A search party was quickly drummed up, and Jack demanded he be on it. It consisted of Alear, Jack, Vander, Goldmary, Etie, Amber, and Merrin - a small group, but none of them were expecting a pitched battle. Even as the moon rose high in the sky, and the stars revealed themselves in a menagerie of bright dots of light, there wasn't the typical tension before a battle that Jack was familiar with by that point.

There was, however, an unmistakable tension, however. The others were quiet, strangely so considering who they were, and Jack couldn't get the image of a plane, of all things, sailing through the sky with smoke trailing behind it. If there was even a chance that there were people alive from a potential crash, he wouldn't miss it. He wouldn't miss them. Even if there were no survivors, he would ensure they would be buried.

Perhaps it wasn't the time for being sentimental, but maybe Natalie's demise brought that out of him. Even thinking about it made his heartbeat go wild. Natalie was dead. No more. Transformed into a pillar of light that smashed against the sky. He still couldn't believe it, or what had happened. And it was all the more fresh, considering it was only a little over an hour before.

There was almost no sound. Not even crickets in the night as the group approached the crash site. It didn't take long to find - a distant light on the horizon from Lythos Castle clearly marked where something had fallen, and the only thing they had seen was the plane.

"So, uh," Amber began, looking back at Jack. "What's a 'plane'? Not a plain like this, right?"

Jack shook his head. "No. It's… like a pegasus made of metal, only they can be much, much bigger, and are also fueled by… well, by fossil fuels, I think."

Goldmary scoffed. "What could that even possibly be? It sounds like a fake name."

"And 'Goldmary' is such a common and recognizable name," Jack shot back.

Goldmary ran a hand through her light brown hair. "Common? No. Recognizable? Certainly."

"Do we really need her? I'm sure if I simply forgot to string my bow correctly-" Etie began.

"Do not hold a grudge against me simply because you could not keep a hold of your potato, Etie."

"What!? What kind of person would steal someone's potato?" Amber asked. "That's cruel."

"Goldmary would," Jack said. "That seems like something she would do."

"All of you, silence!" Vander exclaimed, looking behind at everyone gathered. "Merrin has returned from scouting ahead, and the Divine One cannot understand what she is saying with all of this bickering."

Jack moved to the head of the group to listen in on the conversation. True to his word, Merrin was in front of Alear, atop her dire wolf.

"-and you're certain you don't see everyone?" Alear said, rubbing his chin.

Merrin shook her head. "I walked all along the wreckage, Divine One. I haven't found anything except for metal and glass that refuses to break. It's… very eerie. I didn't even see any bodies."

"What?" Jack said, stepping forward. "What do you mean 'there weren't any bodies'?"

Merrin shrugged. "I mean that there weren't any bodies. None surrounding the structure, or any signs that someone had left. The only thing that's weird is that there is… well, there's ash everywhere."

"Ash?" Alear repeated. "I didn't think there was anything that could create ash around here. Jack, do these 'planes' have wood?"

Jack's face was scrunched up like he was about to start crying again. "They can, but not enough to make ash like that. And even then, it's been too soon - it'd take a while for ash to show up. What was it- was it everywhere?"

Merrin nodded her head. "I didn't want to get too close, because I didn't want to get my cool new clothes dirty- I-I mean, I didn't wish to give away my position, but it was spread out as if it was already on the thing before it had crashed. It follows the pattern of the small crater; it didn't gather around it."

Jack set his jaw as he looked at Alear.

"We're going to figure out if there are any survivors," Alear ordered. "Merrin? Please, lead the way."

Merrin bowed her head. "At once, Divine One!"

Rubbing his forehead, Jack said, "I don't like this, Alear. Not one bit."

"That makes two of us. Probably several of us," Alear said, looking toward the others. "But if there's even a chance that more of your people have arrived, then I will do everything within my power to save them."

Jack took in a shuddering breath. "I know. I'll do the same. Now, c'mon. Let's not waste any time."

