"Can you tell me more about the worlds the Emblems come from?"

It was after a long, dreary march that Jack was asked that question. By Veyle, no less. The sky was covered in gray clouds and the increasingly sparse forest didn't do much to bring up the mood.

It was a very strange question, coming from Veyle. The small Fell Dragon had finally joined the rest of the party on their detour to the northwest of Firene, having doubtlessly become restless staying at the Somniel day and night. It was a wonderfully tranquil place, the Somniel, but it could get a bit dull if one spent an entire week there, Jack reflected. He could only surmise that Veyle asked him because she was looking for something to talk about other than her heritage or the coming battle.

The army wasn't marching by then, and Jack had nothing better to do, really, so he saw no harm in telling her about it.

"You'll need to be more specific than that, Veyle," Jack replied, rubbing his chin. "There's a dozen emblems and half a dozen worlds they all come from."

"A-ah, right," Veyle said, rubbing her hands together. "I guess I'll start with… Marth? Yes, Marth! Where did Marth come from?"

"Going for the classic first, then? Fair enough," Jack chuckled. "He's from Archanea, specifically the country of Altea - a small island, unimportant if it wasn't for Gharnef and Medeus…"

"...and you actually remind me of her a lot. Or him, depending on the world," Jack said, crossing his legs as he sat on the log they had found. Veyle sat before him like a kid listening to Santa Claus, her purple eyes alight with what he assumed to be childlike wonder, with a heavy helping of forbearance added to the mix.

"I do?" Veyle asked, eyes widening a small bit. "You talked about her a bit, but I don't think I'm a lot like her. She's very peppy and happy and I'm… well…

"Well, you're both descended from Fell Dragons in some way," Jack said, "Morgan may have been peppy and energetic, but she was also what we in the business like to call 'sadistic'. That's a part people used to like to gloss over. Or embrace. Depending on the person."

Veyle nodded, taking a moment to parse what Jack said before she brought her knees to her chest. "There are other Fell Dragons besides me and papa?"

"And Alear. He's technically one still, I think," Jack said, "don't tell him I said that, though."

"My lips are sealed."

Jack nodded. "Good. He doesn't need to hear stuff like that when he's still trying to get over it. Not that it's a bad thing - you're a Fell Dragon, and Zephia needed to brainwash you into actually hurting people."

"I'd… rather not talk about that," Veyle said quietly.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jack replied, "Yeah, my bad. Sorry, kid. Anyway, what did you ask me? You were asking about Fell Dragons?"

Veyle nodded. "Yes. You said that Morgan is always descended from a Fell Dragon. Is it… is it another version of papa?"

"No. Least, I don't think so," Jack replied, "Grima is an abomination. A sadistic monster that delighted in the torment and genocide of humans, all the while being partially human himself. Sombron is a monster, but he is a natural one; he wasn't created in some mad bid to resurrect someone. He's just a bastard."

"I see… what did this Grima do?" Veyle asked.

"Kid, are you trying to find more reasons to hate yourself? Or blame yourself for what you haven't done?" Jack asked, tapping his knee. "You haven't done anything, you know. You aren't even the Veyle I saw in the stories; you're a young girl who had too much placed upon her by an uncaring, apocalyptically destructive father. Everyone you would have killed? They're alive here."

"But what if you weren't there?" Veyle asked, standing up. "What if you had been just a few seconds too late? I would have murdered a woman in cold blood!"

"You were being controlled, that wasn't you," Jack waved off, "This isn't some kind of Nazi prison camp guard situation where you were 'just following orders'. You weren't following orders; you were brainwashed. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it. Only an outside-context moron like me could've done that, and I still almost got killed for it."

"By me," Veyle muttered.

"No, by the red-eyed idiot who was in your head, but now isn't," Jack retorted. "Listen, stop blaming yourself, alright? You're not proving to anyone that you aren't just a Fell Dragon by doing that. You are Veyle, alright? Veyle. Not the Fell Dragon Princess or whatever terrible epithet those idiots come up with. You're Veyle. Say it with me, now."

Veyle's face scrunched up. "I don't-"

"You are Veyle."

"Yes, I am, but I don't know-"

"You are Veyle!"

Veyle sighed. "I am Veyle…"

"You are Veyle, and you are not a monster."

"I am Veyle, and I am not a monster."

"And the sooner you internalize that, kid, the better off you, and everyone who cares about you, will be," Jack said, standing up. "How do you feel?"

Veyle placed a hand against her chest and took a deep breath. "I think… I think I'm feeling a little better. For as weird as that was, I think I needed that."

