne…you don't mean that, you want to, but you can't expect me to believe you'll change over this, but I believe you will, now please, before I have to order you, go to Lucina and Laurent and help them cover Brady, it'll improve all our chances to survive, take my word on this."
"Fine, hurry back, though…I don't think I would know what to do if I lost you too!"
"Don't worry, but the same applies to you, too."
"I'll be careful." He said before tearing through the crowd of Risen to where his allies held off the rest of the Risen.
"Where's your sister?"
"Lucina, she told me to run over here, she's going to find Cynthia and lift them back over here, she said it was a good opportunity to regroup, it'll increase our chances of survival."
"Just stay with us, then, we're pretty much in the center of the battle, and where at a pivotal point in the battle."
"But we're far from our goal, aren't we?" Laurent asked, looking around him at the chaos.
"Yeah, we're pretty far off, but we'll prevail, somehow, we have to, this world's past depends on it." Lucina pressed, as she held off three Risen by stepping back and forward, keeping them uncertain as to her intentions, but as this went on one Risen struck, she stepped left and sliced the three of them at once, then leapt forward and stabbed an oncoming fourth Risen, and leapt back, refocusing on Brady, "You still alright?"
"I ought to be fight too, you keep risking your neck and Laurent keeps using those magic books, but how soon before he's out of books, until he's defenseless?"
"The odds of you asking this," Laurent began, "at this critical moment, is slim, what a ruthlessly cruel concurrence."
"Does that translate to you're out of fire power?"
"No that…in a manner of speaking, yes I'm…out of firepower."
"That's no good, we're baked."
"No we're not!" Morgan yelled as the cut through the Risen in front of her and stepped forward with more books, which Laurent happily accepted, but frowned upon noticing the Risen that closed the point where she entered the area.
"Um, Morgan, I hope you have more books for yourself."
"Yep, and with the two of us burning through the thickest concentration of Risen, we minimize the chance that we'll hit a friend, and maximize the number of Risen we toast!"
"Should you be so enthused?"
"Well, we'll live, that's enough for me, now let's carve our way to where Cynthia just took off, she should be going to pick up Owain, she will intercept Nah on her return flight, inform her to pick up our friends, and bring them back, we already informed Gerome of our plan, the rest of us should be along shortly…Brady, can you detect any injured friends?"
"Inigo's close by, he's not badly hurt, but he's on the way to Severa, who's not looking to tough right about now."
"Alright, then we'll pick him up first, and have you heal him, I'll make a run to Severa and hand her a vulnerary," Lucina said, "and I want you to head up the mountain a bit, expand our area by spreading apart some, not so much that the enemies can close the gap, though…just prepare the way for us." She said s she started pass Brady, but was stopped by Yarne.
"It's too risky!"
"Yarne!" she said as she stepped back offended, "these are our friends, and I won't not take risks just because of the risk of being critically wounded, stop trying to convince me that I can't do this! I'm sorry, but I have to go." She said, resuming her charge through the lines, meeting the edges of several swords and axes, not fighting those she didn't have to in order progress to Severa's location, but she met Inigo along the way, "Head back the way I came from, we're regrouping, I'm picking up Severa, I'll bring her back soon." Those words were all Yarne heard before he lost her voice under the turmoil surrounding him.
He didn't know how they had gotten so far, but they were surviving the climb up the mountain, Brady healing them while they moved up, Cynthia had required much attention from his staff, but was feeling better and he could focus on the others as well. Yarne didn't know when the Risen stopped attacking them at every corner, but he did remember Lucina kneeling at an altar, called a Dragon's Table…all he knew was what Laurent read to the group in what books weren't burned when the castle library burned down in the Risen invasion. All he knew was that they would perform the Rite of Awakening, and have the key to stopping Grima. Yarne could hear the fell dragon's shriek from in the underground cavern where they stood, even the thought of it chilled him until he shivered.
"Is everything alright?" Morgan asked her brother, who shook his head in both "Yes" and "No" before deciding on "Yes".
"We have so much at stake here." He said as he turned back to Lucina, who stood kneeling at the Dragon's Table.