Jack didn't know exactly what he was expecting to see when he and the others crested the hill and saw the full reality of the plane crash. He knew from Merrin's report that it wasn't going to be pretty - and the first thing Jack saw was the ash everywhere. He could finally see what she had meant; it was coming out of the breaks in the fuselage as if the entire plane had been filled with it. There were scattered fires everywhere in the grass, but beyond that, the wreck itself had died down, leaving only a lonely metal carcass halfway destroyed and embedded in the ground.

Jack looked away, covering his mouth.

"Are you alright?" Vander asked.

"I think this might be the worst day of my fucking life, Vander. No, I am not okay," Jack replied through gritted teeth.

"I… am going to assume that these constructs were not usually filled with ash?" Goldmary asked.

"How wonderfully astute of you to come to that conclusion," Jack snapped. "No, they aren't. A plane this size - it could hold dozens, hundreds of people. It doesn't look like a civilian airliner, though. This…"

Jack had a hunch. He didn't know what kind of plane it was, exactly, but considering how bare bones that markings on it were, it almost looked like a military airplane. It was hard to tell due to the damage, though, and it'd been so long since he'd seen an airplane that he might've just been reaching for some explanation. Even then, though, it being a military airplane wouldn't explain the ash.

Something was wrong, Jack could feel it. But he couldn't pinpoint what.

"...There could be weapons in here," Vander said, "If it wasn't a peaceful vessel, then there could be, could there not?"

Jack shrugged. "I hope not, Vander. I hope not. I definitely hope more of these didn't pop up elsewhere, or, God forbid, in Elusia. Corrupted with guns - that's a nightmare scenario right there."

"Guns?" Etie parroted.

"Think of it like a spell tome," Jack began, crossing his arms as he took a deep breath. "Except you don't need years of study and learning. Give it a couple days and you can spit fire out of it and kill people from a hundred yards away, maybe more. I don't know what kinda stuff this plane could be carrying, but…"

"Then we have even more reason to search this plane," Alear stated. "Fan out. Look for survivors. If you see anything, shout out to us."

Jack was already on alert - perhaps he had been for too long, because he could have sworn he heard things coming from the plane, as if the entire structure of the fuselage and cockpit were about to collapse. It was a deep, metallic moaning that made his bones ache the closer he got. The only other person nearby was Amber.

"Wow…" the knight of Brodia gasped, looking up at the plane. "This is… amazing. Your people really built something like this?"

Jack nodded grimly. "Yeah. There are hundreds of planes, thousands, maybe, though not all of them were this big."

"Even then, how fast could these things go?" Amber asked. "Pegasi and griffons are faster than wyverns, but they're all about stamina - you can't push them too hard or they'll get exhausted. Something like this, though-"

"It's not nearly glamorous as you make it out to be, Amber," Jack said. "Let's just- let's just look for survivors, okay? Even if I'm starting to doubt that there even are any…"

Amber nodded, though he still looked around with wide eyes.

The inside of the plane was completely destroyed, it seemed, with very little in the way of anything recognizable being inside. Jack could make it seats with bloodstains on them, but no bodies. All the while, the crackling of nearby fires made it seem as if the air was tearing apart all around the crashed plane. Jack dared not venture inside; something was wrong, and the closer he got to the plane, the more he felt it reach into his heart.

That was when he heard it. A distant droning just on the edge of his hearing. Amber and Jack looked at the ash beneath their feet - it was moving all its own, roiling as if something was pushing up against its surface.

"Move," Jack said, looking at Amber. "Move!"

"D-don't need to tell me twice!" Amber stammered out, and Jack followed him out of the pile of ash.

Jack turned to see a-

…by God.

It was a hand. Finger bones were poking out of an ashen hand reaching from the depths of the ash. It braced itself against the ground and before long, even more of its body became visible. It was like looking at a cast from Pompeii. Its eyes were empty sockets, with not a hint of light reaching inside as it held itself up. It wore army fatigues - not dissimilar from the ones his dad wore when he went to fight in the Middle East.

