Chapter 15 Cave of Time

"Is this it?"

"Fie, this is indeed the ancient Cave of Time. Naga's Tear is sure to be somewhere deep in this cave."

"Wow~~! This place is BEAUTIFUL!"

The seven Shepherds in attendance took a minute to marvel at the historical blue cave. There were blue tile floors along with fountains and small square pools of water everywhere. On top of all that, the crystals on the ceiling lit the cave like, or maybe even better than, sunlight. It was exactly like a holy grounded sanctuary should look like, unlike your everyday cave.

Lissa skipped over to the many pools of water and placed her fingers in the cold liquid. "Holy cow!" She yelped in surprise and turned around to the other four with widened eyes. "Guys! This water really CAN heal!" She exclaimed as she could feel the healing energy run through her body just by putting her finger in the water.

"Fie." Say'ri nodded and walked up behind the kneeling princess. "This is water that is said to be blessed by the Tear of Naga that resides within this place." Lissa let out another gasp of amazement before rolling her sleeve back and placing it deep in the water. "It would be wise to use caution Lady Lissa. This water is a lot deeper than the eye can see and also has many creatures dwelling below." Lissa immediately extracted her hand in fear the second the words left the swordswoman's mouth. "Haha! Fear not Lady Lissa. There is nothing in the water that you should fear, unless you are scared of goldfish and bass."

Lissa let out a sigh of relief. "Gods Say'ri! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Your heart attack can wait Lissa. We must find this 'Tear of Naga' right away." Chrom stepped in and walked deeper into the cave; Naomi, Matthew, Emmeryn and Lucina following quickly behind. Lissa and Say'ri quickly followed behind the group.

It had been 3 days since the Shepherds successfully rescued The Voice from her imprisonment in the Mila Tree. Many events took place those 3 days. For one, Lissa and Gaius had their wedding on top of the Mila Tree thanks to Tiki's blessing. The wedding wasn't everything a wedding was suppose to be. There weren't enough chairs in the library, that was also on top of the massive tree, so most of the soldiers and Shepherds had to stand. Plus, the only four people who were actually dressed for the occasion was Libra, Virion, and the bride and groom, but Lissa showed such joy that could easily trample over any negative emotions she's ever had in the past. The blonde princess wore a pure white dress, which Gaius purchased from Anna at a deathly high price, and the thief wore a clean white suit provided by Virion. Matthew believed that it was indeed the first time he had ever seen Gaius change into anything different besides his thief garb. Matter a fact, it was the only time he looked clean at all.

Emmeryn happily stood as one of Lissa's brides maid along with Sumia and Olivia, while Maribelle being her maid of honor. Gaius chose the tactician as his best man and chose Stahl, Donnel, and, surprisingly, Frederick to be the groomsmen; all men in full armor. Chrom stood as the one to hand off Lissa to the thief. He showed no complaints and looked generally happy for his sister who shed tears of joy as they both walked down the isle on the white rug. After Libra said the 5 words that Gaius and Lissa had been waiting for throughout the entire wedding, the two shared as a long, soft kiss that was awed and applauded by the soldiers and Shepherds in attendance.

On that same day Chrom and Matthew discovered many things from their 2 days one night stay with The Voice. One being the 5 orbs they will need to perform the awakening with the Fire Emblem. They also discovered the source of reinforcements from a small island on the far southwest side of the Valmese continent. Tiki informed them about a man by the name of Priam who is a descendant of the Radiant Hero of Legends himself. Chrom and Matthew would have gladly gone over to said island themselves, but time was of the essence. Instead, a small group consisting of Frederick, Gaius, Maribelle, Henry and Gangrel were sent to the island in hopes of persuading the Radiant Hero to join forces. The rest of the army laid station on the outside of the cave the seven Shepherds currently ventured through.

Tiki gave them knowledge of this Cave of Time to look for an item called the Tear of Naga that could boost the power and skills of an individual. It could only be used on one person, but it was worth it none the less. She also spoke of legendary items that could be found. The Cave was just half a days march away from the tree and didn't really put a dent in their path to Fort Steiger. Anything that could be found in this beautiful cave was worth taking a little bit of time out of their schedule to explore.

The group came to a stop when three different paths appeared in front of them. The left lead to a more closed area, the middle lead downstairs, and the right was a wooden door. that seemed to be just a small room from what the Exalt could see from medium sized whole in the door. Chrom turned around to the group and began giving orders. "Alright, Matthew and I will take the middle of path, Lissa, Say'ri and Naomi take the left, and Emmeryn and Lucina will take the door to the right. Is everyone clear?" Everyone nodded at the Exalt's order...well, almost everyone.

