AN: So, hey guys. How's Geats going? I am loving the new Command Twin form…
…wait, what do you mean it's been an entire year and now the Rider is someone named Gotchard? Wait, what do you mean Fire Emblem Engage came out and ran through its entire gauntlet of DLCs?
…shit.
Well, if you want the general gist as to why this chapter took the entire duration of a damn year to finish without me rambling on for about half the length of this chapter, its predominantly a combination of schooling, writer's block, and overthinking mainly this chapter. Word of advice for those of you trying to be a fanfic writer; don't overthink stuff. You'll eventually fall down into a rabbit hole of things that you can't get yourself out of.
But, I have tried to keep myself busy. I made a fandom page for this fanfic. Spoilers are on there, as I've predominately used it as placeholder things, as well as a place for me to keep myself sticking to the plan for this story. If your curious, feel free. Just take what's said after this chapter with a grain of literal salt; it's bound to change.
I've also attempted to make a cover for this story myself. It isn't super colorful or anything like that; I am no artist or anything. Still though, I guess its to prove that I'm actually in this for the long run, I hope.
Finally, I've been working on a couple potential one-shots/short stories that'll come out over the next few days. Most Kamen Rider related, crossing over into other franchises. Others from completely different ones. Ideas stuck in my head that I wanted to release; see if you guys wanted to see them come to life in an actual story.
Anyways, let me finish my rambling here. Enjoy the chapter. Write some genuine feedback, send it to me. And enjoy. I don't own anything of the sort, Fire Emblem Three Houses, or Heroes, or Kamen Rider. They belong to their respective companies. :)
"Evolto has been destroyed. My task…is complete."
The gold bangle dropped from Misora's sleeve on its own accord. The woman slowly kneeled down, as she gingerly picked up the golden bangle.
"...Vernage." Misora whispered quietly. She turned to a woman next to her, wearing a torn pink blouse and black pants. The two chose to stare towards one another, before grappling in one another's arms.
Suddenly, a loud sound could be heard. Above them, a world just like theirs appeared. Misora couldn't quite make out the continents, but she assumed it was a world just like theirs, with slightly shifted continents. The ground shook and the world around them began to shatter as the ground they walked on started to collapse. Above them, a portal of some kind sealed itself, as a bright light began to consume them, and both worlds around them. Misora couldn't even react much beyond holding onto Sawa's hand tightly, not wanting to let go. Everything was a blur. The world cracked around them, almost like a mirror preparing to shatter itself. She could hear the screams of those, fearful for their lives as the world prepared to collide with them.
"Sawa…" Misora mumbled, loud enough for the woman to hear as they held on for dear life. A bright flash engulfed them, blinding Misora. As if she ascended. Except…she didn't quite do so.
In the blink of an eye, Misora found herself on…grass. Her body was lying down, as if she fell from the sky. However, as soon as she began getting her bearings together, she felt something was off. Wrong. Yet, as she looked up at the stars, she found a shocking conclusion.
"Why is the moon…green?" She responded, genuinely shocked. As she frantically looked around, she found a number of surprises; Sawa was nowhere to be found, neither were any major buildings, and most importantly?
The only thing lying next to Misora, was that damned golden bangle, a…tag. A golden tag. The name Kazumi Sawatari gleaned in the virescent moonlight, giving Misora yet another reminder of what she had lost in the Old World. And also among them, two empty Fullbottles.
She first suspected at least one of them to be her CD Lost Fullbottle from so long ago. But no…that couldn't be right. The Fullbottle was straight up blank; as if its essence was essentially wiped from existence. Similar to how Evolto described Vernage's original plan with the Fullbottles. Of course, her main priority wasn't to stare at a trinket of her former world. She needed to find out where she somehow ended up in the first place. As she looked around, lost, she saw herself near what looked to be a destroyed village. Struggling to get herself up, she grabbed the bangle and the empty Fullbottle and began walking around the village. Had she done this? Was whatever happened after the merging of worlds lead to her killing this poor village?
A noise startled her. A roar of some type of beast nearby. Whatever was going on, whatever that roar came from, she thought, that was most likely the source of all the death surrounding her. Slowly, she walked around, looking for anyone who might've still lived. Fire spread among the village, the villagers either most likely evacuated or charred into ash. The smell of ash and burnt wood permeated throughout the air, and a thick layer of smog dotted the landscape ahead of the former Earth woman. Misora had worked with Team Build to try and bring about a world of love and peace, as Sento so exuberantly repeated over and over; this did not look like love and peace to her. Not in the slightest. In fact, it was as if the war on Earth never ended, and simply moved towards…wherever the heck this was where she was at. Her fears crawled up on her; where was Sawa? Sento, Banjou? Was anyone even still alive from whatever just happened? Did they actually kill Evolto or merge the Earths? Or was fate stricken to leave her in a faraway unknown land planning to kill her, if the ruins of the village were any indication?