And, in its right arm, it held a gun. Jack could faintly remember what it was called - an M-4, or something to that effect. For a few seconds, Jack and Amber stood there, completely stunned by the appearance of the strange creature.

"Erhew rea ouy? Erhew rea ouy? Seaelp, pleh em, I tcna ese."

Its voice was like listening to sandpaper, or a distorted audio file with all of the effects dialed to eleven.

It raised its arm, and Jack ran to the side and tackled Amber to the ground. Just as he did so, a sound like thunder rang out through the wreckage, and a brief flash of light caused a spot in his vision that floated around for a moment before fading. Jack could feel the bullet pass him, by just a finger length, it felt like.

"W- is that what you were talking about? A gun?" Amber asked.

"Yes!" Jack shouted. "I dunno what that thing is, and I don't wanna know, but-!"

"Seaelp llki em! Seaelp llki em! I tcna veom! I tcna-!"

More shots rang out in the night, rapid fire, and the ash around Jack and Amber kicked up. Jack's heart was beating so fast and the blood rushed to his ringing ears, even as the ash tore into his skin. The good news was that it was enough to conceal both of them, and Jack rose to his feet and unsheathed his sword. He rushed forward out of the ash cloud, and struck the undead - or whatever it was - across the chest.

The metal easily cut through the undead's ashen body, cleaving it in two as one half fell forward and the other half fell backward. Even as it laid completely motionless, however, it fired another shot from its rifle, directly into the ash before it, knocking Jack out of his adrenaline high.

That was when he noticed that there were more patches of ash that were moving and forming bodies of their own, and he merely stood there, looking at them all, his mind like a blank slab of stone. He wanted to move, needed to move, but his legs refused to carry him anywhere else.

And then Chrom appeared by his side and pushed him into moving. Jack didn't know if Chrom could deflect gunfire, but he already heard the sound of rifles and pistols in the air - nothing else, though, thankfully. He could only discern them in the dust and chaos by their different firing sounds. Both were still loud enough to make Jack deaf, however.

Jack took cover behind a fragment of wing from the plane, only to nearly have his hand taken off and for a puff of ash to sting his hand instead. He hissed, holding his hand up to his chest and rubbing it as he dared to peak around.

There were a dozen of them, some of them dressed in U.S. Army fatigues and body armor, while others looked to be in normal clothes from his world. They were toting firearms all the same, and Jack couldn't get close to them. He had no idea if his Engaged form would be able to take the bullets that would come sailing his way if he revealed himself.

"I have never seen anything like these weapons before…" Chrom murmured. "Your world must be a truly violent place to create such things."

"No more violent than any other place," Jack shot back. "We've just had more time to get good at it."

"Nonetheless, we're in trouble," Chrom said, peeking over the side of the plane fragment. "I don't know if we can make a run for it. It'd be close at best and they're already getting closer-"

A bullet shot through Chrom's head, and he dissipated immediately. He reappeared a moment later, rubbing the area the bullet struck.

"This isn't good," he whispered.

"No shit," Jack said. "Where the hell is Amber? Did he get away?"

"I couldn't see. The air was choked with ash," Chrom replied.

"Fuck," Jack hissed, slamming his back into the fragment in frustration. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Lio, Connor, Ivy- I gotta get out, for them-"

A roar rang out across the wreckage, and Jack felt himself let out a sigh of relief.

"Alear," Jack said, pointing upward. "He went into dragon form. But if he had to do that already, I-"

He didn't have time to say any more as Alear's dragon form came barreling from the other side of the plane. His claws rent through the ashen zombies with ease, and his scales - while they didn't appear to be immune to damage from them - were at least resistant to bullets. His scales fell to the ground even as the things continued to riddle him with bullets, until there were none left that weren't destroyed by his fire breath or by his claws. When Jack revealed himself, his smile turned into a deep frown.

Alear was clearly wounded, with blood pouring from several open wounds in the areas the ash zombies focus-fired on the most. He didn't stay in dragon form for very long, but even his human form looked exhausted, as Jack went to help support him.