"It's what I'm here for," Jack said, crossing his arms. "Delivering unfunny one-liners at bad times, telling everyone about a future that'll no longer happen for sure, and giving people confidence. Yep, those three things. I need a hobby."

"You're really good at that second thing!" Veyle said, "I mean, as you said, I'm here. And Lumera is still alive. Given what you told me - that's a really, really good thing."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, don't remind me. I saved so many people from your evil side's monologues. That's the greatest part."

"Monologues? What monologues? She monologued?" Veyle stated. "That's… terrible."

"Oh yeah, and they were bad. Not bad as in 'evil', but bad," Jack snickered. "Picture this, you've got red Marth just out and about, eyes closed, while you're in a cloak and gloating about how delicious it is to see him that way."

Veyle recoiled as if she had just been kicked in the stomach, as she let out a cross between a cough and a laugh. "T-that's terrible! Was she all alone while saying that?"

Jack nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah, villains like to do that, you know. Just sit there and gloat to nobody in particular. I still have no idea how she was able to get the Draconic Time Crystal from Alear that one time. That's how the Emblems were stolen that one time."

Veyle shrugged. "Well, like you said, it's not going to happen here, right? It's almost… funny, just how evil she sounds, really."

"Yeah. You see? You're not funny in the same way. You're good to laugh with, not at. That's a key difference, right there."

Veyle giggled again, before letting out a deep breath. "I really should thank you. Talking with you has been a lot more fun than I thought it'd be."

"You thought I'd be less fun to talk with?" Jack asked, placing a hand against his heart. "You and Alear really are evil Fell Dragons; you really like to hurt my feelings whenever you get the chance."

Veyle placed her hands behind her back, a coy, devious smile on her face. "It's not my fault it's so easy. You should try it sometime."

"Oh, trust me, kid," Jack replied, "I do it all the time. Comes with being me. Anyway, go on now! Git! You've certainly got other people to talk to than me. Places to go and all that."

Veyle laughed as she skipped away, waving as she went. Jack watched her go with a smile on his face as he scratched his scalp.

No matter how he looked at it, that girl reminded him of Natalie in a way. A younger version of her that hadn't gone through high school and a dozen awful boyfriends he threatened.

Jack wasn't smiling after that crossed his mind.

"Tell me more about her, Jack," Alear asked, standing on the hill overlooking a nearby abandoned fortress, his arms crossed. "I'd like to know a bit more before we commit to this assault."

Jack hissed, jabbing his thumb in Alear's direction as he whispered to Alfred. "He's acting like we're about to assault Elusia Castle or something."

Alfred shrugged. "Better to just answer the question, then."

Nodding, walked forward until he stood by Alear. The fortress that likely held Anna was perched along a small hill near the western coast of northern Firene. Jack didn't know the story behind the place; in the game, it was just a glorified mission for a little bit of bandit slaughter and unit recruitment. The sun hung low on the horizon, blanketing the land in a bright orange. It would've been decent mood lighting, were it not for the fact a pitched battle was about to take place.

"This Anna's just a kid, Alear," Jack began, getting on one knee as if he was surveying the land a bit more closely. "She's got a good couple dozen relatives out there who all look like her and are all named Anna. Even in other worlds. Marth can attest to that."

Marth appeared right by Alear's side, his arms crossed as he nodded his head.

"He's right," the Emblem stated, "I met an Anna while our army marched on the Millennium Court. I believe she was either engaged or was being courted by one of the men who joined our side. That Anna was a full grown woman, and you say this one is a child?"

"About eleven years old, give or take," Jack answered. "Annas appear in a lot of worlds, you know. I don't think Celica has met one, or Sigurd, maybe. Micaiah might've, but I can't remember."

"I think I get it," Alfred said, "Do you think she might know something about why you're here?"

Jack felt his veins go icy at that. "...Yes, I do. At least, hopefully she does. I just wanna let you know, I didn't lead us here purely out of self-interest."

"Helping people in need is always a noble goal, even if the reasons why may not be entirely pure," Marth noted. "You've shown yourself to be trustworthy, if not entirely forthright. But even so, perhaps we have other reasons to justify this foray?"

Alear nodded. "Yeah. Alfred, would getting rid of these bandits help the local villages?"

"Well, I would hope so!" Alfred said, letting out a nervous laugh. "More seriously, though, we have gotten a lot of reports that bandits have been active in this region, and what with most of our knights out fighting against Corrupted hordes, that does leave only us available to deal with these guys. Besides, it could make for some good training."

"Yeah, what could be better for training than taking human lives?" Jack snorted.