Lissa raised her hand with a frown on her face. "Why is it that you and Matthew have to always team up in situations like this?" she complained. "I say I get to choose who goes with who!"

"Lissa, I was only thinking about this strategically." Chrom tried to defend himself. "If one of you were to get hurt it would be wise to have a healer nearby, while Matthew and I fended for ourselves. Ladies come first as you always said."

Lissa rolled her eyes annoyingly and spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Thank you so~ much Mr. Gentleman, but did you ever stop to think about advantages of a situation like this? Bonding for instance?!"

"Bonding?" Chrom said in a confused tone. "What does bonding have to do with splitting up?"

"Gods, I can't believe you are my brother sometimes!" Lissa exclaimed that made her brother frown at her little sister's insult. "We don't have to worry about anything dangerous in here since Tiki assured us that not many people know of this cave. And when I say 'bonding' I mean taking this opportunity to bond with your family since you can't really do that because of this stupid war. Say, for instance, your daughter?" Lissa motioned her head to her blue head niece behind her who looked more confused than her father. Both began catching on and let out a unison "Oh~".

"Okay, I get it now." Chrom affirmed with a smile. "Then how would you pair us up Lissa?"

Lissa stuck her chest out with pride and pounded a fist above her bosom. "Leave it all to me!" Lissa looked out to the other six Shepherds who waited patiently for the pigtailed princess. "How about Matthew and Emmeryn take the left corridor, Chrom and Say'ri take the middle, and Naomi, Lucina, and I will take the door to the left. How does that sound?!"

Matthew immediately smiled and raised his hand. "I have no problem with that."

"I second!" Emmeryn joined in.

Unlike the former Exalt and the tactician, everyone else looked somewhat confused. Then Chrom spoke up. "What ever happened to bonding?" he complained.

"We are bonding." Lissa reassured. "Matthew and Emm are bonding since they haven't had much time together, and I'm bonding with my two nieces. You see Lucina on a daily basis on the battlefield, so I'm taking her this time!"

Chrom awkwardly looked at Say'ri, then back to his smiling little sister. "But, Say'ri and I aren't even related..."

"Oh well brother. It's your own fault for not taking this opportunity to pair up with your daughter, so I will take my nieces and have them all to myself! Come on you two!" Lissa forcefully pulled the two girls against their will toward the steal door. Meanwhile, Emmeryn and Matthew began happily walking toward the wider area in the left corridor of the cave. The out group went on about their business, leaving Say'ri and Chrom in an awkward silence.

Somewhere Deep in the Cave

A hooded female figure ran through the crystal lit halls of the cave in a desperate attempt to get away from whatever was chasing her. The figure turned the corner and leaned on the wall to take a few minute to catch her breathe. "I-I think I lost them." The figure exhaled while sheathing her two killing edges. The hooded figure slid down the wall and to her rear. She gripped her head as pain shot through it. "Ow~, my head is killing me." she grunted. She was suddenly alarmed by the sound of footsteps coming closer to her position.

"Darn… I need to quickly find father."

Matthew and Emmeryn

"What did the lettuce say to the tomato...at the dinner table?" Emmeryn asked with a glowing smile on her face. Matthew raised an eyebrow at the sudden question.

"Lettuce? Tomato? What are you talking about Emm?"

"P-Please answer." Emmeryn urged. Matthew massaged his chin in thought. The tactician didn't know what his wife was up to, but he might as well go along with whatever she was trying to do. A few moments later Matthew shrugged his shoulders, unable to think of an answer for the blonde.

"I don't believe I know that answer Emm. Do you mind telling me?"

Emmeryn's smile grew wider as she said, "Lettuce Pray."

"Huh?" Matthew looked to Emmeryn in puzzlement. He didn't understand the blonde's sudden shift in the conversation, or why she was giggles after she said it. Then it hit him. "Oh, I get it. That was suppose to be a jape, right?"

Emmeryn nodded. "Yes."

Matthew began giggling softly at the joke. "I didn't know it was a jape at first. Sorry Emm. It would have been a lot funnier if you told me beforehand that it was a jape instead of just randomly saying it like that."

Emmeryn tilted her head to the side. "Was it not...funny?"

"No, it was funny." Matthew reassured while shaking his head. "It was a little cheesy, but funny."

Emmeryn smiled and clapped her hands together excitedly. "I'm happy you liked it."

