Chapter 3
It was sunny outside.
"Morgan, you have to run!"
"F-Father…?!"
"You're not strong enough, Morgan! None of us are! You need to get out of here, now!"
A young, blue-haired girl in a heavy purple coat sat wide-eyed in an empty field, staring forward as the lone cloud in the sky slid towards the sun.
"Oh, Naga… Naga, so many dead…! Gods, how is it possible…?!"
"He's using dark magic! He's not abiding by the natural order of things!"
…It seemed cruel, the girl (Morgan, her name was Morgan) thought.
"Brady, use your Warp staff on Morgan! She's just a liability right now, please get her out of here!"
"Aw, shit… Aw, shit…!"
"Brady, please!"
Everyone else had been fighting…
"What…!? Boss! Something about these damned Ruins of Time are screwin' with the staff! I dunno where it'll take 'er!"
"It doesn't matter!"
"But-!"
"DO IT!"
…And here was Morgan, uselessly sitting in a sprawling plain.
"Gods, how can one man be so strong?!"
"Focus, Lucina, focus-! GAAAH!"
"Robin?! No… No!"
"Lucina… You need to…!"
"No, no, no! Robin, stay with me, stay with-!"
And thus, one of Morgan's first memories was watching her parents disintegrate as that man Brady warped her away.
Away from her parents. Her friends. Her family.
The ones who she had just met a moment before.
She bent over forwards, touching her forehead to the ground as she tried to process everything. Her breaths accelerated.
In the back of her mind, a voice pointed out how silly it was that she in such a state over people she'd known for just a few minutes. Just long enough to learn how she probably came from another universe. Just long enough to learn that her "Father" wasn't Father, and her "Mother" wasn't Mother.
But she knew they were more. They were so much more.
They were more.
Bile rose in Morgan's throat, but she forced it down with a dry swallow. Now… Now wasn't the time for this.
What would F-Father do…?
[No matter the situation, Morgan, always look at your surroundings first. A battle can be won before it begins by choosing the right place.]
Okay, looking. Morgan could handle that.
She stood up slowly, mechanically brushing her deep blue locks out of the way of her eyes as she absorbed her surroundings.
The prairie surrounding her really was immense. Wind blew through the tall grasses, sweeping up and down the rolling hills and gently rattling the branches of a proud, lone tree at the top of a hill a thousand or so meters away. The sun beat down on Morgan, making her coat feel even more stifling than usual. She let herself unbutton its golden top clasp.
Turning to get a panoramic view, she visibly started when she noticed a massive sea, previously hidden behind her. She could see a ship far in the distance, a large, triple-masted battleship heading away from shore to… somewhere.
But even more surprising was the massive temple in the foreground. A familiar one… the very one she had just been warped out of.
Her eyes narrowed. If that was the temple… then where was the damage? Where was the evidence of a fight?
And where was that man?
She stumbled forwards, almost in a trance, towards the looming wreck. If one looked really hard, it was possible to see the outlines of what had once been something great, something grand and powerful and majestic. Yet now, all there was to show for it was crumbling pillars and fading blue paint.
Unfortunately, those were the effects of time, not a dangerous battle.
So… was this really the same place? Brady said he wasn't sure where she'd be taken. Had she been sent to yet another…?
The entrance rose ominously above Morgan. She stood there at its gaping mouth, hesitating, and swallowed once… twice, before she stepped into the temple's interior.
Tap, tap, tap echoed Morgan's footsteps as she entered. Light from the deep pools of water reflected the sun peeking in from the chunk taken out of the roof, flashing on Morgan and highlighting the girl's expression.
Dilated pupils. Shaking knees. Rapidly rising and falling chest.
No one was here… which she probably should have guessed. From Brady's comment and from what Morgan's parents had told her, it was likely that these ruins were somehow linked to other dimensions. And if she was standing here, in the same building as that battle, no more than five minutes later... where were the remnants of a fight? There was no misplaced gear, no bodies, and not even a sign that the temple had been disturbed in years.
The girl's knees gave out, dropping her to the floor. To be honest, she'd held onto hope that, somehow, her family would be here. Maybe she'd imagined the whole thing, or maybe they'd all be injured, but… they'd be here. Not leaving her alone. Not gone.
Not dead.
The first sob tore itself from her throat unwilled, battering down the barrier for the others to follow. One after another, miserable cries escaped from her mouth as she tilted over sideways. The blue-haired girl wrapped her arms around herself, clenching her coat's light shoulder pads as tears slipped by the defenses of her tightly shut eyelids and tracing a path down her cheeks, splattering on the cold floor of the empty, empty room.