"There were…" Alear said, "there were so many of them. The others- I think they're wounded, but alive. I came over here as fast as I could…"

"I'm fine, Alear. You saved me, now let me save you," Jack said, waving to the others he could see climbing over the cleared wreckage, Amber among them. "C'mon! Help me get him back to Lythos Castle-!"

Jack turned to see one of the ashen things crawling toward him. It was nothing more than a single arm attached to a torso, with its emotionless skull staring up at him. It reached its hand out and grabbed his ankle, as if in pleading.

"What…" Jack barely choked out.

It reached up higher to his sword, and almost seemed to try and impale the tip of its sheath into its eye socket.

"Seaelp, tndo etl ym omm ese em keil isht," it gurgled out.

Jack couldn't understand its gargled speech, but he could tell its intent without needing to. He unsheathed his sword, careful not to jostle Alear-

Jack rubbed his forehead as he stood in front of Lumera, reporting what had happened at the crash site. Alear was resting, healing his wounds in a way only dragons could - sleeping, in his room. Lumera barely seemed to show emotion, but Jack had been around the Divine Dragon Monarch long enough to see that she was both furious and terrified. Her slightly furrowed brow, her hands clasped together in front of her so tightly her pale skin had almost turned paper white.

"And these… weapons," Lumera began, her voice quivering slightly. "They simply passed right through your Emblem? And you say that no amount of armor can save someone if they are struck in the correct spot?"

"Queen Lumera," Jack said, his back against the side of Alear's door, looking down at the cafe terrace below. "The invention of firearms practically made plate armor in our world obsolete. Maybe not entirely, but it was phased out over time because it was simply better to not get hit rather than try to defend against being shot. It's… this couldn't have been an isolated incident, and it had to have something to do with Brianna and Natalie's death. Which means if I and Lionel die…"

"Let us not speak of such things. The thought of either of you dying makes my already disquiet heart feel as if I- we are done speaking about that," Lumera said, her voice uncharacteristically fragile.

Jack nodded. "Fair enough. Fine. But I can't deny that it has something to do with us. We're… we were brought here by Sombron, and I have a feeling that bringing guns to Elyos may've just been one part of his plan."

Lumera closed her eyes. "If he had control over it, then he would have directed this plane to teleport over his forces, so that he could reap the benefits of these weapons. As it stands, it might be the case that he does not have the control over it that we might initially believe, if this plane of yours appeared so far away from the front line."

"Or he did it to demoralize us," Jack pointed out.

"Perhaps," Lumera conceded, "but you also know that he is far from his full power. In fact, I must question how he was able to bring you here at all, at least on his own."

Jack blinked. "Huh?"

"I felt it when Sombron awoke," Lumera continued, moving past Jack and placing her hands on the railing before her, looking out over the cafe terrace. "But he was like a star in the night sky. A bright star, but a small point of light nonetheless. In such a condition, he would hardly be able to move even in his human-like form. I find it dubious that he somehow had the power to bring four extra-dimensional people to our own by his own power."

Jack rubbed his chin, looking away. "...Nat never told me how she knew it. Maybe she was lied to?"

"It would be such a strange thing to lie about, so perhaps there is some truth to it," Lumera said, letting out a breath. "I hope you do not mind my asking, but considering that the people on that craft were your own, I would like to ask your permission to procure whatever cargo it was carrying."

"Er," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Permission granted? You could ask Lio, too, but he'd probably say no, because, well…"

Lumera nodded. "I know. I granted access to the Lythosian Archives for him and Seadall, but… it appears they have not found anything yet."

"You Elyosians-" Jack began, his voice raising until he slumped back against the wall and sighed. "I haven't heard good things about how any of you have treated people with Lio's condition. Hell, Timerra said people like him were outcast from their villages."

Lumera's lips thinned. "Indeed. And they have done so from outside my reach. It is only through the monarchs of each nation that I have any power outside of Lythos at all. Here, in our holy land, those with a condition similar to your friend's are taken care of by their community. Sometimes this is not enough, but what else are we to do? There is no known medicine that can cure it, and so far, I have not found anything that can help it. I am surprised your people were able to do that, but it only shows the differences between us."