"And I'm glad you told it." Matthew stopped for a moment before continuing. "Speaking of which, when did you start telling japes? Did someone tell you that one?"

"Yes...Lissa taught me."

"Lissa? Is this what you two do when she gives you 'lessons'?" Matthew knew Emmeryn, and if he knew her well, he knew that she would never lie. The chances of Emmeryn telling a lie would be the same chance a honey bee would sell it's hive.

"Lissa said...not to tell."

See.

"But why did you start taking up japes? Did Lissa forcefully teach you or something?"

Emmeryn shook her head. "I wanted to learn." She confesssed, then her face turned into determination. "I want...to be funny!" Matthew looked to his wife with confusion. He knew there had to be a reason for her new declaration and, honestly, he was nervous to find out exactly why.

"Uh, Emm? I don't know what made you come up with this sudden decision, but know that you don't have to learn japes. I'll love you regardless if you are funny or not. Besides, japes don't really…fit you character."

Emmeryn did not looked convinced at her husband's words. She held her determined face and said, "I want to...make you laugh!" Matthew rested his face in his hands. It was obvious that his words went through one of her ears and came out the other. He decided to let her do whatever she wanted since he knew well that once Emmeryn had her mind set on something, it was close to impossible to shake her resolve.

"Alright Alright." The tactician said in defeat. "...Do you have any more japes?" Emmeryn smiled excitedly and nodded. "Okay, let's hear it."

"Where do you go…to get warm when it's cold?" Matthew rubbed his chin in thought before looking back to his wife with shrugged shoulders. Emmeryn smiled and said, "A corner… It's usually around 90 degrees."

"That one was…something." Matthew said while letting out a fake laugh. "Judging from the base of that joke I'm going to assume it was either Lissa or Nowi who taught you that one."

"Wrong." Emmeryn shook her head. "It was Henry..."

"...I should have known." Matthew face-palmed. "Well, your jokes are a start, but we have to get you into a more advanced field. For instance, what do you call a cow with no legs?" Emmeryn shrugged her shoulders and the tactician answered, "Ground beef." Matthew waited for his wife to let out some form of laugher, but she never did. She just kept walking and stared at him as if still waiting for the punchline.

"I don't, get it." said Emmeryn.

"Uh, you know, ground beef? It has no legs and its beef and it's…on the ground..." Emmeryn still looked confused so Matthew sighed and said, "Never mind…" Matthew said in dismay. "…Your turn."

Emmeryn nodded and thought about her next joke. "A man was sitting on the coach one day… All of a sudden his wife walks in, and asks, 'why aren't…you at work?'"

Matthew's eyes went wide as he already could picture what the climax of the joke was. Wait a minute, she's not about to say what I think she is, is she?

"The man replies, 'why aren't...you in the kit-'"

"Stop Emm!" Matthew shouted and stopped his wife before she could finish.

"What's wrong?" Emmeryn asked with a tilted head and confused gaze.

"I-I don't think you should say those kind of japes." said Matthew.

"Why not?" Emmeryn asked innocently.

"Well, because it's offensive, especially to woman, Emm. Don't you feel offended at all by that jest?" Emmeryn put her index finger to her chin and looked up to the roof of the tent. Seconds later she looked back to the tactician with furrowed brows.

"I am, offended!"

"B-But you're the one who said it…"

"Oh! I have another!" Emmeryn exclaimed happily.

"I-I think that's enough jest for today, Emm." Matthew said nervously, but the former Exalt didn't seem to hear him as she continued.

"A man and three women, were in bed together-"

"Emm!"

"Damn it, we lost her!"

"We wouldn't have if you'd caught her the second we found her you fool!"

The couple halted in their position at the sound of an argument resonating in the cave. Matthew looked forward and to another corridor in the distance. He and Emmeryn slowly walked over and kneeled down behind the wall. The tactician peered behind the corner and in the distance were two black cloaked figures that constantly looked back and forward for something.

"We lost Jacob, Cain and Mark because of her… She could have easily found her way outside, so our chances of finding her are close to zero."

"I know… We don't have a choice but to return to Plegia and report the status of our mission."

"Dear Grima, I can only imagine what Aversa is going to do to us."

"Aversa? I'm more scared of the king! Only Grima knows what King Validar is going to make with us!"

So Aversa and Validar did have something to do with this. Matthew said inwardly. I don't know who they are talking about when they say 'she', but there is only one way to find out. Matthew slowly stood up from his current crouching position and began unsheathing his swords. He felt something tug on his cloak on his cloak and immediately turned around. What he saw utterly confused and left him in a complete distressed state. "Emm, what's wrong?" He asked his wife who trembled in fear and moved in closer to her husband.

