The more Jack, Diamant, and Lionel moved through the halls of the Northern Fortress, the more it seemed as if the entire structure was coming alive. There was a deep rumbling beneath the earth, and Jack and Diamant knew what that meant, at least.
"Here!" Diamant shouted, as the rumbling became so intense that they could hardly keep on their feet. "Help me with this, now! Before they come!"
"Where're Veyle and Mauvier!? Zelkov!?" Jack shouted.
"Who!?" Lionel asked loudly.
"No time! We have a plan to follow! As soon as we get this gate open, it'll be an even playing field!" Diamant ordered.
A double set of chains led up to two portcullis'. The metal was rusted and looked as if it would snap at the earliest opportunity, but nonetheless, they tried. Lionel and Jack braced themselves against the handles of one, while Diamant was on the other. It took only a few seconds for the quakes to abruptly cease for them to realize that it was foolish to keep going; they weren't budging.
"Diamant," Jack called, turning around. "There's only one way we're moving these pieces of crap without Mauvier or Veyle."
Diamant nodded glumly, much to Lionel's confusion as he looked between Jack and the elder Brodian prince. "Yes. Let us hope it can last us through the coming fight."
"Anything's possible. Ready?"
Diamant nodded, brows furrowed in determination. "Ready."
Jack briefly placed a hand against his Emblem Bracelet, and shouted, "Emblem, Engage!"
It had been too long since he'd felt the power of an Emblem coursing through his body and soul. He felt himself beginning to float, but allowed himself to fall to the ground and brace himself against the chains again.
"What the hell!?" Lionel exclaimed, eyes wide. "What kinda anime bullshit is that?"
"Tell you later!" Jack shouted. "Help! Now!"
Jack had half a mind to simply pull out Robin's Thoron and blow a hole through the two gates; their cover had already been blown, apparently, so the element of surprise and the potential to lose Timerra and Panette to the Husks had already come and gone. So much for a stealth mission, Jack thought as he and Lionel slowly raised the portcullis. It screeched as it was slowly lifted into the air, and before long, a 'ker-chunk' echoed throughout the gatehouse, and the portcullis stayed in place.
"How did they think people'd get these things up on their own?" Lionel asked, dusting his hands off before looking at Jack. "Your, uh, 'friends' will be here in a sec, right? I think I might know what happened to the three others you talked about."
"The Husks are coming, Lio!" Jack exclaimed, a jagged sword forming in his hands. Lightning crackled along its blade as Jack turned to Diamant. "Diamant?"
"Let's destroy as many of them as we can before we Disengage," Diamant ordered, what Jack presumed to be a Lancereaver in hand.
Jack nodded, patting his new golden pauldron twice. "Aye aye, captain."
"Oh, I'm gonna need so many explanations for this, Jack. So many!" Lionel said, exasperatedly.
"Save it. Do you have a weapon? Besides that weird thing you did with your hand," Jack asked.
Lionel stared blankly at Jack for a second before reaching his hand behind his back and producing an axe - an axe that glowed a vibrant green color, with three separate blades affixed to it, and produced a noticeable change in where the wind was blowing, if only briefly.
"Yeah," Lionel replied succinctly.
Jack blinked, exchanging a glance with Diamant who merely shrugged as he prepared himself. He wondered how he could have missed something as big as that. A Hurricane Axe, Jack remembered, though there was something different about the one Lionel was brandishing.
"Alright," Jack grunted, "let's go."
When Jack entered the fort proper with Diamant and Lionel nearby, he wasn't prepared for the battle that awaited them. The Husks rose from the ground like zombies out of a horror movie, and the one he saw patrolling the walls aimed their javelins and bows. There was very little time for preparation even before the Husks realized the trio were there. But, in the distance, Jack could hear the other charging in, and with that in mind, he threw himself into the fighting.
Using a Levin Sword was not something that came naturally to him - he'd never used magic before, obviously, and he'd barely worked out how his new Flame Lance worked. Nonetheless, while Engaged with Chrom, he could call upon the power of lightning as easily as if he'd been doing it his entire life. He stabbed the Levin Sword into the air, letting lightning rain down on one unlucky Husk after another, their armor crumbling to dust and their bones spilling to the ground.