"People like these bandits don't change," Alfred said, crossing his arms and shrugging. "And if we can save even a handful of Firenese villagers by doing this, I'm willing to cut a few lives short to save others."

Jack's lips thinned. "Well said. If a bit concerning."

"Regardless, I see no reason why we shouldn't do this," Alear said, unsheathing his sword. "I'll rally the army. Let's make these bandits pay, and save Anna."

Jack nodded, placing a hand against his chest as he bowed his head. "As you command, Alear."

Luckily for Jack, the fortress' layout was almost exactly as it had been portrayed in the game. Two entrances that weren't blocked, except for the bandits that were waiting for their fellows to gather their plunder, a treasure room, and several inner courtyards exposed to the elements. All in all, it was easy to concoct a game plan.

Alear's forces would split into two groups, coming in from each entrance. Since the bandits were too focused trying to escape with their loot instead of forming a defensive line, both entrances were only manned by a handful of them, while the others took whatever they could get their hands on. This left them easy pickings for such a strategy. Alfred led to the one coming in from the west, while Alear spearheaded the one from the east. Jack was in the latter.

There was something different about merely using an Emblem rather than Engaging with one, and Jack had a chance to see it first hand - Alear practically dancing through the small crowd of bandits, Libération in hand, Marth by his side with Falchion, covering his weak spots and no doubt giving the bandits a big scare. Jack contented himself with taking out the stragglers; those who lagged ahead of their fellows, or allowed themselves to be cut off from the bulk of the group.

Jack knew that if he charged full force into the bandits alongside the others, his glaring lack of martial skill would show itself. It was better to train himself against single targets instead of taking on multiple at once, though he knew that would happen eventually.

Nonetheless, he followed the others into the bandit fortress. The bandits themselves weren't particularly well-trained or strong, even Jack could gather that much. They had probably grown complacent in the absence of any real resistance to their pillaging, or something to that effect - it didn't matter. In the end, they all fell, or at least, the ones in the front and near the entrances and exits of the fortress were.

Jack looked around the treasure room. Only a handful of chests were left unopened, but none of the bandits had left the treasury alive. He grit his teeth; if Anna had been in one of those chests, she was in deep trouble.

"She's supposed to be in one of these chests, right?" Alear asked. "Looking at them, she could probably fit in one if she's as young as you said."

"Don't underestimate her. She's better at magic than with an axe but she can still swing one," Jack warned, walking along the line of chests. "Could always kick them and see if it squeaks, I guess."

Alear's mouth hung open for a moment before he frowned. "Jack…"

Jack held up both hands. "Kidding! Kidding. Doesn't look like they have locks, so just keep opening them until we're out."

Alear nodded. "Alright. Let's get started, then."

There were only a handful, so it didn't take long for all of the chests to be opened. Just as Jack had feared, none of them contained a little redheaded child, and he turned around and ran his hands down his face.

"Fuck," he swore. "She must've been in one of those opened ones. Which means-"

"Which means Lady Anna dealt with 'em before you even got here! Not that I'm not happy to see you try to look for me.."

Jack blinked, looking at Alear, and then they both turned in unison to one of the entrances to the treasury. It was Anna, alright - traveling clothes, short stature, with dark red hair that framed her face and was tied in a ponytail at the back. Her hands were behind her back, but Jack could easily see the axe she was packing - an axe that was almost as long as she was tall.

"Ah, hello there!" Alear said awkwardly, waving. "I know this may seem strange, but we were actually hoping to find you around here."

"Well, duh! I could see that from the way you were searching those chests! You didn't find Jean in there, did you?" Anna asked.

Jack took a step back, as if he had been slapped in the face. It didn't go unnoticed by Alear, but the Divine Dragon apparently chose to ignore it as he looked back to Anna. "Is Jean a friend of yours? We haven't found him, but we'd be willing to help you look."

"Drat," Anna said, a deep frown crossing her face as she walked down the stairs, not even trying to hide her axe anymore. "This isn't good. Maybe he didn't escape like I did. You'd know if you saw him; tanned skin, big goggles on his hat, speaks with a weird accent?"

"W-we haven't seen him, no," Jack confirmed, wiping his brow. "I also didn't expect- I mean…"

Jack interrupted himself again as he turned to Alear.

"We should definitely help find him," Jack finally finished, letting out a breath. "Who knows, he might be able to help us."

Alear nodded. "Agreed. Anna, would you-"

"Of course I'm gonna help you help me help him!" she exclaimed. "I may not look it, I know, but I'm a fighter! I'll flatten these guys myself to find Jean if I have to! Now, c'mon, follow me! I know where the rest of these bandits're hiding out!"