"G-Grima." she mumbled. "G-Grimleal. They're coming for me. I-I don't want…to go back!" Matthew sheathed his sword and turned around to his quivering wife to calm her down. Never in his 2 years of memories has he seen such fear in anyone's eyes, and Emmeryn was the last person he wanted to see with a fear struck face.

"I-It's alright, Emmm. I'm here for you." He whispered soothing words into her ear, but it didn't seem to calm her down.

"I don't want to go back!" Emmeryn cried out. Matthew brought her into an embrace and felt his entire body shake from his wife's trembling.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Matthew heard one of the voices call out in the distance.

"I didn't hear anything." The second voice affirmed.

"It was faint, but I know I heard another voice."

Matthew heard the sound of footsteps coming his way followed by the sound of a sword leaving it's sheathe. Damn it, not now. Matthew cursed inwardly. Now was definitely not the time to be discovered. Fighting them off wouldn't be a problem since there were only two of them, but the trembling woman desperately holding onto him was the actual problem. She didn't seem to be in a fighting state and he didn't want to risk fighting two other enemies if his wife was too scared to defend herself. Plus, he didn't know how skilled his opponents were, so that added more to his plate. I have to do something.

The footsteps drew dangerously close and was just feet away from the tactician. Matthew slowly reached for his left sword to defend his wife with his very life. I'll do what it ta-

"Here you guys are!" The footsteps stopped just before turning the corner.

"Where were you this entire time Julian?" The second voice called out to the new voice that appeared.

"That's not important right now! The Shepherds are on the other side of this cave and are coming in right now!"

"What!" Matthew heard the masculine voice call out closest to him. "Abort the mission immediately! If they find us we are done for!" Matthew heard the sound of multiply footsteps slowly fading away in the distance. A few seconds later Matthew let out a sigh of relief and looked down to his trembling wife in his arms.

"Alright, they're gone Emm." Matthew confirmed to his wife who seemed to physically begin to calm down. Matthew stayed in the same position until his wife completely calmed down.

"I-I'm okay know." Emmeryn muttered while pushing herself away from her husband. Matthew stood and helped his wife off of the blue tiled floors.

"Emm, what happened to you?" Matthew asked in a concerned tone. Emmeryn didn't look up to him. She just stay looking down to the ground. "I want to help you in any way that I can, but I can't help you if you don't tell me."

Emmeryn continued to look down and replied, "I don't…wanna talk about it…" Emmeryn walked past her husband and into the cave. Matthew followed shortly after with a fire that erupted in the tactician's head as he thought about how his wife was just acting. It was obviously something major that she was not telling him and the Grimleal left a bad turn in his stomach.

What the hell did those dastards do to Emm?!

Chrom and Say'ri

"Find anything?"

"Nothing on my end."

Chrom exhaled heavily as this is the fifth time they have turned into an empty area. Most of the areas they stopped at either contained many blank paged tomes and books or broken swords. Some even had rusted bones of animals and even humans. The area they currently occupied only had a bookshelf with many page-less books, three empty treasure chest, and a pool of water at the far end of the area. Aside from the way they came in, there was another corridor northeast of the room, which Say'ri currently occupied, and another one to the east. Chrom thought it would be best to check that area before they continued any deeper into the cave.

"I'm gonna check out this east corridor." Chrom called out to the swordswoman."

"Alright!"

Chrom paced over to the corridor. He was alarmed when he saw a figure walking toward him. We stopped instantly and went to grab his sword. His threatened atmosphere left when he saw the robes of his tactician and the two killing edges at both sides. Chrom immediately noticed the tactician constantly looking back as if something was chasing him.

"Hey!" Chrom called out to the figure who immediately reacted by swinging its hooded head toward the Exalt and coming to a halt just 20 meters away. "Matthew, I thought we split up at the other side of the cave? Did you find another path to this pla-" Chrom quickly leaned back to avoid the quick throat slash from the hooded figure that leaped at him with blinding speed. Chrom immediately drew his legendary blade and parried the swing from the figures second wide swing in it's left hand. "What the hell Matth-" Chrom did not have time to speak as another swing came from the figure.

Chrom parried blow after blow as the duel-wielding figure refused to let up it's ruthless attack on the blue head. The longer Chrom defended himself, the faster he began to point out things about the hooded figure. For one, this figure could not possibly be Matthew. Not only was this figure almost two heads smaller than the Exalt, but the cries from her attacks were feminine, not masculine. Who was this exactly? Chrom pondered as he blocked another sword swing aimed for his neck. And why does she share almost an exact replica of Matthew's cloak, sword, and sword-style? Could this person be a Grimleal?