Morgan wasn't sure how much time had passed when she was finally numb enough to stop wailing. She quietly lowered her hands to her waist, though they remained stiffly fisted from too much time held in a white-knuckled position.
…So, now what?
It was a good question. Good enough for Morgan to ponder it half-heartedly while staring at a wall with half-closed eyes, and consider her other options, running a finger over the worn handle of her sheathed sword.
Morgan was an optimist, but she wasn't stupid. They were dead. They were all dead. No one could be resuscitated from a full death, and especially not from a massive blast of Goetia. You can't save smoke.
The girl's shoulder-length bangs parted as she looked up at the hole in the ceiling, eyes still half-lidded. Was there a reason to keep going? What could she do…?
C'mon, Morgan, think. This is a big opportunity. …R-right? Nothing tying you down… Nothing to stop you from doing… doing…
Doing what, exactly? What did she want to do? What could she do that no one else could?
Tactician, her mind helpfully supplied. Yeah, right. Like she could be a good tactician with an army of zero.
(Her deadened mind thankfully softened the impact of that thought.)
However… she was more than a tactician, wasn't she?
[A good tactician leads from the front, Morgan. To lead well, you have to see the battle through the eyes of a common soldier as well as a tactician.]
Yeah… that's right.
[That's why a good tactician must also be a soldier.]
She was a soldier, too. They killed.
And it wasn't hard to think of someone who needed to die.
[Never kill without a reason and intent to kill. When you end a life, it must be deliberate, planned, and above all else, justified.]
She could have laughed. Deliberate? Hell yeah. Plans? She'd get those done. And justification?
Oh, please.
Who knew how much more damage that man could do? If he could destroy her family like that, he could take down anything.
But he couldn't foresee the actions of a girl he thought he'd killed.
After all, what did Father say?
[Be wary of those who have nothing left to lose. They are the ones that will stop at nothing to carry out their justice.]
Yeah, Morgan thought as she lowered her head, her drooping bangs covering her eyes while a smirk morphed her face. That sounds about right.
A merry humming sprung through the air. The tune bounced and lilted across the fields, reaching its crescendo just as a redheaded woman carrying an impossibly large backpack reached the top of the hill. She quit her song to let out a grand sigh, leaning on the aged trunk of a tree planted on its peak, while her maroon cape trailed down and tickled the back of her legs where her boots had ripped through her matching red pants.
Then, she checked the horizon and promptly pouted.
"Aw, come on," she groaned, staring at the ship disappearing into the horizon and ignoring the old temple just below the hill. "I was just an hour or five late! What's a girl gotta do for a ride around here?"
A minute or two was spent glaring at the ship, trying to drag it back by sheer willpower, before she slumped and ran a hand over her face. Well… That's that, I guess.
The woman knelt, absently scratching her yellow and red shirt, and dropped her pack to rummage through it. She eventually extracted a canteen, popped its top off and raised it up…
…Until she saw a small girl exit the Ruins of Time. Her jaw dropped right on cue.
"Morgan?!" She stood abruptly, accidentally dropping the canteen to the earth. "Here…? Wait, what on earth…?"
While the older woman stood with her jaw agape, the girl far below turned and peered up at her new companion. Apparently, the woman wasn't too interesting, as the girl began trudging away after a brief moment of eye contact.
The woman's red eyes narrowed. No one ignores an Anna! Not even a Morgan!
"Oi!" Anna yelled, waving her arms. But the blue-haired girl didn't even acknowledge the other's existence.
Strike two!
The redhead snatched her pack up, tossing her now-empty canteen (whoops) into it. Dashing down the hill precariously, she swung her merchandise onto one shoulder, struggling to get her arm through the bag's other loop.
"You can't run from me! Get back here, Morgan!"
To her credit, when Morgan actually heard her name, she did stop and turn. And to Anna's credit, she tried not to gasp when she slowed her pace and saw the dull slackness of Morgan's expression.
"U-uh, Morgan? What's up, kiddo?"
"…Sorry, but I'm not who you think I am."
Anna let out a small chuckle. "Nah, I know you pretty well, sweetie." She knelt down and wagged a nonchalant finger at Morgan, as if the younger girl's dim eyes didn't frighten the hell out of her. "And more importantly, I know that anyone with that expression needs someone to talk to."
Morgan's eyes drifted away from Anna. "There's not much to say."
"Hmm… Not sure I buy that idea. If you've got thoughts, you've got words."