She began walking slightly quicker, her eyes pleading around in the hopes that at least somebody would live from the accident. Her hand clutched on the bangle, as if there was some hope that Vernage, or anyone could speak to her. That she could not stay alone in this unknown frontier of a world, in this hell she found herself in. Then, she heard a wail.
A child's wail.
Her body, despite its injuries from whatever happened to her, kicked into overdrive as she ran as much as she could across the village, towards the source of the wail. Mud slipped onto her shoes and the bottom ruffles of her dress as she sprinted in the direction of the wail, the wail sounding closer and closer to where she was. Heat began to be felt on her body, and the slowly growing faint of light could be seen to Misora's eyes as she went closer and closer. Slowing down as she approached a burning building, she found herself only stopping for a moment, before charging and slamming her way in from the front door. Looking around, she found herself in what was once the kitchen. As the building burned down, she found her foot stepping on something. Looking down, she was horrified to see the body of a woman, her lifeless eyes staring up directly towards Misora's own. Misora quickly stepped away from the woman, slowly taking a step back in terror. Smoke inhalation more than likely got her.
The child's wail repeated, this time sounding much closer. Misora's body turned as she rushed further into the flames. Climbing up the steps, said steps quickly collapsed behind her. She saw a closed door, and bashed herself into it with her body. Finding the child choking on the air from the smoke, she quickly took it into her arms. As she realized that the steps were indeed blocked by the flames, and the amount of smoke the two would inhale would most certainly kill them, she took a deep breath. Noticing a window nearby…she jumped right through it. Her back slammed against the mud, the sound of a slight crack being heard as she felt a sharp pain ring in her spine. Despite this, she looked down to the kid, and saw it at least alive. Breathing lightly, but alive. At the very least, said small child was kept safe thanks to her. But the question was…where did she need to go now?
Slowly getting up from landing in the mud with the baby in hands, and she tried to make her way around the abandoned village, she saw someone in the distance. Then, a group of people. Some clad in armor. Some as if they had just stepped out of some type of medieval cosplay, with their linen and leather robes.
As soon as those people spotted her, a few ran to her. Her mind told herself to run, thinking these people were there to personally harm her for destroying the village. But based on that beast's roar earlier, as well as genuine concern from these people's faces, it was clear that they were more genuinely concerned for Misora than they were going to harm them. They looked to be in shining armor, and iron plating. Leading this small group was a man in a feather cap, a royal cloak around him.
"We have a survivor!" The lead man shouted, as Misora found herself losing strength quickly. A cost for her brazen actions. "I need a cleric on my position, and a carriage, immediately!"
As Misora dropped unconscious, she could swear she saw something grab her by the head, preventing her from fully falling in the dirt.
"...wake up, child. I wish to speak to you."
Misora suddenly found herself opening her eyes. As she slowly got up, she saw herself in a brightened, eternally white void. As she walked around, slowly but surely, she started seeing things. A table of all things stood in the middle of this void, somehow the only thing that was there. A teapot laid piping hot in the middle of said table, steam billowing out. To say the least, Misora was…very confused.
She was even more confused by who was sitting in one of the chairs of said table. She was…well, to say the least, quite tall. She was dressed in an ornate dress, her entire figure bellowing predominately pink and purple. Goat horns, of all things, protruded from her head, as she gave a warm smile, silently motioning Misora to sit down on the table opposite of her.
As Misora cautiously did so, the next few moments were rather tense, neither side really choosing to break the awkwardness of the situation.
After a while, Misora finally decided to do so, starting with the most obvious of questions that, given where she was previously, she expected.
"Am I dying? Is this one of those dying dreams?" Misora asked the random goat lady, as said goat lady only gave a soft chuckle at the Japanese woman's question.
"No, my young lady. You are not dying. Simply unconscious for the time being. I came to give you comfort as you heal your body. Seems to be much slower than what she had done before." The goat lady responded cooly, causing Misora to only become more confused.
"Wait, what do you mean…" she asked the goat lady, only to be shushed by her.
"She may be dead, but I can still sense remnants of Vernage inside you. She chose well. At least from what I heard of her. You mortals always seem to have a fascination with exploration, if the traveler that passed through here not long ago had any indication. So bold, so…what's the word you mortals always enjoy using? So…risque."
Misora was still left absolutely gobsmacked by this random goat lady saying these things to her.
"Wait, what?!"
The goat lady only laughed at Misora's feeble flustering, as she sat her cup of tea down.
"In due time, Misora, you'll understand. There are other survivors of the Great Cataclysms. Others that might be absolutely ecstatic to see; others that might not know them. I was solely here to keep you company while you lie unconscious. While you stay in a land of dreams. You mortals always have the most fascinating of them."
As Misora's world slowly brightened up, her eyes widened in panic, looking towards the goat lady as she tried to reach out in vain towards the unknown woman.