Of course, Diamant immediately tore a swath through them, tearing apart any who got close with either a Lancereaver or the Binding Blade, and at times both at once. And Lionel, Jack hadn't seen Lionel fight yet, and truthfully, Lionel didn't seem like he knew how to fight. He swung his Hurricane Axe with reckless abandon, using its magically-infused blade to cut through armor as if it were paper, but leaving himself open to retaliation every single time. That was, if anything that faced him wasn't immediately killed and split apart. Which almost all of them were.
Still, Jack kept a close eye on him. Just to make sure.
Before long, others joined the battle. Jack was certain he saw Alear's red-and-blue hair, like a blur through the air as Libération broke through metal and bone alike. A wisp of magenta hair, and Jack knew Ivy was there too. Soon, the pitched battle became a rout.
There was only one weakness for the Husks. They could shrug off wounds that could kill a normal man - likely because they had no flesh to speak of - but if they were split apart, dismembered, then they would not reform. It was with that knowledge that everyone went for arms and legs instead of torsos and heads.
Jack spun around, ready to slam his Levin Sword into an approaching Husk, only for a dark figure to jump off the battlements and slam into its back, causing it to stumble and fall. The figure rolled over the impact and landed on the ground in front of it. The Husks reared back its right arm to try and strike them, only for a throwing knife to end up in its shoulder, causing it to stop in place with a full 'clank'. The figure surged forward and cut through the Husk's leg, and it fell to its knees.
Jack lunged forward and began cutting into the Husks until it was nothing but a pile of bone and metal. He turned to the figure - Zelkov, Jack realized - and nodded.
"Apologies for my tardiness," Zelkov said, "I would have arrived sooner, but fate waylaid me."
"Talk to Ivy about it later, if you want. There's killing to be done," Jack said, before tilting his head. "Where're Veyle and Mauvier?"
"Ah, them," Zelkov sighed. "They are the reason we are in this predicament, unfortunately. I believe they are busy with a pair of twins and their legion. Last I saw, they were fighting our way toward us."
Jack nodded. "Good. That's good. Wanna help me kill these bastards?"
The faintest hint of a smile stretched across Zelkov's face.
"Very well."
The battle began to wane until only a handful of Husks remained, and before long, they were dispatched as well. Jack waited for the power of his Emblem to wane, and before long he was on the ground again. The bodies of the Husks were gathered as several people, notably Louis and Jade, Jack could see, were braced against the door into the keep of the fortress.
Jack saw Alear talking to Diamant and Ivy, and with Lionel nearby, he saw a chance.
"Alear! Alear," Jack called, waving the Divine Dragon over. "There's someone I want you to meet! Come here!"
Alear looked over, his expression brightening as he concluded his conversation with Ivy and Diamant before moving forward.
"I'm glad to see you're alright, Jack," Alear said, smiling warmly. "Did something happen? Did you find something? Where Veyle and Mauvier went, maybe?"
Jack's brow furrowed as he looked to the walls of the fortress. "I wish. Zelkov said the last time he saw them, they were fighting against 'twins'. Whatever that means. But, no, really quick, before we breach the keep, I wanted to introduce you to someone. Lio! Lio, get over here."
Lionel arrived, looking at Jack and Alear suspiciously before his eyes widened. "Jack. Jack, this is the guy from the box art."
Jack tilted his head. "The what? The- Oh, that."
"Oh, I see," Alear nodded. "He's another Outlander like you. Er, he's not… behind the Husks, is he?"
Jack snorted. "Do you think he'd be here walking around if he was? He helped us fight them."
"Nah, I hate those things. You didn't happen to see Seadall on your way here, huh?" Lionel asked.
"Seadall? No, we've met no one by that name. Are they one of our future allies, Jack?"
"Yeah, he is. A dancer, to be precise," Jack said, scratching his chin. "Anyway, we'll probably be meeting him sooner rather than later. Just gotta find Timerra, Veyle, and Mauvier."
"Jack, why's the guy from the cover art of that weird game in front of me?" Lionel asked, causing Alear to blink.
"Weird game? I hadn't heard it described like that before," Alear said, pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "Anyway, er, yes, I am- I suppose I was on the cover of this 'game'. Honestly, I had forgotten that is what you described your powers as, Jack."
"I never called them powers, but yeah. Lionel, we're in… what was it- we're in Fire Emblem: Engage."
"...I should've known we were sent to a weeb land," Lionel muttered, "too many pretty men and women to be anything else. Fuck, Jack, how'd we get here?"