"You're open!" Chrom snapped back to reality from a voiced that called out behind him. He moved his head slightly to the side as the figure thrusted her blade right where his head once stayed idly by. Chrom did not waste any time as an opened appeared and he slammed his left shoulder into the woman, causing her to back up on unsteady feet for a couple of seconds before regaining her balance. Chrom let out a sigh of relief before looking over his shoulder to the Chon'sin princess behind him.

"Thanks Say'ri." said Chrom while returning to his standard battle stance and pointing his sword at the figure ahead of him who also assumed Matthew's battle stance.

"Think nothing of it, but is that Sir Matthew?"

"I'm afraid not." Chrom immediately answered, not taking his eyes off of the figure that continued to in and exhale slow and repeatedly. "She shares similar traits to Matthew, like her sword-style, but that can be a coincidence."

The Chon'sin princess saw the girl's shoulders stiffen the closer Say'ri got to the Exalt. Say'ri stopped in her trance and gazed at the other swordswoman whose heavy breathing slowed and began to assume a new stance. Both of her blades were now in reverse and her left leg was placed in front of her while the right leaned behind. The left sword was held out horizontally in front of her, while the right held behind her back and the sword pointing diagonally toward the ceiling.

Say'ri drew her sword and sprinted to the Exalt's side. "Chrom! Prepare yourself now!" The hooded woman leaped forward and swung faster than Chrom and Say'ri could almost see. Chrom was able to block the first slash, but was too slow to be able to block the second horizantal slash from the short figure. Luckily for him, Say'ri was able parry he extremely fast sword swing and shot the girl off balance. The figure quickly recovered and continued her lethal attack. This time a diagonal swing aired at Say'ri, but Chrom was able to return his favor from seconds ago by blocking the attack. Neither of the Shepherds were able to counterattack as more blinding sword swings came their way. Chrom was not fully able to block the swing and in slightly entered his forearm. Say'ri was also graced with a slashed to her leg. Two more useless attempts to block the life threating swinging. Chrom hand nearly lost his leg if he didn't step back at the right time, and Say'ri almost lost her arm from another horizontal swing.

Just a little more. Say'ri thought as she blocked the eighth slash from the short figure. She and Chrom winced in pain as they were both slashed across their legs. Say'ri began to fall to the ground but caught herself when she saw the figure began smirk and turned around. Block! Say'ri brought her sword up diagonally and prepared herself for what could be the finally blow. The girl perfectly completed her 360 degree spin and brought both her swords from her side to slash diagonally toward the ceiling.

"Checkmate!" The hooded figure said vigorously as she put all of her strength into her swing.

I can't block it! Say'ri panicked. The Chon'sin princess felt something force her backwards and she slowly fell while Chrom took her place. Chrom and the girl's blades met and Say'ri felt wind pushed her further away from the two sword fighters. Chrom was completely blown backwards by the force of the attack. The momentary force of wind only lasted for about 3 seconds before everything returned to normal. Say'ri painfully pushed herself up to her hands and knees and looked to the cave in complete bewilderment. There were cracks in the blue tiled floors and even in the cave walls!

"Dear Gods." Say'ri mumbled as she stared at the hooded figure that caused all of this. The hooded woman laid prone on the ground in the same place she finished her attack. She must not have fully mastered the attack. Say'ri said inwardly. But…still… Say'ri heard grunting next to her and looked over to the Exalt of Ylisse who leaned up to his elbows while grabbing his head.

"What…in Gods' name…was that?" Chrom asked.

"That…was Astra." Say'ri revealed. "'Tis a lightning fast attack that sacrifices power for sheer speed. It takes a great toll on the body, but it almost always guarantees victory over your opponent. It is a last resort attack and is passed down by the people of Chon'sin. It takes years just to master this technique, and I have yet to master it myself… And yet, this young girl has nearly mastered it. Not only that, but she used two swords to increase the duration of the attack!" Chrom and Say'ri looked to the hooded figure in the distance that attempted to push herself up, but fell flat on her face.