"Who are you?!" Misora desperately shouted, hoping to at least get some kind of answer out of this weird dream. The goat lady only laughed in response, as if she expected that type of question.
"You may call me Nerthus, dear Misora. Serving the land of light and dreams in another realm. We will meet again…vessel of Vernage."
As Misora came to, she saw herself sleeping comfortably on the bed. Her once tattered dress was replaced with a white nightgown. She found herself feeling somewhat better, albeit also somewhat weaker than before. Her eyes moved to and fro the room. Finding herself in a guest room of some noble or something. As she turned, she found herself locking eyes with a male cleric, who looked to her in surprise.
"She is awake; I must notify the Margrave!" The cleric whispered as he got up and prepared to leave. Misora attempted to raise a hand towards the cleric, pleading to not leave. But as she attempted to say something, she found that she couldn't; her voice, most likely too hoarse from the lack of water and the smoke she inhaled on the way, prevented her from saying much beyond a small whimper. As the cleric closed the door to whatever room she found herself in, all Misora could really do was look up into the ceiling. The windows were open, and, based on the array of sunlight lighting up the room, and the sound of birds chirping in the sky, that it was at least daytime. More importantly, it was obvious that she was well-accommodated for. At least for the time being. Before she could say anything else, the door to the room opened. That same feather-capped man entered the room, his face of genuine worry towards the woman.
With him, he carried a tray of fruits and a glass of water for Misora, as he placed it on the nightstand next to her.
"Young woman, can you be able to speak?" The margrave asked, concerned for Misora's current well being. "I've had the liberty of having guards stand by. And your child that was with you is currently being taken care of by the guards."
Misora pointed towards the glass of water. Her throat felt dry, like sandpaper grating against her esophagus. She presumed that was the reason why she wasn't able to say anything further. The margrave looked to have listened and immediately grabbed it, staying by Misora's bedside. Slowly, he lifted the glass against Misora's mouth, allowing her to sip the water slowly.
"There, my lady; how do you feel now?" The margrave asked a little more calmly, as Misora dryly coughed.
"I" She stopped, as she thought about how she felt at the moment. "I am alright now. Who are you?"
The margrave hummed, as if he was thinking about how to answer the question in the first place.
"You are safe; a beast attacked your village not too long ago. The same beast that's been romping across the north for some time now, since I've inherited this position from my father a few years back." The Margrave explained. "You, and the child you were carrying were the only survivors. The child is safe with us; being taken care of by a nurse nearby."
"The…child?" Misora asked, slightly confused, before she remembered what he meant. "Is he alive?"
"He is." The margrave responded with a warm smile. "One of the only good things about this whole situation. Our forces can't hold off the monsters in the north alone. Not to mention the bandit attacks from Almyra. And all the bickering between the west and east of the Alliance stops any of us from achieving some resolution of any type…" he mentioned, as Misora looked slightly confused at the state of affairs between the two. As the margrave realized the woman's confusion, he quickly gave himself a deep breath before continuing. "He's sleeping right now; probably tired from the whole affair. I suggest you do the same, my fair young lady. Do not mind my idle chatter; it's been quite awhile since something of this magnitude happened. Survivors, that is."
"I…how many?"
"How many… what?" the Margrave asked curiously.
"...how many people died?" Misora croaked out. She knew the Margrave would think she meant in regards to the villages.
"Too many to count. Nobody was spared. Had to be the work of that damn beast." The Margrave stated, shaking his head.
Before Misora could say anything else, her head felt woozy, and before the Margrave could respond, she quickly found herself falling asleep.
MIsora opened her eyes. Her body ached as she slowly got up. The green moonlight shined upon the small room she was given by the Margrave, as she stared at her body. Cleaned, almost thoroughly. A plate of relatively cold food stood at a nightstand next to her, alongside a small glass of water. A shuffle was heard from near her bedside. Misora quickly turned, fearing the worst.
Only to find that it was the small kid she had rescued from the village. He stared blankly towards her, as Misora stared back. She started to be a little creeped out by the way that the kid was doing so, but the warm grin on his face at least told her that he was grateful.
Misora simply gave a small smile back, in an attempt to comfort the kid.
"Hi, little one." She responded, attempting to comfort him. The boy only smiled, as he silently tried to fish something out of his pocket with his hands. Misora eyed the boy as he did so, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. After all, this was a literal young boy here; she had to calm them down. "What are you doing in the room?"
"I…" the kid started, as if he was trying to say something. His mouth kept opening and closing, as if he was trying to say something, or at least think about saying something. Yet nothing came out. Misora realized the issue, and, despite the numb yet present amounts of pain in her body, slowly reached out towards the kid.
"Hey." She responded, smiling. "It's okay. You could say what you need to say. I won't hurt you."
The boy slowly tried to process just the little gesture that Misora said, taking a bit longer than Misora would expect. Eventually however, he looked up, walking towards Misora side of the bed.