"Hell if I know, dude," Jack shrugged.
"I take it you don't know as much about this world as Jack?" Alear asked.
"All I knew is that Jack wouldn't shut up about it, and that your hair looks a lil' less ridiculous in real life. Or if this even is real life. Hard to tell sometimes. It feels like a dream," Lionel admitted. "It's just been one shitshow to another since I got here. Looks like it hasn't been a picnic for you, either, Jack."
Jack instinctively reached up to the left side of his face, pulling his hood tauter around his face. Alear immediately looked down, which didn't go unnoticed by Lionel, who looked wildly from Jack to Alear.
"Jack, he didn't-!"
"It wasn't his fault! Don't reach for your axe!" Jack exclaimed, reaching forward and placing a hand against Lionel's shoulder.
Lionel took a deep breath before letting his hand fall to his side.
"Seadall's a friend of mine," Lionel said, "but I don't know who this guy is or even what he is, Jack. So, I don't know why I'm here. Why you're here seems a bit obvious, though."
Jack recoiled slightly. "And… how did you intuit this, Mr. Genius man?"
Lionel pointed at Alear. "You're here to help him, aren't you? Or maybe that's just what you're telling yourself. Kinda convenient. But hey, I'm not one to judge."
"What are you implying?" Alear asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.
"Nothing. You seem like a nice guy so I won't go farther. And, well, if you'll let me stay with Jack and let Seadall in, too, you can count on my axe. Let's just stay on opposite sides of the camp, huh?"
"I… see," Alear said, "I won't say you can't join up, then. We could use all the help we can get. I hope we can work together from now on."
Alear stretched out his hand for a handshake. Lionel looked down at it, snorted, and then marched off. Jack rubbed his forehead as he turned around briefly.
"That didn't go at all like how I expected it to," Jack mumbled.
Alear's lips were thin as he turned to Jack. "Is he usually so… taciturn?"
"You're being very careful with your words there, Alear. I appreciate it. He could be a bit of a jackass sometimes, yeah, but who isn't?" Jack replied, "Still, something's off about him. I need to- shit, has he not been taking his-!?"
"Ah, there they are! Do you see 'em, Tetchie?"
"I don't believe I can, Totchie, 'cause that girl cut at my eyes, you daft dastard!"
Jack and Alear's heads whipped around to the entrance of the fortress' keep. It had been simply pushed open from the inside, with Louis and Jade at the ready to spring forward with a spear and axe, respectively. Jack vaguely remembered the two men before them: they had been part of one of the Solm maps of the game, probably one of the bandit bosses. The memory seemed so distant, and seeing them in real life, Jack was left unsure of himself. Nonetheless, what they had was tantamount to suicide, as everyone within the courtyard had their weapons trained on the two.
Tetchie, Jack guessed, did indeed have his eyes closed, with blood easily visible trailing down his face. He had his hand on Totchie's shoulder, leading him along.
Alear stepped forward and pointed Libération straight at the duo.
"Tell me what you did to Veyle and Mauvier, and we shall be merciful," Alear said, his voice projecting across the courtyard.
"Did the skinny, two-toned freak say something? Something about the dastards who cut out my brother's eyes! Yeah, they got away! But that's okay, 'cause you wont! And neither will that twit of a princess! She's probably traveling through the ground straight to our mistress' lair as we speak!"
"I'd pick your next words carefully, friends," Fogado warned, and Jack could hear nothing jovial in his voice. His bow was drawn taut with an arrow aimed directly at Totchie's face. "I'll make what Lady Veyle did to your brother's face look like a prank if you tell me something I don't like."
"We're not gonna see that other world, are we, Totchie?" Tetchie asked, scratching at his forehead. "She was so nice. Said that we'd get everything we wanted. That they never went hungry there. We were gonna live like kings."
"We were. Yeah, you- you're Prince Fogado, ain't ya? I'd say you'd better start moving if you wanna get to your sister, but unfortunately, you're gonna be delayed," Totchie continued. "You took away our better world, ya know, and we ain't gonna take that lying down. Say hi to the Archfiend, dastards!"
As if Totchie's words were a spell, the ground began to shake violently, far more violently than Jack had ever felt before. It was as if the world itself was shaking apart, as if it was locked in a rucksack and flung around on a trampoline. Jack nearly fell to the ground as tiny fissures in the ground spread all around the courtyard, and he felt his blood turn to ice.