Jack rubbed his forehead before trailing a finger along the scar on his cheek. "I failed him. Not the first person I've failed, but certainly the one I should've been there for but wasn't. Maybe another pair of eyes will be enough to see him through this. I can't lose him. If I do, I…"

Lumera's eyes softened. "You wish to hold onto what few things from your world remain."

"Objects are all well and good, but those things we fought at the crash site - they were- they wore the uniforms of my people's army. There's… not a lot of room for doubt on who they were," Jack murmured.

Lumera looked down. "Jack… I am so sorry."

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it other than destroy any I come across," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck as he pushed himself away from the wall. "I gotta… I gotta make a cairn for Natalie. Thank you for the conversation, Queen Lumera. I hope you can do something with whatever you find in that plane. Who knows, maybe you can even train some of your people to use guns. It wouldn't take them too long, I think. It's a lot like using a crossbow."

Nodding, Lumera said, "Of course, Jack. Take all the time you need. It will be a short while before Sombron's forces make landfall."

Jack pursed his lips. "It won't be long."

It took a few hours, and help from both Lionel and Marni, but there Jack stood in front of what was essentially Natalie's gravestone. There was no body to bury, of course, but it was on the exact spot where she had turned to dust, so it would have to be enough. True to his word, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to do the same for Brianna, not after everything she had done. A raven landed on it for a while, before it flew off.

Marni and Lionel stood by him for a while. Lionel himself was almost completely silent during the process, but Jack appreciated his help regardless. He reminded himself to talk to him later. Not just to shoot the shit, but really talk to him. Maybe encourage his relationship with Seadall. Something, anything, just anything besides what he had done, which was essentially nothing.

Jack sat next to Natalie's cairn, after both Marni and Lionel had left. Jack didn't know where, and he knew he was going to be more proactive - he was going to care. But for that evening, he would allow himself to mourn.

He placed a hand against one of the large stones, letting out a sigh as he looked at the setting sun.

"It's already been a day, Nat," Jack said, "Kinda hard to believe. Hard to believe you're not gonna be out there. For a while I thought you'd be home, but then you showed up at the Cathedral, and, well… I should've convinced you to come with us. Should've done more. But I didn't, and now you're dead."

Jack rubbed his mouth, looking away.

"I still have no idea what I'm going to tell mom and dad. How the hell do I tell them that their only daughter died from some fucking curse? The only curse they'd know about is King Tut, for God's sake."

Jack let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

"I'm sorry, Nat. I wasn't there for you. I wasn't there for you and now you're gone. But I'll make it better. I'll make it right. I promise. You did something good, and I won't squander it."

"And there will be people who will hold you to that promise, Jack."

Jack was either too exhausted or too used to the sound of Ivy's voice to really jump when she suddenly spoke up. Instead, he merely tilted his head back until he saw her, upside down from his perspective.

"Hi, Ivy," Jack said. "Why're you upside down?"

"I… I have no words," Ivy said, sighing and closing her eyes.

"I could help you find some, if you want," Jack answered.

"No, I will find them myself- look at what you have done. I was trying to begin a serious discussion and you have already completely flown it off course," Ivy grumbled.

Jack shrugged, getting his head back into place as he shrugged. "I kinda needed something to get me back on track, so thanks for that. I, uh, Natalie… I just wish you guys could've met, you know? I'm guessing you heard everything I just said."

"That Hound - Marni, her name was I believe? - she told me that you were still here, so I thought now would be a good time to finally speak with you again. But, er, perhaps my timing was not the most appropriate," Ivy explained. "And, for what it is worth, I have heard that she was a good woman."

"She helped to kill King Morion," Jack pointed out.

"I never said she was perfect, Jack. And why are you trying to prove me wrong? This is your sister we are talking about," Ivy said, her voice stern.