"I want to thank you." he said with the smallest of smiles, as he looked up directly at Misora's face. "Do you want to be my mommy?"
The sudden nature of that question caused Misora to genuinely widen her eyes.
"What…happened to your other mom?" She asked, despite having the implications of what that would bring.
"Um…she died. I was working for the village" He said to her surprisingly calmly. As if he had shed more than enough tears. "Mr. Edmund told me that Daddy was drafted a little bit after against Almyra. I don't know what any of that means."
Poor Misora's heart was broken at what the child just said. The implications, a brief face popped into Misora's memory. A man drafted for war, leaving behind his people to suffer a brutal endeavor…
"Kazumin…" she whispered towards herself, as tears welled up in her eyes from the memory. It was another grim reminder that she was alone in this new world. No familiar faces, no Vernage to guide her. She was well and truly on her own.
Although, as the child slowly but surely placed a hand on her own hand, attempting in a very vain effort to try and help Misora with her crying…
Perhaps she didn't have to be alone completely.
Not when given a second chance to make things right.
"What's your name?"
The boy shook his head no. "I don't remember. I was just always known as the nice boy."
Misora tried to wipe away her tears as she gave a short smile.
"Soichi. Your name is Soichi."
The boy gave a short smile in reaction to such, as he repeated the name.
"Soichi…I like that name."
Over the next two years, Misora and her new adopted kid Soichi lived in lavishment; but not too much lavishment. Despite the friendly and almost jovial nature of Margrave Edmund in providing them a temporary home, and lavish feasts and clothing, Misora thought it felt…wrong. To say the least. She was not used to this type of lifestyle, especially given what her previous life that she had before. Did she feel like she earned at least some of it for the things she had to suffer in the Old World? Most certainly, she did.
But she knew these things didn't last forever. And she said so towards the Margrave. Including everything about Earth, about the war with Evolto. Sento, the Riders, the Pandora/s box.
Now, normally, any sane person more than likely wouldn't believe it, and think Misora was suffering some type of insane breakdown.
Somehow, however, within the last few months, he started questioning her more about Earth. It's people, its culture, everything about its people. Misora was starting to get concerned that the Margrave was doing this to figure out whether her story was real or not. Whether any of that could affect her negatively. Especially with her having an adopted son now and all. Eventually, she decided to confront the Margrave about the issue directly over dinner on one such day.
The two shared dinner together at a table. Misora eventually looked up to face the Margrave, who was helping his servants to organize the leftovers.
"For the commoners?" Misora asked the Margrave as she too got up to help.
"Not quite. More or less some for Soichi, others for various different refugees that I've allowed to live in my territory." He started with a genuine sigh. His body language showed that he was somewhat stressed. But it gave Misora an opening to talk about said matters.
"You seemed to be fascinated by Earth in the past few months. Why?" Misora asked matter of factly, as the Margrave averted his eyes towards Misora for a moment.
A long sigh followed as he continued.
"Because your story isn't the only one. Others have corroborated similar tales across Fodlan. Even the Empire says there's been stories cropping up in Brigid about it." The Margrave stated painfully, as Misora's body started fluttering up. There were others. From Earth. Alive. And here. Which meant…
"Unfortunately, none of them are from Touto or Seito, as you would say it. Most came from this 'Hokuto' as you briefly mentioned. Others still from countries we haven't even heard of, much less know the language for. Places like the Philippines, China, Russia, Netherlands…a few claimed to be from some weird land called the 'American Midwest'. We were lucky there were translators there to help, but…they seem to be lost. Without purpose. We've been working with Kupala to try and find them a place to settle, but…most of the places there are predominantly teeming with wildlife. I don't want to risk the possibility that we'd lose such a unique people to simple wildlife."
Despite the fluttering lessening as a result of that mention, she quickly proceeded to ask further questions.
"How many of them survived? If the majority are from Hokuto, then they're farmers. They could easily work in agriculture. Maybe even…" Misora stated, starting to sound panicked once more. Misora noticed a hand on her shoulder. The Margrave calmed her down.
"I know, Ms. Misora. I've tried to bring as many of them as refugees into my territory. Only around 600 refugees, I managed to get, all from the Alliance's territory. I was told by a witness that they corroborate your story; the Penaults said that their young daughter saw tears open in the sky. People dropped across countless places across Fodlan alone, alongside strange bottles, on some of them…the sheer number of dead from the wildlife. The drowning, the environment, the wars. Like it didn't matter…we were lucky to even recover two of those bottles and the people that we could." The Margrave calmly stated, before putting his hands in his face, exasperated by the whole thing. "Which is why I ask a single question. I'm proposing that the refugees form a town on their own in my territory. Predominantly farmland and a nice coastline. They provide primarily food stocks and rations to Deidriu and the rest of the territory, and in return, they'll be left alone and allowed to prosper on their own. I'll personally give the manpower and the resources necessary for you and your Earthen brethren to survive."