"Move!" Alear ordered. "Get to higher ground, now! Anything!"
Jack could hear shouting and scrambling footsteps up the battlements, and he followed as best as he could. He saw several people run beside him until he was wrenched to his feet by Alfred and continued. Jack looked back and he could feel his stomach fall into his pelvis.
The fissures didn't just split open as they had whenever the Husks showed up. A giant gauntleted hand punched through the earth, its blackened armor glimmering in the sun as it pulled the rest of its body out of the ground. Before long, a face was visible. It was nothing more than a bared skull, with a third eye in the middle of its forehead and large, forward facing horns on either side of its head. It didn't so much as make a sound or grunt of exertion as it lifted itself out of the ground and stood tall. It had to be almost ten feet tall, possibly even more, and in one hand, it held a mace like it was about to assault a castle.
And it did. It rushed forward even as other Husks lifted themselves out of the same hole it had punched out from the ground, and it slammed its great mace into the wall of the fortress, pulverizing the rock that kept it up. Anyone who was on it immediately tried to get back out, but the pathway out was blocked, and the Archfiend didn't waste any time at all in destroying the walls. The battlements began to crumble, and Jack saw a few of the army fall inside. Framme, Kagetsu, Bunet - perhaps a few more were buried under rubble.
Jack could feel his bones turn to jelly as he remembered the last time something like it happened. He almost fell straight into the new pit created by the Archfiend, but fortunately, he wasn't far enough up the wall to succumb to the same fate as the others.
It didn't stop the Archfiend from swinging its massive mace to the right. It struck the stone of the stairs Jack was one before it hit him, softening the blow a bit. However, he was still sent careening back, skipping across the ground before finally coming to a rest. Carefully, slowly, Jack lifted himself up, using his Flame Lance to keep himself standing.
Alfred had been right by him, and thankfully, it seemed he'd fared much better than most of the army. And that wasn't only because he seemed to be Engaged with Sigurd. Alfred hadn't taken his horse into that battle, but nonetheless, one materialized beneath him as he charged at the Archfiend and struck a blow directly through it. Electricity and raw, magical power crackled around the wound, but the Archfiend still wasn't dead. Still, it made no noise as it slammed its mace into the ground where Alfred floated, narrowly missing him by a hair.
Jack got to his feet completely and, seeing as the Archfiend was distracted with Alfred, he charged forward, Flame Lance raised before-
A fireball launched from the tip of the lance and surged forward, until it harmlessly bounced off a blade that had randomly materialized right behind the Archfiend. Jack could recognize the weapon - it was Ragnell, but there was something wrong and terrible about it, and the man who wielded it.
It didn't look like Ike. It was a terribly broken-looking thing, with misshapen limbs, and the only constant being the eyes, that looked forward with no life behind them. The Archfiend turned around, and for the first time, Jack heard something beyond clanking metal plates.
It was laughing.
In its left hand, a double-headed axe materialized that Jack recognized as Urvan, and it surged forward toward Jack, bringing both its great mace and Urvan down upon him. Chrom and Robin were there and were able to delay the blow long enough for Jack to move out of the way, but he was still sent flying from the shockwave. He saw Alfred fight against the Archfiend again, but it was a losing battle; he was only one person, and the Archfiend - it was like fighting a mountain. Even the wound Alfred had dealt it seemed to affect it little.
Jack slammed his fist into the ground as he wrenched himself up, helped briefly by Chrom as he looked up.
"What the fuck!" Jack shouted. "How!? How is that even possible!? Only Divine or Fell Dragons can activate Emblems!"
"Evidently not," Robin observed, "This enemy must be far more formidable than we originally surmised."
"Regardless of who is behind all of this, we need to destroy this creature, and fast," Chrom said.
"We can't Engage yet, can we? You haven't recharged or whatever," Jack spat. "We need- hang on. Huh?"
There was a bright green light, and suddenly, all the little aches and pains Jack had accumulated across the battle seemed to fade away. The light came from the rubble, and only grew in intensity. From the pile, people pushed their way out like the living dead, foremost among them being Alear, who looked up and sneered as Marth's Emblem Ring lit up.