"I could only imagine what would happen to us if she had actually mastered that attack…"

"If I didn't counter that with Aether, then we wouldn't be alive, that's for sure." Chrom mumbled in a somewhat scared tone. "But that's not important right now. What's important is she is unable to move. That gives us time to capture her." Chrom stood from his sitting position and began a slow walk toward the woman who still struggled to stand to her hands and knees. Chrom knew that she heard him approaching from the way she stopped midway from pushing herself up and began a hard stare at the Exalt's boots; Falchion in hand. Chrom stopped right above the young woman and looked down to her fatigued body. Despite her fatigue she still held onto her duel killing edges. "Alright you, I don't know who you are or who taught you those moves, but if you are apart of the Grimleal then I want answers about why you are here and I want them now!"

The hooded figure did not look up to the blue head. Instead, she continued her hard stare at the Exalt's boots and did not take her eyes off of them for even a second. Chrom bent down and reached for the hooded figures cowl. I may not know if you are Grimleal or not, but I will at least know your face. Chrom stopped just inches away from the girl's cowl when he heard sniffles.

"…ther." she mumble.

"What was that?" Chrom asked with raised brows.

"Hel…*sob* me…Father…I don't *sob* want to die!" There was another sob before the girl yelled at the top of her lungs. "FATHER! PLEASE SAVE ME!" The girls voice rung throughout the entire cave and echoed over and over. Anyone in the cave would without a doubt hear the girl at that volume. "FATHER!" Chrom didn't know what to do at the moment. One minute he was filled with complete rage at the girl below him, the next he felt completely torn for making the girl so scared that she cried out for her parents. How young was this girl anyways?

"H-Hey. It's alright. I-I didn't mean to scare you." Chrom tried to speak in a soft tone to ease the pain of the grieving girl before him, but she continued to yell for help from a father that was, most likely, not around. Say'ri stepped in next to the Exalt and frowned at the man.

"Fie Exalt Chrom! You're scaring the poor thing! Is this how you treat children?" Say'ri chided at the Exalt.

"Bu-How is this my fault!" Chrom argued back at the Chon'sin woman. The hooded girl saw a slight chance to get away, but could only manage to roll over onto her rear and lift her right arm to point her sword at the two Shepherds in front of her. Say'ri and Chrom looked to the shaking girl before them. It was actually sad watching her try to still defend herself with that much fear under her hood.

Say'ri gave a warm smile at the girl and calmly walked toward her, putting both of her hands in the air to show she was no threat to her. "'Tis alright little one. I will not harm yo-"

"S-S-Stay away from me!" The hooded figure stuttered while pushing herself back and closer to the pool of water behind her. Her arm shook uncontrollably and it kept falling ever few seconds, but came right back up every time.

She must be extreme worn from using Astra. Say'ri pointed out while still approaching the timid girl. "Peace, there's no need to be afraid." Say'ri reassured while stepping closer to the swordswoman.

"I-I'm not a-afraid of you!" The girl lied while still backing away. "I-I don't know this G-Grima person and my father would never be a-associated with people like you!" Chrom eyes widened at the mention of Grima and he unconsciously walked up to the girl.

"What do you know about Grima?!" Chrom yelled which startled the cloaked figure and made her back up further.

"I said stay ba-WAH?!" The cloaked figure yelped in surprise as her hand slipped into the pool of water behind her and her entire body flipped into it.

"…Oops." The blue head mumbled which earned him a glare from the Chon'sin princess. Both Shepherds ran to the pool of water that the hooded girl fell into. First there was a smooth surface of water, then the water exploded as the girl surfaced, with both swords still in hand, splashing the water in a desperate attempt to stay above the surface.

"H-Help!" The girl pleaded while swinging her swords back and forward. Say'ri and Chrom tried reaching out to the drowning girl, but pulled their hands back in fear of getting their hands chopped off from the uncontrolled sword swings. "Please help me!"

"You must drop the swords!" Say'ri yelled as she made another useless attempt to reach out and grab the girl's cloak.

"I can't swim!" The girl cried while flailing her arms around in a desperate attempt to stay above water. "I don't wanna di-" Before the girl could utter such words of death she sank below the surface of the water, but this time, she did not come back up.

Chrom looked over to Say'ri who stood to her feet and began removing the Chon'sin armor on her shoulders. "I'm going in to save her." She declared while dropping the light armor to the ground. Before the Chin'sin princess could approach to water a force pushed her to the side, almost causing her to fall. Say'ri and Chrom both saw a yellow blur before it dived into the water where the hooded figure sank.

"Father!" Chrom turned around to see Lucina and Lissa quickly approaching. "We heard screaming coming from over here. Is everything alright? Did something happen?"

"Well, something did happen but…?" The Exalt immediately pointed out that the duo was short one member. "Where is Naomi?" Chrom asked.