Misora was floored by what the Margrave just said. Other survivors, AND that he was offering them a separate, semi-independent way to live in peace. But, among the many that she tried to push back that plagued her head.
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Partially because I wanted to get it off my chest. Partially because you deserve to know. And partially." The Margrave stated matter of factly, standing up to face Misora as he moved his hands to adjust his outfit. "I want you to lead them."
"Wait, what?!" She shouted in genuine surprise. The Margrave raised his hands, as if in some very weird attempt to try and calm her down.
After her brief moment of hyper ventilation from the offer, she turned towards him, calming herself down slowly but surely with deep breaths. After another moment, she answered him.
"I'll think about. I'll try and consider it at least. When do we leave?" She asked him, as the Margrave smiled.
"In a few weeks. Need to get the necessary supplies secretly from Lady Judith's people. In the scenario that they decline, I'd still be willing to provide for my people. No matter if its from Fodlan, Earth, Almyra or otherwise. Optimistic, sure. But needed in this world from what I see." He said passionately. "But the fact that you considered it is at least good enough for me at the moment."
An awkward moment of silence followed.
"If it makes you more comfortable, I know a personal mercenary gang. Reputable for their work protecting civilians against the giant beasts that lurk near Kumpala. I can hire them to help if necessary." Margrave Edmund claimed with a look. Misora solely shook her head horizontally.
"That won't be necessary, Margrave. You've done more than enough." Misora claimed with a small smile as she let out a breath she didn't realize that she was holding. Said man only shook his head.
"Again, if necessary. Please, rest if you must. Let yourself rest. I do believe you'll be needing it for the time to come." The Margrave replied with a smile.
Misora smiled, giving a little curtsy bow towards said Margrave before walking away. Her eyes slowly closed as she basked in the moonlight gleaming from the windows.
She would have a lot to think about in the next few weeks.
"Oy, Balthus; hurry the hell up with those goods! 'Less you want to pay that money you owe Tralsius!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know; at least I'm actually keeping my damn weight."
As a number of about 600 civilians and refugees carried their things across the grassy plains against the coastline, Misora and the Margrave stayed in the front of said crowd as they slowly trudged their way. Her eyes slowly opened, taking in the light wind and chill air in the region. The fall was just beginning to set in for the Alliance, according to Edmund.
"So, the Confederacy accepted the terms?" Misora asked cautiously.
"They did." Margrave Edmund mentioned with a smirk and a nod. "While I do think my personal skills and daft reasoning have a small part to plan in convincing the formation of Genasi as a farmer's territory and a refugee center for many, but it seems your name even swayed ol'Weathervane Acheron. Perhaps he thought the name was fancy enough for his liking."
The two had slow chuckles as they did so, slowly looking around the caravan of Earth survivors.
"Where's the little one? Soichi, I believe you called him?" He asked, as he looked behind towards the crowd of people traveling. A number of archers and wyvern knights stayed to the side, intently watching their surroundings to any immediate attention.
"I let him hang out with the local kids. After all, if we're truly moving to this new place, Soichi and I, it would be best if he knows who he's going to be hanging out with now." She responded with a grin.
"I see. You know, I find that being a surrogate uncle towards Soichi has felt invigorating personally." The Margrave mentioned with a breath, as if he himself was reminiscing. "Perhaps maybe one day, I shall have someone to call my own."
"Why? You don't have…" Misora began, before the Margrave interrupted her with a hand gesture. The caravan stopped. The Margrave slowly looked around, Misora looking with him.
Until both saw a large pair of yellow eyes stalking them in the far side of the field, tucked in a forest. It too seemed to realize that it was staring at them, and rushed out, revealing itself as a giant wolf. As it clambered out, the knights immediately prioritzied the wolf, as they charged against the giant creature. Only to immediately be a little shaken when two more of its brethren appeared right behind it, grabbing knights to drag them through the mud. Soon, multiple other normal-sized regular wolves followed suite, seemingly lead by their alpha giant wolf.
"No, no, no…" Misora started to state as the caravan flew into chaos; some of the people began rushing away from the wolves' massacre, clearly not wanting to be damaged by the wolves, escaping into the forest nearby (and away from the wolves). In the panic, she jumped down from her horse and attempted to search for Soichi. As she did so, through the chaos and the smoke, the Margrave ran after her, rapier to his side.
"Ms. Isurugi, get down!"
Misora did as she asked, as the Margrave skewered the wolf in the neck with its rapier. She instictually found herself starting to curdle against an overturned wagon, as the sounds of howling and screaming followed all around her. Her hands clutched on, thoughts drifting to a certain kid she failed to find. Her own body shook as fear overtook her. She could hear one of the wolves approaching her overturned wagon, sniffing in search of said woman.
…only for the sound of a whimper to follow, a thin layer of blood soaking her.
"Wh-wh-what?" She started, not daring to open her eyes.