Jack could feel his heart pounding in his chest, even as he fought for his life in the main hall of the fortress. The light of others Engaging with their Emblems and continuing the fight nearly blinded him at times, it felt like, but overall, his thoughts were dominated by the unforeseen turn of events. Jean was supposedly there - the doctor-in-training from the small island in Firene. He remembered the boy well; he knew how to use staves, and took his job as a doctor seriously, even if he was only around the same age as Anna herself.

The most important thing was the fact that he was so far from home, apparently. He should not have been anywhere near that fortress, let alone with Anna, and yet the words had come from Anna's mouth so naturally, as if it was always supposed to be that way.

Jack had long accepted that around the time of Destinea Cathedral, his foreknowledge would basically be worthless, at least in regards to events. He would be able to offer insight into other potential units from the game, but other than that, he would basically be worthless. He knew and accepted that.

He just didn't think it would be happening so soon. And with Jean and Anna of all people.

Jack shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind as he pushed a bandit off of him before stabbing the poor fool in the chest while he squirmed on the ground. He looked around to see that most of the others had taken care of the other bandits, with only a few stragglers desperately trying not to be noticed. And soon enough, they were cut down too.

His veins felt icy as he mused about how easy it had become to take a human life.

"Alright, Jack," he whispered to himself. "Let's see if we can't find Jean…"

The others quickly got to looking around, and before long, the kid was found, unharmed. A chest toward the back of the room was almost visibly shaking when Jack, Alear, Alfred, and Anna stumbled across it.

"I wonder what could be in there," Jack mumbled.

"Do you think it's a- no, that would be terrible," Alfred said.

"Perhaps now is not the time for jokes?" Alear suggested, gaze stern before he looked down at Anna. "Do you think you could get him out gently? Call his name?"

"You got it!" Anna said proudly, moving over to the chest and pressing her hand against it. "Jean? It's me, Anna."

The shaking chest stopped moving. "S-surely that can't be you. No, I'm simply hearing things. You've gone mad, Jean. You should never have left the village. You should have listened to father…"

Jack turned to look at Alfred and Alear. "How long do you wanna wager the kid's been in that chest for?"

Alear gave Jack a disapproving glance while Alfred replied, "Two hours? Maybe three? Depends on how long the bandits knew we were coming and how long we were fighting."

"Alfred…" Alear sighed.

Alfred shrugged. "What? I'm being serious here."

"It's my fault. I don't know when to stop screwing around," Jack admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Listen, kid, these chests don't have locks. You could just open it."

Anna shook her head. "That'd scare him too much. Seriously, just leave it to me! I'm a natural at calming him down. Do you, uh, mind leaving for a sec, though? Just a moment! I'll be back out with him before you know it."

Alear nodded before waving to Jack and Alfred, heading toward the door. Alfred and Jack exchanged glances before following.

True to Anna's word, two people left the main hall of the fortress not long after that. Jack saw Jean for the first time - tan skin, black, messy hair, and a hat with a pair of goggles on top. The young doctor-in-training walked up to Alear, his hands behind his back.

"Erm, I believe I have you to thank for our timely rescue, good sir," Jean said, before bowing. "If it weren't for you, I don't even want to think about what could have happened."

Alear raised a hand. "There really is no need to thank me. You, uh, also don't need to bow."

"But you are the Divine Dragon, yes?" Jean asked, "I never visited the Somniel, but I have read descriptions of you, and unless you are one of the greatest shapeshifters in all of Elyos, then you are, well, my deity. If anything, it would be disrespectful if I didn't bow."

Alear frowned. "I… see."

"You are pretty distinctive, Alear," Jack commented.

Running a hand through his two-toned hair, Alear replied. "Yeah, I'm getting that impression."

"Ah, don't worry about Jean," Anna said, roughly patting his back and causing the poor kid to cough a bit. "Divine Dragon or not, you saved us! Even if I have no idea why you were looking for me. Unless… did you meet people who look a lot like me? Did you?"

"Ah, no, unfortunately," Alear replied, "but I did meet someone who knew you. Maybe you'd like to talk to him?"

Anna jumped up. "Yes! Yes, definitely! Maybe he knows something about my family! Where they went, stuff like that!"

"Anna, perhaps you could calm down a bit? Er, not that this isn't good news," Jean hastily added. "I just don't believe getting your hopes up like this is good for you. You remember what happened once we left the island…"

Anna waved a hand. "That was a month ago. This is now. And that's Lady Anna to you, mister!"