"Really?" The blue-haired girl turned back to the redhead, eyes narrowed. "What if all I thought was something no one would believe?"
"What, like you came from another dimension?"
Morgan's eyes popped wide open. "H-huh?!"
Anna just laughed. "I'm very familiar with the concept of other worlds, Morg. I know you don't remember so I'll tell you now: I'm an Anna. My sisters and I act as wardens of these worlds and the Outlands that connect them. And trust me, I've met a bunch of Morgans like yourself." She reared back up to her full height, crossing her arms and creasing her brow. "But I've never seen a Morgan like you."
The shorter girl was quiet for several seconds, staring at the ground as the wind picked up and gently swayed her hair. "Did the others… lose their family too?"
Anna's eyebrows shot up and hid behind her bangs. "Morgan, you… you remember that?"
Morgan's chuckle was far too dry. "Oh, yeah. How could I forget watching my parents get slaughtered as I was warped away?"
"Warped away…?" Anna breathed.
"Mmm. A guy called Brady used a warp staff. I think he accidentally sent me to another world."
The redhead's mind whirled. No one had known what happened to the Morgans before they were brought to their respective dimensions, but if what she said was true, then-
Wait. This Morgan had blue hair… and she was warped away by Brady? In the Ruins of Time?
The redhead's breath wedged itself in her throat.
"Morgan," she managed to rasp out, "…How did your parents die?"
"There… there was a sorcerer. Used Goetia, black cape, grey hair-?!"
Alarmed, Morgan cut herself off as her companion took a step back and slapped her hands over her mouth.
"Oh gods… oh, no, no, no…" Anna muttered. "That can't… there's no way…"
All the younger girl could do was swallow as the taller woman stared at her, utterly horrified.
Several long moments later, the merchant closed her eyes. "R-right. Morgan… I'm sorry, but I really think you should see the others. The Shepherds."
That didn't go over too well. The blue-haired girl quickly copied her companion's actions, backing up with terrified eyes and waving her hands. "No… no, please don't. Anna, I-I can't. I'm not ready for that."
"Sweetie, please-"
"No!" Morgan's shout was shriller than she'd probably intended, like an animal backed into a corner.
The redhead bit her lip. Naga, this was hard. Obviously the younger girl didn't know why she had to meet the others in Ylisse, but Anna couldn't just say…
"Morg, please trust me. Just… at the very least, gimme a chance, ok? Even if we went back right now, it'd take about a month of traveling, and that's after finding horses."
At that last comment, Morgan glanced up at the taller woman, eyes sharpening into a much more familiar expression. Seconds ticked by, and the redhead held her breath.
Finally, the smaller girl lightly bobbed her head. "Ok, I'll …I'll trust you. For now, at least."
Anna's shoulders slumped and a bright smile popped onto her face. "Great! Jeez, you had me worried there for a sec…"
She toned down her smile, a more relaxing one taking its place. "Seriously, though, Morg… thank you. You'll understand sometime."
"…It's fine," the girl muttered, turning away. "But please don't call me Morg. That's a pretty awful nickname."
"No kidding!" The grin plastered on Anna's face only widened when the other girl turned with eyebrows raised. "Why do you think I use it?"
Morgan's deadpan was truly something to behold.
"Come on, kiddo!" Anna continued, blithely ignorant. "Let's get a move on!"
"Alright, alright," Morgan sighed. "How far until we can find those horses?"
"It's about a day's walk East. I'm plannin' on going a quarter of the way today, and finish it up tomorrow."
"Only a quarter?"
"Yup. We've gotta set up camp before night falls, other wise it'll be twenty times as hard."
"…I doubt that."
"Well, you don't know that either, right?" Anna grinned. "Trust me, it's better to take it slow and plan for the worst instead of charging ahead."
Morgan grimaced. "Trust this, trust that… You're asking me to put an awful lot of faith into someone I've just met."
Silence fell over the pair, and Morgan risked a glance back. A pained expression was smearing Anna's face, and the girl quickly backtracked. "I-I'm sorry, it's just, this is really tough, and I-"
"Gods, Morg, you don't need to justify yourself to me," Anna murmured, catching up with the smaller girl. "I'm the one who should apologize, I keep forgetting you…" She sighed and shook her head. "Naga, I could sell a bikini to Grima, but when it come to words of consolation…"
The blue-haired girl tried to chuckle. "It's okay, Anna. Really."
Anna nearly cringed at that. This… just wasn't Morgan. Forced laughs, short sentences, and distrust of people? Naga, that was the opposite of everything Morgan stood for.