"Naga," he heard her whisper, "here my voice, Exalt and Falchion's wielder, I beg you the power to end the threat to our world…and send us back! I stand ready to face your flames, and I stand ready to fight Grima in the past, as we could not in this time! Here the voice of the Awakener!" Yarne stared at Lucina's side of the room, her words chilling him worse than Grima's shrill voice, reaching miles to where they stood, through the cavern underground, where they stood, gathered around Lucina, who kneeled at Naga's Divine Dragon's Table. He wondered if she knew what she was asking of Naga, and was quite certain he didn't know what to think, his mind wandering different levels, wondering if he knew what it meant to follow her, but he had known it was this, or the dark dragon…he'd rather have a quick, painless death than have his doom stare down at him until delivering a final, painful blow.
Suddenly Naga's voice rang out through the cavern underground, where could now be heard the voices of two mighty, legendary dragons. Yarne hoped to see a bright flash of white and wake up to a world where everyone wasn't dead, a world where Naga had appeared from the Dragon's Table and tore through the cavern underground, and where she would slay the dark one, but that is not what happened as she spoke the first word he heard her speak.
"Awakener." the voice spoke, acknowledging Lucina's bloodline, and he saw Lucina jolt back, as though struck, but she didn't fall over, only stare at the empty space over the Dragon's Table, in that darkening cavern under the surface of Mount Prism, where two voices, one shrilly shriek heralding the final doom of Lucina's army, and one calm and peaceful, willing no harm upon her audience, the final hope for two doomed worlds, the present and the past, and perhaps a third world, the future.
Lucina screamed as though mortally wounded, and Yarne remembered that if she wasn't strong enough she would die, and Yarne felt all hope drain away as he envisioned her collapsing upon the floor, the world's last Exalt; but she didn't die, instead she leaned back, straightening herself and staring forward, "You are strong, Awakener."
"Then you can help us?"
"I would unlock Falchion's full potential, you would have the power to defeat Grima…but the fate you seek to alter…this fate, your world's final hours until Grima slays the last human, this is a fate which you cannot control, do not try to control the actions of the world you will find, because in doing so, you will pressure one who's fate is the spring of the fate of this world…the source of Grima's renewed strength."
"That's right, Validar…killed my father!"
"No, it was someone held close to Chrom's own heart, and the ruse was not seen until the end of his life…that is the one who's hand my change all of your plans…I will unlock Falchion's power, but be warned, you may not be able to find your way back here, to this time, this world may be lost to you, and you may be trapped outside your own time, in a world strange to you…knowing this, do you not wish to slay this Grima? The next world may prove difficult, as the one who awakens Grima may by stronger, and so the Grima you face will have the strength of that one…their heart being one and shared…all you will be able to do is alter key events that may change the outcome, but you'll have to decide when and where things went wrong…hurry, Grima's presence, he's here!" Naga shouted as a shadowy figure stepped forward, laughing softly as he ran towards them, but they turned to a hall, where a bright light had begun to glow, they followed it, while looking back to where Lucina was, strikes meant to distance him from Lucina, who had decided to fall back, when suddenly a white fog flew between Lucina and the human cloaked in shadows, Lucina jumped back and frowned, a rock had fallen between him and her, Yarne called out to Lucina, and she slowly turned to him, then back at the rock. Lucina pulled a mask out of her satchel and set it over her face, under the hair behind her head, then pulled the bangs up in the front away from her mask. She turned back to Yarne, and he startled back, aware now how much of her face was covered, and how much she didn't look the same, to anyone meeting her for the first time, they would never guess who she was, but she was whispering, he could tell as much, and he could tell that she was taking up the name Marth.
"Marth, Hero-King of legend, lend me your strength, even a tenth would do…I will take up your name so you will always know that I need help changing my fate, as you once challenged yours…yes, I'm aware that I'll be alone often, none of that matters, should Chrom survive in the world I am about to travel to…very well, then I challenge my fate." He had been staring, wondering who she was talking to, and turned back to see that everyone was still there, when the rock between her and the shadowed person began crumbling, "Get away!" she yelled, and everyone ran, and she ran, looking back to see herself being pursued. She set her blade away and Yarne saw no more, as he crossed into the portal where he last saw the world he knew, and closed his eyes, for who knows how many years, but he felt changed, and more afraid than ever.
Yarne awoke on the ground, his mother fighting off a group of assassins, she kept shouting for him to wake up, which he was now, so he hopped to her side and began fighting as well.
"What are you doing, Yarne?!"
"Helping you, now take this vulnerary, it'll help with that cut and those scrapes."
"Are you sure you'll stay and fight?"