"She ran ahead of me when we saw you two crouching down by this pool of water." said Lissa.

Chrom and Say'ri both raised their brows in realization. "Fie! Then is she the one who just-" Say'ri was interrupte by the sound of water splashing and a young female coughing repeatedly behind her. Everyone looked to the pool of water and saw Naomi swimming over to the platform with the hooded figure's arm over her shoulder. Once safely to shore both Say'ri and Chrom walked over to pull the hooded figure out of the water first, while Lucina and Lissa walked over to help Naomi.

Say'ri immediately noticed that the girl still held onto her two swords even when nearly drowning. "Fie! Are those swords really that important to you young one?" she asked in a somewhat relieving tone.

"Y-Yes." The girl choked out a reply. "They're...my father's."

Once Naomi was safely on the blue tiled ground she slowly crawled away from her aunt and blue headed friend and over to the hooded figure. Say'ri and Chrom both moved to the side when she saw the approaching young dark mage. Naomi grabbed the hooded figure by the shoulders and turned her till she was looking at her in the eyes.

"It really is you...isn't it?" Naomi mumbled while reaching out and pulling the cowl off the female figure's head. Everyone looked in shock at the revealing of the hooded figure's very being. Everything from the wet blonde hair and brown eyes, to the complete mirror facial of the young dark mage shocked the other 4 in attendance.

Naomi's wet eyebrows began to curl and lips started to quiver the longer she stared at the uncomfortably confused face of the blonde in front of her. The young dark mage could no longer hold back and a stream of tears fell one by one. Without warning, she pulled the blonde into a tight embrace that nearly rung out all the water in the mystery girl's cloak.

"Thank the Gods you're alright Morgan!" Naomi cried out. Morgan was confused and didn't seem to know what to do, so she gently dropped her swords and awkwardly wrapped her arms around the grieving blonde; placing one arm around her back and the other rubbing her wet blonde hair back.

"I-It's alright. N-No need to cry. I-I'm totally fine because of you! See?" Morgan tried to reassure, but to no avail since the young dark mage seemed to tighten her grip as if the girl would fly away if she didn't hold on.

Chrom looked to Lucina who looked to the two blondes embracing with a warm smile. "Lucina, you seem to know what's going on. Can you explain to me who this is?" Chrom asked, almost knowing exactly what she would say.

Lucina looked to her father with the smile still plastered on her face and said, "She is another ally who came from the future with us." The swordswoman looked back to the two blondes and her smile grew even larger. "She is also Naomi's twin sister, Morgan."

"Awwww, what a touching reunion!" Lissa said with a smile that grew wider the longer she looked at the scene. "Now I have two nieces Chrom! Is this great or what?!" Lissa exclaimed while bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

After a few more seconds of grieving the dark mage broke away from the embrace and looked her confused sister in the eyes. "I'm so glad you're safe, Morgan." said Naomi while wiping a tear away from her cheek.

"H-How did...you know my name?" Morgan asked, still confused about the whole situation. Naomi looked to the Morgan as if the question was one of the most obvious questions she had ever heard.

"What are you talking about Morgan?" Naomi asked with a nervous smile. "Don't you recognize me at all?"

"S-Sorry." Morgan apologized while looking away from the young dark mage's desperately concerned eyes. "I can't say that I do know you, but I also can't say that I don't."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Naomi barked which only made the young myrmidon even more uncomfortable. "How in Naga's name can you forget your own family?!"

"Fie, Calm down Lady Naomi." Say'ri stepped in to save the confused girl from any more pressure. The Chon'sin princess kneeled and looked to the little girl with a smile. "Please, tell us all that you know." Morgan nervously nodded back at the woman.

"W-Well, for starters, I was walking with my father. The next thing I know I'm stuck here." Morgan balled her hands into a fist at the next part of the explanation. "I was attacked by two strange people who dressed in dark robes and called themselves Grimleal. I fought them and was able to escape. About 5 minutes later I ran into you guys, and, here I am now."

"W-Wait, that doesn't make any sense." said Naomi with a frown on her face. "You said 'father'. How can you remember our father but not remember me!" Naomi yelled.

Lucina stepped and tried to ease her friends anger. "Naomi, please clam down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down when my only family doesn't even recognize me!" The young dark mage barked back at the Ylissean princess and looked into her sister with pleading eyes. "Morgan, please, take a very good look at me. Y-You remember me r-right? T-This is all just a big, stupid prank of yours again…right?" Naomi's soul tore when Morgan looked away from her with a grim expression that told her everything. "I-I see…"

Morgan looked back to her sister who dropped her head. She panicked and said, "I-I may not remember you, b-but I'm sure we can make new memories!" Morgan exclaimed in an attempt to reassure her sister.