And Anna had no idea what she could do about it.
But, when in doubt…
"Let's go forward, then!" the redhead turned, facing forward and away from the prying set of much-too-dull eyes. "Nothing's gonna get done by just standing around here, I'll tell you that much!"
Leading the charge, Anna pressed forward, the sun directly at her back as the duo tromped through the undergrowth, and Morgan soon followed suit. Both kept their heads down, with Morgan looking at her feet, and Anna kept a watchful eye on the long shadow of the younger girl bobbing to the redhead's right.
They remained silent, climbing the hill with only the swoosh of the wind and rustle of plants keeping them company until they climbed to the top of a hill and disappeared from view to the other side.
The campfire was still crackling when Anna woke up the next morning. She drowsily opened her eyes and wiped the drool off her cheek, peeking around the hazy fire pit at the blurry bundle entirely covered by a brown blanket, lying directly opposite to her.
Normally, Morgan would be the first to wake up.
Anna frowned, unraveling the red cape she'd cocooned herself in. Attempting to let the girl sleep in, Anna quietly set about to cleaning camp as the sun rose: rerolling her sleeping pad, covering the smoldering embers with dirt, quirking her eyebrow at the pen and paper that had apparently tumbled out of her backpack, and munching on the non-preservable leftovers from last night.
After about a half an hour, Anna got impatient.
"Hey, Morg, sweetie?" She said, keeping her voice down. "I think it's about time to wake up now."
No response.
"Morg, seriously, if we don't get movin' soon, it'll be lunchtime."
Nothing.
"Morgan, I'm pretty sure that's enough-!"
By now, Anna had crossed the camp and shook the girl, only to realize that the "girl" was nothing more than a pile of blankets.
Anna's head jerked back, eyes shooting wide open. Did she- She didn't-?!
She ripped the layers of blankets away from the sleeping pad, uselessly searching for the missing girl until the blankets were scattered.
The merchant slapped her hand over her eyes, mentally cursing herself. Of course Morgan would be gone! The girl had trust problems, and Anna came on way too strong! Naga dammit, how could she be so stupid?!
She slapped the last blanket she'd torn away in frustration, and a small piece of paper fell away from it and fluttered next to Anna, presenting it's front neatly labeled Anna. The redhead snatched it up and flipped it open, nearly tearing it in desperation.
[Anna-
I'm really sorry about this, but I can't go to that "Ylisse" place you were talking about. There's something I need to do, and I can't do it with kind people like you, and especially not with those you care about.
The man that killed my family can't be allowed to live. And since he's not in this dimension, that means I've got to find another way out of this world and find him. If I asked you to help me, you and everyone would get involved… and my greatest strength is that he's not expecting me, and I have nothing to lose.
I need to carry out my own justice, and I won't pull you into this.
Thank you for your words, and your intentions. It really meant the world to me, and I'm glad I met you.
Stay safe… please don't follow me.
Mor-]
Anna couldn't even finish reading the girl's signature before she involuntarily crumpled the message. 'Nothing left to lose'? 'Carry out justice'?! Anna had heard those words before, but…
"Dammit, Morgan! That wasn't what Robin meant at all!"
Morgan couldn't kill that man! No one could!
She didn't understand!
That man was…
Anna dashed about the camp, snatching the blankets and stuffing them into her backpack before swinging it onto her back and sprinting in the now-obvious trail left in the tall plants covering the prairie.
"Dammit, Morgan…" Anna growled. "I won't let go of you that easily!"
AN: I'M SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! EXPANATION AFTER SHOUT-OUTS!
Shout outs to: Tanokki, Fuuga GF, rotciv557, EtherealRed, and Aoirann for following; Aoirann and Carmine Rogue for faving; and E-Parasite and pokemon-dot-rhoades for reviewing!
Ok, the basic explanation is that I'm a lazy prick.
The longer explanation is that I always have trouble with intro chapters. For me, writing the basic descriptions of new characters and settings is really hard without it sounding like a list, which is pretty boring.
So, you can imagine my troubles with these first few chapters. I'm very excited for this story, but 3 intro chapters? Ugh, that killed me. This one was especially hard because I want Morgan to be out of character, but still have a sort of "core" that's the same (While she doesn't trust people and isn't really social or happy, she still wants to keep people safe).
Well, regardless, I have a much better idea of what's gonna happen in the next few chapters, so hopefully they'll be out sooner than this chapter. No promises, though!
Again, sorry this chapter took so long to get out… But thank you all so much for reading, and I'll see you in the next update!