"Oy, Mii-tan. You know, age does make you look so much more prettier. Wait, god damn it Kazumi, you had one chance!"
Wait.
Misora, without even realizing it, began to tear up. She wouldn't dare open her eyes, wouldn't dare like to think that there was some false hope.
When she chose to, her eyes widened in shock.
"Grease?" She asked innocently.
There stood a man she recognized. Brown hair ruffled beyond comprehension, said hair reaching down to his shoulders. A thick headband, patterns of yellow, brown, and gold was placed across his forehead. His original furry long coat seemed to be even furrier, with what looked to be bear fur across his neck, lining the top and hood of his jacket. Below, most of his clothes were some type of dirt brown, predominantly cotton and cloth based. In the hand that wasn't reaching out to Misora, a cyan and gold weapon laid attached to his wrist. Empty slots were located on the half attached to his arm, while the top half contained a dagger like point, bloodied by stabbing the wolf right in the neck.
"Grease!" She shouted in excitement, rushing out of her cover to give him a big bear hug, causing Kazumi to nearly trip back from the sheer force Misora placed upon him. "H-how…"
"Not at the moment, Misora. Not while I got people to save." He mentioned slowly getting him and Misora up while letting her hold onto him. He turned towards the Margrave as he arrived towards the two.
"You're late." The Margrave replied, sounding semi-annoyed while also sounding somewhat sarcastic. Misora widened her eyes, as Kasumi scratched his head.
"Sorry; job over in Almyra took longer than we thought. My Crows were too busy hounding over the leftovers that they struggled to get off-ship." Kazumi began to explain sheepishly, as Misora turned to the Margrave.
"THESE were the mercenaries you were talking about?" She asked in shock.
The Margrave would be unable to give an answer as the howling of the giant wolf reminded them why they were in the position they were in the first place.
As Kazumi stood up, in front of Misora's way towards the Giant Wolf, his hand raised upwards, slamming the Sclash Driver onto his personnel, a bright smile on his face as he did so.
[Sclash Driver!]
"I…" he began, as he slammed the golden device into the Driver.
[Robot Jelly!]
"...will lay down my life to protect this world. The idols and the survivors, I will defend them…with my burning passion!" He shouted passionately, slamming down on the Sclash Driver's handle. "Henshin!"
[Tsubureru(Collapsing)! Nagareru(Flowing)! Afeirderu(Overflowing)! Robot in Grease!]
Similar to Cross-Z Charge before him, a Beaker formed around him, drowning his body in a gold like substance. As they hardened and coalesced around his body to form his armor, a tar like substance was added from the top of the head, trickling down his body and further hardening to form his helmet.
"Kamen Rider Grease…returns." The newly christened Grease stated as he stood in his new armor. And with him, his Three merry Crows, albeit currently in their monstrous Smash forms of Castle, Owl, and Stag Beetle respectively. Rushing towards the beast, he would slam his fists into the beast's head, sending it careening back. Which somehow didn't surprise him.
"Hey, boss! Any idea on how to deal with these guys? Bit too many of them!" The Owl Smash yelled, slashing away at the thick skin of the giant wolf.
"Or at least a plan that preferably doesn't involve having to deal with the rest of these damn wolves!" The Castle Smash screamed back, slamming its entire body into the giant wolf. Only to be sent careening back to avoid a claw slash. As Grease stared out towards his three compatriots holding off the wildlife, he suddenly turned towards both the Margrave and Misora.
"Margrave…ask me, did you recover anything else? From Misora or them?" Grease asked. Misora's eyes popped in realization of what Grease was talking about, rushing back towards the cart. Grabbing an additional sword and the two Fullbottles from before, she clutched them from a moment. She stared towards Grease and the group. She paused for a moment, a brief flash of Kazumi's body vanishing into golden particles. A memory. A warning, even?
Or rather a remnant of fear left in her. Eventually scouring, she found two Fullbottles she DID recognize in the mess of the caravan; Wolf and Kuma (Bear). She turned around towards Grease.
"Kazumi!" She shouted, throwing the two Fullbottles towards him, as he caught them in his hands.
"M..Misora." He responded personally, as he saw Misora blushing at the mention of the nickname. Immediately, he turned, slamming his body into the Giant Wolf, as it howled in pain. "Get the remaining civilians back with the Margrave into the nearby forest. Leave the beasts for me and the boys!"
Misora could only nod, as she guided Margrave Edmund away. Grease would regroup with the three Smashes, staring down the hoard of giant wolves in their paths.
"Alright boss…how are we gonna play this?" Aoba asked, as the Beast reared its head towards them. All Grease could do was crack his neck as he stared towards the Beast.
"What we always do; fight with the passion we've got!" He yelled, charging with a solid jump onto the beast's head. With the two Fullbottles in hand, he slammed both of them into the Twin Breaker attached to his wrist.
[Single! Twin!]