"Before we introduce you to the guy," Jack said, "and I'm sorry for asking this for you, Alear, but I think we should definitely know this. What were you two doing here? We had no idea Jean would be here as well."

Jean began playing with his hands. "W-well, Lady Anna has hurt herself a lot ever since she stumbled into our village that one time. When she left without anyone to keep her company, I suppose I-"

Jack turned, his hand on his face. "Good Lord, how did this happen?"

Jean tilted his head. "What?"

"Nothing, kid," Jack replied, "anyway, you wanted to know who was looking for you? Well, here he is. It's this guy, right here. Captain Smiley Pants."

The smile on Anna's face vanished at that, looking at Jack up and down.

"I… don't remember you from the village," Anna said, "who are you? Is your name 'really' Captain Smiley Pants?"

"Yes," Jack responded without missing a beat.

"Uh huh," Anna said, raising a brow as she crossed her arms, causing Jack to almost burst into chuckles at the sight. "So, how do you know me? If you aren't from the village - did you run into one of my family members?"

"You could say that," Jack said. "I'm, well, I'm not from around here."

Alear placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack knows of events that haven't happened. He saved my mother and my sister from terrible fates-"

"I threw a spear and I gave you a few lies to spin that didn't turn out to be lies," Jack interrupted. "Don't bother hyping me up, Alear. It's not like you."

"I think you should give yourself more credit, so I'm not going to stop talking about the good things you've done," Alear replied, "Admit it, you have done a lot of good things."

Jack snorted, turning away.

"Anyway," Alear continued, "he comes from a land with towering buildings and… horseless carriages, as strange as that sounds."

Anna's eyes widened in weary recognition. "The World of Steel…"

Jack's lips thinned. "You know about it, then? Can you tell me anything, kid? Anything at all?"

Anna crossed her arms in an 'x' over her chest. "Hold on a second, bucko! Before I do that, the Divine Dragon said you knew about the future. So, how about an exchange? I tell you about what I know, and you tell me what you know. You won't get a fairer deal this side of Elyos!"

"Is now really the time to be bartering?" Jean asked.

"Apparently so," Alear answered.

"Fine, kid, you wanna know about your family, right?" Jack said, eyes half-lidded.

Anna nodded enthusiastically, her ponytail bobbing up and down.

"I don't know any specifics, but you will meet them eventually," Jack said, "once this war with Sombron is over. They might be out there looking for you right now, for all I know. Jean's there too - you meet them on the island he comes from, I think."

Anna stopped bouncing on her heels as her face became thoughtful.

"...Well, it's better than what I was fearing," Anna said, "That's- that's still a while away, isn't it?"

Jack nodded. "I'm afraid so, but for what it's worth, I do think you'll meet them. I just can't say exactly when."

Anna took a deep breath. "Alright, well, I gotta admit: I don't know a lot about the World of Steel. We - Annas, I mean - can't really visit there regularly. It's very difficult to get there, for some reason. Not so hard to take people out, just getting there is almost impossible."

Jack tilted his head, his stomach sinking. "What do you mean?"

Anna shrugged. "I heard my sisters talking about it sometimes. They'd done a few jumps, but I never have. I don't know why it's hard, it just is. It's just a rule."

"A rule put in place by what?" Jack mumbled to himself.

Anna placed a finger against her chin. "I dunno. There aren't a lotta people to ask besides us. It's kinda empty out there, you know. At least, I think it is."

Jack popped his lips. "And you don't know anything about why a person from the World of Steel would suddenly end up on the plains of Lythos?"

Anna shook her head, her expression grim.

"And that's it? That's all you know?" Jack whispered.

Anna frowned. "Yeah. I'm… really sorry that I don't know more. I wish I did, believe me! But I was separated from them before I could even become a full-fledged merchant…"

Jack waved a hand. "It's fine, kid. It just- it really puts things into perspective, I guess."

Alear stepped forward. "Jack?"

"I-I think I need some time alone. Okay, Alear? I'll sleep in the camp tonight."

Jack walked away, his hands clenched into fists so tight blood slowly dripped from the palms.

Writing a fight scene every other chapter is getting a bit tiresome, especially when Jack hasn't come across either poorly trained conscripted soldiers, the undead, or poorly trained bandits. It'd be a shame if that changed soon, right?

Yeah, this chapter has a shit ton of foreshadowing. You'll understand one day lol.

In all honesty, writing fight scene after fight scene, I can only really describe the horrors of war so many times before it gets tiresome. I'm not gonna skip over them, but for more unimportant battles like these, don't expect a grand battle scene.

Anyway, here's a link to our Discord server: discord. gg/u89gs745fn

See you guys next time!