"Yeah, I'll fight." He said as he charged at an assassin, striking his target with his powerful Taguel legs, sending his foe into a nearby tree, "I'm the strongest Taguel in the world…by default."
"So what am I, if not Taguel?"
"Sorry, um…and Morgan too…just let me trick myself, okay?"
"As I tricked myself, thinking I'd find survivors of that fateful night, when the hunters attacked."
"You found survivors, alright."
"You're right about that, and I think the beginning of this new Taguel tradition is something we should document."
"Me too, if we survive this madness first that is."
"Ha, you never change, do you?"
"Neither did you or Dad, you're just like I remember, except different."
"So you're remembering things, then?"
"Bits and pieces…and shards and fragments…and threads…I'll have it all back soon enough." Yarne said as he slammed the final assassin into a tree.
"Come on, Yarne, I hear Lucina and Morgan…in the Justice Wagon and someone else with them, but they aren't talking."
"I hear it too." Yarne said as he followed Panne through the woods, to where Lucina was driving slowly along the ground, glancing from bush to bush, with Morgan and Noire also searching the area.
"Hey, wait up!" Yarne yelled, running out of the woods, Panne close behind.
"Lucina, turn around, look!" Morgan exclaimed, the princess steering towards the Taguel dashing out of the woods.
"Hey, guys," Morgan greeted them, "hop in…hop, like rabbits, get it?!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure, just take me back to the camp." Yarne said shaking his head as he sat down next to Noire.
"Anything you want to talk about?" the archer inquired.
"Not right now, I'm trying to put everything together…it's all coming back to me in blurs."
"So you're remembering something?" Noire said cheerfully, causing him to smile too.
"I hope so, it's either that, or my brain's filing in the gaps…am I starting to think like my sister, or what?"
"Just like her! It must be your big brain that you got from the Grandmaster…I am sorry that you can't remember everything, though…it makes me feel sad to think about it, so you'll excuse me for trailing off the subject, like…um…well…there's-"
"The one who I dove into the fray to protect…the battle with you know who…I may have remembered something about her."
"What, you mean that far back? Oh, wait, you remembered that?! Oh, I don't what she's going to do, but she had hoped you wouldn't remember…I mean…forget I said it! We didn't talk! We didn't say anything!"
"Alright, alright, calm down…I may not be remembering, it might be me filling in the gaps."
"Wishful thinking it could be, then? Why don't you ask her about it?"
"Sure, all I remember is that she…explained to me why she is the way-"
"Nope, we didn't even speak!"
"What does that mean?"
"Well, she said she was going to tell you…wait, no, bad, Noire, bad! You'll have to wait until she says anything, she's still coping with this, it's hard for her, she said so to me…but she only ever explains herself to those she trusts most, she had told Cordelia, you see, and I accidently overheard."
"What are you two gossiping about Severa for?" Morgan asked, turning around to the back, smiling, "You have to tell me too!"
"No, I can't, this isn't what she wanted to have happen, she is still thinking things through…don't ask what," Noire said, shaking her head slowly, "because I hardly know what's going on in her mind, but she's like an older sister…or mother, when you consider Tharja…never mind, point is, I respect her, and if you bring this up, she might be upset…and if you upset her…you don't want to know what happens if you upset her."
"I don't know, Kjelle's strong, agile, but her shoulder's look like they'd be bulky beyond tackiness" Inigo was saying, "but I do know that I'm not an incredibly tacky, too much bulk is tacky, and that won't be me."
"Oh yeah, well I bet," Cynthia challenged, "that you have to shop in the extra-large department, just to keep you elbows from tearing sleeves."
"Please, it's not as bad as all that," Inigo shrugged, "just a little bit of that bad."
"What are you guys talking about now?" Yarne asked, Inigo smiling as the question was poised.
"Why, my good friend Yarne-"
"Oh, no, he called me his good friend."
"Hey, you are a good friend, and I was just wondering, what do you think Kjelle would do in response to me asking to borrow her dumbbells for a while? Just to see if I can surpass her in battle, I should ask how long she lifts them for."
"Um, did you ask yet, I think I saw her over there…I can hear her talking and track her that way."
"Oh, see, you're a very good friend, but I was talking with my good friend Cynthia, so I was just wondering, could you go and collect the dumbbells…I'll have the exercise area set up shortly."