"Boss, the hell do you want us to do?!" Akaba asked, as he aggressively rammed his body into the demonic beast. "Gotta be a little more specific than that!"
Grease turned a little further to the side, as if he couldn't believe what they were saying. Rolling his head to the side, he motioned towards the Three Crows.
"Akaba, Aoba; keep the damn beast grounded and stable; Kiba, help Misora and the Margrave with the evacuees; I'm gonna try something I did back on Earth!" He shouted, as he rushed up towards the Beast. Jumping well above the alpha wolf, he slammed the handle of the Sclash Driver again.
[Scrap Finish!]
Grease turned so that the leg that was currently building up with energy at the same time that his arm with the Twin Breaker was firing on. A wolf head formed on the leg, as the energy from both the Sclash Driver and the Twin Breaker coalesced towards his leg. Launching a flying kick right at the beast with the wolf's head. A bear head also appeared on his leg, the two heads twisting each other in a swirl of energy on his leg, grey and gold mixing together.
What Grease expected was to knock the wolf back far enough for him to then flip it, taking out its underbelly.
What he didn't expect was the impact to explode the wolf in what could only be described as 'ludicrous gibs'. Parts exploded across the forest, staining everything from the trees to the rocks, to even the land itself. It's head, it's expression eternally shocked, was the only thing that was left of the beast that was actually visible and intact. The remaining giant monsters that might have been in the area, seeing this impressive form of strength, immediately bolted in all directions, clearly terrified of this unknown Rider monster that destroyed one of their own, much less an old one of their own.
As Grease's armor collapsed, Kazumi sighed as he let go of the belt. Sitting down on top of the head of the former Demonic Beast as it slowly decayed, he stared at the belt and the two Fullbottles he had inside his bloodied Twin Breaker, along with the Sclash Driver he pulled out from his waist.
"Damn…my body hurts. This what it feels like getting old?" He asked himself out loud. His eyes peered up towards the crowd that came slowly in shock towards the four casually dominating against the demonic beast. Their eyes peered onto Grease and his Three Crows as he looked rather awkward. Despite being covered in beast innards as a result of what he did. Staring around, he sighed as he realized that he WAS in the center of attention.
"Son of a…" he whispered out loud, as he noticed a small boy walking up to him in awe.
He turned between Kazumi and Misora in awe, as his eyes looked wondrous. The boy also somehow picked up the sly smile by Misora as they walked up to Kazumi. And he had a feeling, based on what little Misora had told him about Grease, that he knew what to do. So he did it in the most direct way possible.
"Do you want to be my Daddy, Mr. Robot?"
Kazumi was about to immediately protest this statement, only to earn a kiss on the cheek from Misora, as she smiled intently at Kazumi.
"Don't you want to…Kazumin?" She asked with a knowing smile on her face. Said Rider stared with an agape mouth from the kiss. His head slowly turned amongst the crowd, before laying on the eyes on the Three Crows changing back into human forms. Kiba and Aoba turned towards the crowd and tried to both calm the crowd down and at the same time, tried to explain what just happened. Meanwhile, Akaba, the only actual member witness to the events that just transpired, gave a goofy grin and a thumbs up at the kid's question; and Misora's subsequent encouragement.
Kazumi, obviously, had the most expected reaction.
"EHHHHHHHH?!"
He was, of course, quickly shut up by Misora closing his mouth, a perky grin on her face.
"Just stay quiet, Kazumi. Just for this moment."
And as she closed her eyes, the kissing continued in full bloom and the spectacle of those watching.
Misora opened her eyes once again. A cool breeze passed through her face amidst the chatter which she had briefly drowned out, similar to how it was before. Her body sauntered around the markets of Deidriu. Nearly eight years since that fateful day. Since Renascita, and their little haven of a town known as Genasi was created. And since she reunited with the love of her life. And she couldn't feel any better if she tried.
With the Three Crows hopefully busy with attempting to sell their products in the markets, she chose to instead saunter in the busier districts. Hoping to find something of importance. Her body swayed left to right as she moved throughout the crowds in the cobbled walkways. Eventually, she would approach a bakery of some type, eventually entering in.
Only for her to instead collide with a certain pink pig-tailed woman, the two collapsing onto the ground in a heap in the entrance.
"Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry!" The pink-haired woman stated, as she desperately helped Misora pick up the groceries. "I didn't see you there, miss!"
"It's okay, it's okay; I don't mind!" Misora said, semi-sternly, as she helped pick up the pastries that the woman dropped. "Here; let me pay for a new one!"
The two continued to bicker as they slowly but surely got back up, each of them holding each other and their dropped stuff off. As the two locked eyes, picking up each other's stuff, they locked eyes.
"Oh! I know you? You're from Renascita, aren't you?" The pink pig-tailed woman asked with a bright smile, as she gave a grin. "Balthie and Marianne told me so much about you!"