"It doesn't matter if we make new memories. If you can't remember me, then I've lost what blood family I had left." Naomi mumbled with a blank stare.

"T-Then we can try to get my memories back together!" Morgan declared to try and reassure her sister again. Naomi looked up to her sister's anxious face. "I don't really mind how long it takes as long as you are willing to help me through it! I-I so sorry that I can't remember, but if you are my sister, then I'm sure we had many great times in the past that I want to quickly recover!" Morgan gave her sister a toothy grin and laughed nervously.

There was a short paused before Naomi giggled softly at her sister's toothy face that she missed so much. "Even if you don't remember anything, you still act like that same dumb sister I love, but occasionally tolerate."

Morgan's grin turned to a childish pout and she replied, "Hey! I'm sure that I was very tolerate-able!"

Naomi rolled her eyes at her sister's childish behavior. She reached into her mage garb before saying, "Suu~re you were. Now hold still while I dry us off." Naomi pulled out a wet fire tome and began chanting ancient words. Within seconds the book came to life and words floated out of the pages and began circling the twins. Everyone in attendance could feel the closed space began to heat up as the longer the spell lasted. A few seconds later Morgan felt warmth all over her body as the once heavy and wet cloths turned completely light and warm.

"Wow! That's awesome, Naomi!" Lissa shrieked while kneeling down in front of the twins and staring at Morgan. "Now that you are all dry I can finally do THIS!" Lissa pulled Morgan into a surprise, crushing, bear hug that had the young myrmidon yelping in pain.

"O-OW! I-It hurts! Cant…breathe…Naomi…save me!" Naomi laughed at her sister who tried to reach out to her.

"Sorry, but think of this a punishment for forgetting me." Naomi said playfully.

"B-But I can't control-GAH!" Morgan yelped in pain as her aunt's grip intensified.

"Aaaaaawww! I can't believe I now have THREE adorable nieces!"

"B-Believe. Please believe!"

Naomi watched the scene in front of him. Say'ri gleefully giggled at the blondes on the floor, while Chrom awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Meanwhile, Lucina walked up to her as Naomi stood to her feet. "I'm sorry that this isn't really the reunion you wanted to get with Morgan, Naomi." She apologized which earned her a shake of the head from the young dark mage.

"It's alright Lucina. If anything I should be apologizing for yelling at you. For that, I am sorry."

Lucina shook her head and said, "It's alright Naomi. I would have probably done the same thing in your situation."

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Everyone turned their attention to the back corridor. In walked Matthew and Emmeryn. Matthew seemed to be holding what looked like a giant golden tear that was almost bigger than his hand, while Emmeryn held an unfamiliar sky blue tome to her chest.

"Father!" Morgan somehow found what little strength she had within and broke free of her aunt's death grip. She immediately stood up and sprinted full speed to her father. She literally tackled him off his feet and they both hit the ground with a loud *thud*. Matthew groaned as it felt like he was just hit by a raging bull. He looked over his torso and at the young girl that sat on his stomach and stared ecstatically at him with widened eyes and a glee filled grin. "I've finally found you father!"

"N-Naomi, what's with the sudden burst of energy?" Matthew asked the girl on top of him and was answered with another bright smile.

"Silly, why did you call me 'Naomi'. It's me! Morgan! Love of your life, daddy's little girl and all that hogwash." Matthew eyes widened at the declaration of the girl on top of him.

"M-Morgan?" Matthew cooed.

"See! Now you are remembering old man! But WOW! The crystals in this cave must have granted your wish to be young again! You look a decade younger Father!" Matthew looked up to his wife who stared intensely at the girl on top of her husband. A smile eventually grew on both of their faces and Matthew leaned up and surprised the girl by pulling her into a warm embrace.

"I'm glad we finally found you Morgan." Matthew whispered while rubbing the back of the girls golden hair.

"H-Hey, what's the matter Father? You're acting like you haven't seen me in years."

Naomi smiled from afar at the reunion of her sister and father.

After almost 15 years of struggle, heartache and pain, all of her family were finally joined together.

It's been a while, but there you have it! The family is all together and I can finally start to get my main ideas I have been storing out there with Morgan in the party! I haven't started on chapter 16 yet, but be on the lookout for the chapter sometime next week (Most likely Thursday of Friday).

As always, thank you for the reviews, favs, and follows and hope to see you in the next chapter!