Céline apparently didn't wait for someone to get her out of the rubble; Warp Ragnarok did it for her as she teleported behind the Archfiend and, with a blast of fire that nearly outshined the sun, sent the creature to the ground as melted black steel fell from its back like molten wings had suddenly unfurled. Alear charged forward, feet off the ground and Mercurius in hand as he continually stabbed the Archfiend in whatever weaknesses he could find. First it was the right shoulder, and the appendage nearly separated completely from the Archfiend. Its great mace fell to the ground as Alear stabbed again into its leg, severing it below the knee.
With a roar that nearly deafened Jack, and before Alear could strike a concise killing blow, the Archfiend jumped into the air, power gathering in Urvan before it slammed down into the ground with such force that the earth seemed to form a wave. The rubble pile was blown away, the front of the keep was defaced and crumbling, and Jack was sent tumbling once again. He was certain he had been knocked out for a few seconds because the next thing he remembered was his back against the wall, stone pinning his legs to the ground, and the Archfiend on its knees before Alear, who looked as if he had taken a beating. Bruises, burnt clothes - it looked like the Divine Dragon would keel over any minute. The others weren't much better; Alfred had already Disengaged, and Céline didn't seem to be in any position to move, what with her using her Levin Sword to keep herself standing.
The only positive was that the Archfiend seemed about done as well. It just needed one more push.
Said push came in the form of a spear launched into the Archfiend's unprotected back. It turned around, but couldn't position its remaining arm against the person who swung from the lodged spear. Yanking it out, they stabbed it again, directly in the back of the neck.
Another person came in from the side, a greatlance in hand as they charged into the Archfiend's side, sending it toppling over. A blast of dark magic soon followed, severing the creature's final arm.
Finally, a woman with orange hair came from the other side, and began hacking away at what remained of the Archfiend with reckless abandon, until it was nothing more than a pile of bone and metal. Jack let out a sigh of relief as he pushed himself up, dusting himself off before he approached.
"Heh. Good job, Panette!" the woman with the spear said, shoving it into the ground as she clapped. "Guess being captured didn't get rid of our combat prowess, huh?"
"No, but the fact we were captured anyway makes me believe that we have a lot more to do," Panette replied. "I am just glad we were able to escape from that prison, Lady Timerra."
"You are welcome," Mauvier stated. "Lady Veyle deserves most of the credit there, I believe."
"I wasn't too sure about a former Hound helping us, but you're alright, aren't you, Mauvier?" Timerra replied, beaming.
"He is," Veyle said, nodding and smiling as she looked up at him. "Now, let's help everyone else. That thing really hurt them…"
Jack suspected that Yunaka had been the one to get everyone on their feet again, and that was confirmed when she looked up from the spot where she landed, barely able to move or talk. She would be out of commission for a few days, at least, but she was alive. Which was all that concerned Jack, really. Everyone had some form of injury; broken bones, concussions, more than a few bruises - but everyone was alive. And Jack let out a sigh of relief at that.
"It's good to finally meet you, Princess Timerra," Alear greeted, wincing a bit as he bowed his head. "I wish we had met under better circumstances, but, alas…"
"Eh, don't mention it," Timerra waved off, "I'm just glad everyone's still alive. Shame about the fort, though. Mom was talking about- well, enough about that. You're the Divine Dragon, right? Alear? It's so great to finally meet you, too! I woulda given you our Emblem Ring, but those rotten dastards took it. And, well, I guess they gave it to that thing over there."
"That Emblem - Alear, you saw it, right?" Jack asked, holding his side and moving forward. "How was it active? He couldn't manifest on his own. Emblems don't just do that, right?"
"As far as I know, and as far as they've told me? No," Alear replied, his expression grim. "It shouldn't be possible. But we all saw what the Emblem looked like. That wasn't even a normal Dark Emblem. I only hope that it hasn't been damaged in any way. Excuse me, I'm going to see if there's anything I can do about it."
Alear walked past both Timerra and Jack, heading toward the mound of metal and bone.
"Oh, by the way, hi! I'm Timerra, but you probably already knew that, huh?" Timerra said, waving a hand and flashing Jack with an infectious smile.
Jack rubbed the back of his head. "Should I even ask how you know that I already know about you?"
"Eh, probably not. I mean, we've had spies following the Divine One's army since the battle in Elusia, so I knew you existed. And with everything else that's been going on, I just kinda made a leap, ya know? And I guess I was right!" Timerra said, placing her hands on her hips and smiling proudly.