Jack let out a breath, running a hand across his scalp as he looked at the cairn to his right. "Just trying to lighten my mood. Whenever I'm alone, I always get this… this fog that gets to me, makes it hard for me to think straight. Talking and joking with others makes it go away for a while. I know it seems like I'm running away again, but I'm not, I promise. I fully intend to hold myself to that vow, you know."

Ivy moved forward and sat beside Jack, her hands neatly folded in her lap. "Good."

Jack snorted. "Good? All you have to say, huh?"

"Well, what do you believe I should say?" Ivy asked pointedly. "What could I possibly say to make this work? Here we are, on the lookout point of the holiest land in the known world, right beside the grave of a cherished loved one. Am I to… tell me, Jack, what am I to say?"

"I… I was joking again, I'm sorry," Jack said, rubbing his neck as he stood up and moved forward, looking out over the small countryside of the Somniel. He stood on the very edge of the lookout point, putting his hands into pockets that didn't exist.

"Jack…" Ivy whispered, moving forward alongside him. "I truly am sorry for Natalie."

Jack turned around to look at Natalie's cairn. "You don't need to be sorry. I'll be sorry for the rest of my life, knowing I should've done something. But, I can't change the past. Can't go back. Even if I did, chances are, the Nat I knew wouldn't be back. It wouldn't…"

Wiping at his eyes, Jack turned back around.

"You didn't know what to say, Ivy, so I guess I'll say something first. I mean, if that's okay with you," Jack finally said, quietly.

"You may. I can scarcely think of anything to say. When I do, my heart, it-" Ivy shook her head, and moved forward until she was by Jack's side. "Tell me, and I will listen."

Jack turned so that they were facing each other. Like Ivy, his heart refused to calm down. His limbs felt light, and he thought he would pass out at any moment. Nonetheless, he decided to throw all caution to the wind. He reached his hands out, and grasped Ivy's in his. She didn't stop him, though a blush did start to appear across her pale face.

"I think I'm in love with you," Jack said seriously. "I think I've been in love with you the minute you picked me up out of that hellhole prison. I always knew you were an incredible person, but the past few months - hell, it might even be over a year now, I can't even remember - they've been better with you to brighten up my day. I wouldn't have come to terms about everything I hate about myself if not for you, or for the others. I… fuck, this is getting difficult to say. Am I crying? Tell me if I'm crying."

"You… you're crying," Ivy sniffled, "b-but, please, continue."

"Alright, alright, I got this. You got this. We got this. We can get through this together," Jack said, taking a deep breath as Ivy nodded emphatically. "That time we shared, just talking and eating together, and what came after - I've never felt that way before, even when I was- nevermind. I shouldn't- gah, why is this so difficult!? What I'm saying is, should we make this a thing or-?"

Ivy had apparently grown impatient, as she lunged forward and kissed Jack on the lips. It wasn't a fevered, intense one like the one they shared on the plains of Lythos - this one was loving, caring, enough to get her point across. Jack let his instincts take over, and merely held her as she held him. For several moments they were like that, entwined together. Finally, however, they broke apart, much to both of their disappointment.

"D-does that answer your question? I-I couldn't find the words, so I thought that action would suffice," Ivy stammered out, a small smile on her face as she glanced bashfully to the side.

"I think it did, yeah. I, uh, huh. Getting with a princess for real. Crazy where life takes you sometimes," Jack said.

"I believed I would be betrothed to some noble scion whom I would hate for the longest time," Ivy said, running a hand down Jack's chest. "Never in my life have I been happier to be proven wrong."

"Now you're just trying to butter me up," Jack laughed, "Don't worry, I'll take care of cooking. Gonna have to whip that castle into shape when I get there!"

Ivy laughed. "I look forward to seeing that."

There was a war on the horizon. Both of them had lost so much. But in that moment, bathed in fading sunlight at the top of the Somniel, Jack and Ivy found a moment of respite.

Alright, gonna experiment a bit after this Chapter. Nothing too much, but I hope it'll turn out good.

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