"Wait right there, you're just trying to find an excuse to spar with me, aren't you?" Kjelle glared as she spoke, "You always wanted to hit me, just to prove you could lay a scratch on me, well, let me tell you, buddy, I wanted…I have always wanted to hit you, but I couldn't because I was afraid I'd knock any remaining sense out of you, but who knows, maybe it works for you like everyone else, and I'll smack some sense right into that little brain of yours."
"Let's test that theory!" Inigo cried out enthusiastically.
"That boy really doesn't learn, does he?" Yarne asked, shaking his head. Severa used this as an opportunity to pull Yarne away.
"You've better things to do than stand around watching Inigo get his ticket punched, don't you…or don't you?"
"I don't know about tickets, but he is about to get punched."
"It's an expression, he's about to get his butt kicked, is that better? Come on, Yarne, time to put you to work."
"Okay, Severa, what needs getting done today?"
"Well, besides the usually pressing matter of getting your memory back, pretty much the chores you'd expect…and think of backing out! You need to get back to the little things, or the bigger things will wear you out…what I mean is that earlier…I heard from Panne, what you did, what you've been doing on an empty stomach, not only fighting, but meeting them halfway, you've gotten stronger, braver, I can admire you for that."
"Why does it feel like you've said that before?"
"So, that jogged your memory, right? I've been waiting for you to progress this far, that way you'd have the same sense of accomplishment as you did that day…not too long ago, but too long ago for me."
"Severa," he said timidly, "um, I remembered you saying that…earlier."
"What, what triggered this? Why didn't you tell me sooner? This changes the entire fight, we-"
"No," Yarne shook his head, "not 'we' you and me, us…I've been wondering, and I accept that memory as true, even Noire said you didn't open up to people you didn't trust all that much."
"Noire…is slightly wrong, see, at the time it was war and I was trying to make up with Mom, which is useless, because she doesn't remember it because she wasn't there, so it was pointless! At first she was the only person I thought I'd never trust, but I wanted to…and so I found her in her tent before dinner, we talked a lot and she kept trying to tell me that no one could be upset with me, she said it was like that for her, except opposite, everyone seemed to resent her for being too perfect…but then she learned they really cared about her, and I was wondering if everyone back then was just concerned for me…but they weren't…the was that I was useless, I remembered my real mom and I would always try to prove that I was catching up to her, to prove that I wasn't on the path to becoming worse at everything than she was, but that I would eventually surpass her…and then she told me we didn't have anything to prove, never did, never will, then made a promise not to die, and then she died…and then I left. Now, back to Noire being wrong, it wasn't that I can't tell this to people I don't trust, but to those who really will never have to know until I tell them, at which point I'll know if I need them to know…follow?"
"Um, you knew you'd want me to know, because I would have to know, because…why?"
"Because I love you, you silly rabbit, that's why you had to know, I wanted to…I don't know, feel less like your worst nightmare, close the distance between us…that way you wouldn't be thinking I was crazy or something, which shouldn't be ruled out."
"You're probably right…you might be crazy over me, that wouldn't be good."
"No it would…what did you say? That I was crazy about you? Well, yeah, but you had better feel the same way, got it?"
"Trust me, I understand…hey, you know, I don't feel like I'm forgetting anything…I know I am, but it doesn't feel that way."
"Well that's good…Yarne, I never really understood Taguel very well, but I want to know more about them, you know?"
"Well, we're cute, and we're endangered."
"Yeah, that's what I figured…but I never knew you were endangered."
"Wait, let me think about that…hey, what?!"
"Ah, ha, ha, even cuter when you're flustered."
"Yeah, well, I never actually felt like a Taguel…not for a long time, but mom and I would often try to recreate Taguel tradition…if I remember, we've made a little progress…but still, there's something I finally understand about being a Taguel, and that is that I never was a Taguel…until that day after we fought Grima, you we're terrifying, and I had a new perspective…I think I'm braver now."
"I know you're braver…just survive through this fight too, okay? I'd hate to lose you too."
"You got it! Now, first thing about Taguel, do not pull our ears, ever."
"I was actually just about to do that…joking, gosh Yarne, you'd think I was trying to kill you or something."
"You never can tell." He mused quietly.
This feels like a good place to close up, it's getting more and more difficult to keep progress through the story, but it's very fun because this Fire Emblem: Awakening was just about made with fanfiction in mind, all the time lapses and alternate universes…I'm thinking about a couple of other stories I'd like to write based in the alternate worlds, and I really should get back to my first few stories as well…well, hopefully everyone's enjoying this story so far.
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