Jack looked away to see Ivy and Hortensia healing each other and others nearby, particularly huddled over Yunaka. "You should know that whatever foreknowledge I have doesn't really work anymore. We were supposed to meet you in the far south, but, well…"
Timerra shrugged. "I'm here now! I thought someone like you'd be jumping for joy and singing their heart out that I'm even still here, ya know. I'm not gonna lie, it was looking a lil' grim for a while there, but now I feel like I could sing an entire orchestra!"
"Please don't," Jack begged. "Unless your songs have the ability to heal wounds, please don't."
"Aha, and how do you know they don't?" Timerra asked, her grin turning more smug by the second.
"Uh- well, I mean-" Jack said, shaking his head to see what Alear was up to. Marth was there by his side, looking over his shoulder as he inspected the ring. "Maybe they do? I don't know anymore, alright? Anything could be possible. I met a friend of mine today I thought I'd never see again and an Emblem that shouldn't be awake; I'm open to any possibility at this point."
Timerra squinted, leaning her head forward and looking Jack up and down.
"Hmm," Timerra hummed, "you're very tense, you know that? You should loosen up a bit. I could help with that! The Somniel - I've always wanted to go back there. Are there any good camping spots like last time?"
"Camping spots? Maybe, but that's for happened to the twins, by the way? Are they dead?"
"Oh yeah, dead as a doorknob. Had to get through them to get you guys-"
"Fight on, Emblem of Radiance!"
A familiar and brief flash of light reached Jack and Timerra and both turned to see Emblem Ike floating before Alear, visible relief on his face. After a brief exchange of glances, they both approached Alear. Once Jack got a good look at Ike, he wondered if what he saw was visible sweat on his skin, or if it was just a trick of the light. He couldn't tell which.
"Thank you for releasing me from… that," Ike said, crossing his arms as he regained his composure. "I am Emblem Ike. I hope you will use my power for good, because whatever that woman did to me, it is pure evil."
"So, it was a woman who did this to you, Emblem Ike?" Alear remarked, turning to Marth. "Is there anything you can tell us about her? We've been trying to figure out more about her."
Ike shook his head. "Not much, unfortunately. Her skin looked unnaturally pale, but that just might be because of where she lives. She had curly brown hair and brown eyes, but other than that, no outstanding traits I can really identify."
"I assume she was underground?" Marth asked, "it would make sense, what with the Husks bursting from the ground."
"As far as I remember, yes," Ike said, nodding. "Deep underground, far beyond the reach of miners or explorers. There is something down there, some ruin, I think, but I can't say anymore."
"Well then," Jack said airily, letting out a sigh. "There's no one I remember from the story like that, so this is definitely either an Outlander or someone who met one. Fuck's sake."
"I don't know what they wanted to do to me and Panette, but whatever it was, I don't think it was gonna be for a nice splash in a cool stream," Timerra said. "I heard all sorts of things while they were marching us off to this fortress, but nothing about why we were coming here. I don't know why here, specifically - maybe they just liked the decor? Kinda ruined it, though."
"I can only assume there was an entrance to it somewhere around here," Alear said, looking toward the ruined keep of the Northern Fortress. "But I suppose that's closed now. That Archfiend didn't show up by chance. And whoever is doing all of this is powerful - more powerful than we thought. And… they likely have the Emblem Ring that was housed here."
"None of this makes sense," Jack said, "I'm an Outlander too, and yeah, I've Engaged with Emblems but I'm still just one person. I can't open up fissures in the ground or create hell-beasts like whatever the fuck that Archfiend was. And neither can Lionel! Something's down there other than an Outlander. I don't know what it is, and if the Emblems don't know either…"
"Excuse me?"
The group turned to see Céline walking over, and Jack winced upon seeing the state she was in. She was limping, with much of the cloth of her dress being shredded and Jack could see blood caking healed wounds. Still, she tried to maintain a dignified aura about her as she limped forward, giving a small, curt nod to Timerra as she passed by.
"Celica wishes to speak," she said, "about the Archfiend. It is… what did you call it again?"
Celica manifested beside the cracked skull helmet of the Archfiend, looking down on it intensely before she allowed her body to float downwards. She grasped the helmet between her hands and held it up for the others to see before it fell back to the ground.
"This is a Terror," Celica said, her voice dark and low. "A creature from Valentia. A creature connected to the decay and degeneration of the War Father and the Earth Mother; it shouldn't be here."
"Ah, Natalie, darling, does something bother you?"
The cool south Elusian air brushed against Nat's skin as the wind went through the pine trees, and her head shot up to look at Zephia with fear for a few moments before she sighed and rubbed her forehead. Sweat glistened on the back of her hand which she tried to rub off on her leather breastplate.
"Aw, you scared her!" Marni said, and although it almost sounded mocking, Nat knew it wasn't herself that Marni was mocking. "Thanks for that, Zephia - we were actually having a good discussion, ya know!"
"Oh really? And what would it have been about before I dropped in?" Zephia asked, finger against her lips as she leaned forward atop her wyvern.
"Well- you know! Things and stuff," Marni replied, puffing her cheeks out.
Nat pat Marni on the head, and the armored girl sputtered and grew red in the face. Nat looked back up.
"Do you think we'll run into Jack again?" Nat asked.
Zephia's demeanor instantly changed; a moment before, she was kind and teasing, but the second Nat said Jack's name, her eyes narrowed and it looked as if she was a komodo dragon about to eat a paralyzed goat.
"No doubt," Zephia spat out. "I know not what they have done to him, my dear, but I assure you, when we retrieve him, I will not be as 'merciful' as last time. Control such as that cannot be tricked into becoming uprooted; you need to tear it out."
"Please don't hurt him," Nat pleaded. "I-I dunno, sometimes, my mind feels all weird and wobbly, like I'm missing something, and I feel like if I just talk to him a little more, maybe it'll become clear."
"I don't think that's a good idea. They already took Mauvier and filled his head with rubbish. But you have my word, my dear, that I shall not harm him. I will not touch a hair on his head. If all goes well, he will be just like you by the end."
Nat let out a breath. "Good. That's good. When're we gonna get to this capital city again?"
"Yeah, when?" Marni asked in tandem. "My feet hurt!"
Zephia chuckled. "A week at most. We need to ascertain the origins of these attacks, after all, and all signs point to the capital of Solm. I have no idea what power the Solmic have harnessed, but it cannot be allowed to interfere with Lord Sombron's plans. Now, come along, no more dawdling. I know you can become exhausted, but the Corrupted cannot, so we must keep pace with them."
Nat snorted, turning to Marni. "Well, kid, I think we're screwed."
Marni's face scrunched up such that she almost looked like a glaring pitbull, and Nat couldn't help but laugh.
"So, they're dead?"
Nelucce bowed his head, a grimace on his face as he watched the swirling black pool beside Brianna swirl just a bit faster.
"Yes," Nelucce said, "they died, alongside the creature you sent to help them. I think they must've been given a walloping, though. Not like it matters since they've got the Emblem Ring back."
Brianna waved a hand and turned around. "I don't need the Emblem Rings. They're just tools. But you know what? I'm done playing nice, Nelucce. Do you have any qualms with destroying an entire city?"
Nelucce looked up, eyes wide. "I… depends on the city, m'lady."
Scoffing, Brianna turned around, her eyes aglow with a faint, dark light. "The goddamn Solmic capital above us, you dumbass! That city!"
"Ah, then… I suppose not," Nelucca replied. "Er, so long as you don't want me to drag them here myself."
"You won't have to. I'm committing all our forces to this," Brianna said, turning toward the massive cavern before her. "We'll be seeing my world soon, Nelucce, with or without everyone else. There's more there than you could possibly dream of. It's beautiful, wonderful, and safe. I see it. I remember it like it was yesterday…"
"M'lady?"
A woman appeared beside Brianna - a woman who was stretched and distorted beyond normal proportions as Brianna turned around.
"Gather them up, Nelucce," Brianna ordered, her lips curling back in a sneer. "Bring that entire city here, and throw them into the pool! Their sacrifice - they don't even have real lives. These are not real lives. Not much more."
Brianna echoed the words again as Nelucce scrambled away.
"Not much more…"
Alright, I know i said the last chapter would be, well, the last one until college ended, but also I think this is a better mid-Act stopping point that'll tide people over. Besides, I wrote this so fast I can still feel my hands pulsating and there's this weird green glow in my room so I think I'm-
Anyway, fun times ahead!
Here's a link to our Discord server: discord. gg/u89gs745fn
See you guys in a week or two!