Misora could only blush that this random woman that she truly didn't know someone knew her of and her business. She really had to treat the Three Crows next time she past by for actually somehow doing good with their antics. And maybe get her damn husband to do so too. She did perk up a little at the 'Baltie' name. She did hear of Balthus; after all, he did visit time to time between the five years of academy and sudden war and all. Especially a certain girl he kept mentioning he was being pestered to at least…
"Oh; so you must be Hilda then? One of the Goneril kids?" She asked happily, as Hilda proceeded to beam at the fact that this random baker woman somehow knew who she was. "Your older brother visited a few months back. Marianne too, for a while after Garreg Mach closed. Both of them told me a lot of good things about you."
Hilda continued to beam with pride…albeit, as Misora noticed, perhaps she was beaming a little TOO much. As if she was definitively basking it all in for attention's sake.
"Well, what did they say about me? They say anything that warrants attention?" Hilda asked her incredulity. Misora's mouth opened, about to say something…until the sounds of battle interrupted them.
"What in the hell…" both Hilda and Misora stated at the same time. Citizens soon ran further into the town, as the two looked to each other. Balthus finally showed up next to the two, hair cut into a medium length haircut, something which wasn't the shaggy mess that it was before, and harked back to his previous hair before the change. Strands still remained across his head, and his headband still remained.
"Baltie, I TOLD you to get a real haircut, not one of those…shape ups or whatever." Hilda claimed with a slight hint of disappointment.
"Hey; I'm not trying to get bald today. I know what you talk about with Holst. I'm certainly not going to be no Baldie today. Not when I've got to help Sento out, and especially if I don't like good bald." He claimed almost semi-sternly. "Plus, I already have a horde of sweets I took from Lysithea."
He then was finally the one to notice the rushing of crowds and the smoke coming off from the docks.
"…huh. Must be another one of those Tuesdays." Balthus claimed, rubbing his head, as he cracked his knuckles. "Gonna pay the ol' barber first so I don't have a razor wielding maniac on my list of people who want to kill me and then I'll join ya folks."
Rushing in the opposite direction, Hilda let out a long grunt, quickly raising her Silver Axe as she gave a pleading look towards Misora.
"It was nice meeting you, Ms. Isurugi! But I have to help my friends, including Professor Sento!" She shouted jovially, as she rushed towards the field of battle. Misora smiled as she was about to turn in the opposite direction…only to freeze in place after digesting the full extent of the information Hilda just gave her, her eyes bulging in reaction.
Her mouth immediately started to repeat a specific name that came out of Hilda's mouth just before she sprinted in the opposite direction.
"Professor Sento." She mumbled to herself silently in disbelief.
"Professor Sento." She mumbled a little louder, as if that would make any obvious difference.
Silence followed. But only for a moment, as her body instinctively turned around to follow Hilda into the frey.
"SENTO!" She shouted, rushing with her basket in tow. Most of her body didn't want to believe it. It's been ten years; it could be just a mere coincidence that somehow, a professor of Hilda's named Sento somehow survived the Battle of Garreg Mach five years ago, and was now fighting for the Alliance.
But even just a small part, despite how long ago she had been in this new land, this new world…perhaps some part of her longed for a chance that, for even a moment, everyone from the old world had lived again. That destiny somehow brought the Riders back together.
She couldn't believe it.
[Vortex…Attack!]
With her own two eyes. Build…was alive. She saw the Rider throw the monster upwards into the sky, a rainbow of magic crashing into the monster as it exploded in mid-air. And even better, Build was with the Alliance. Somehow. She saw Balthus in the background, kindly lugging a girl onto his back as moved to and fro with Hilda, evacuating as many as possible. And…did she see Cross-Z in the mix, helping Build?
Did that mean Banjou came with the whole…
She sighed. Didn't want to gain any false hope right now. Not when she had this perfect life…
"Boss's lady!" She could hear the Three Crows yelling. Behind them came a small cadre of armored guards, most likely called by the three to respond to the commotion. "What the hell are you doing here? This area's too dangerous!"
"I…needed to see it for myself. There were rumors that they were alive. Didn't want to believe them but…" Misora responded, shivering in fear at the implications of this. As the Three Crows looked at each other and nodded at Misora's statement, the woman slowly took a step forwards towards the docks. Then another. Then another. Soon, she was sprinting in the direction of the docks. Running towards the docks, basket of food and ingredients in hand, she quickly found herself at the end of the docks. As she saw them, she couldn't believe it. Sure, the black, damn near dark graying hair was loose and a mess, and his coat did look as if it literally was dragged through the mud and then left to dry for some years.
But, as Misora dropped the basket in surprise, she realized that this was her Sento. Her Build.
"S…Sento?"
Sento, naturally, turned towards Misora, in equal (if not more amounts) of shock, as he looked towards her.
"M-M-Misora?!" Sento asked rather incredulously, his eyes and body in a state of shock. Petra and Dorothea looked to and fro between the two as Bernadetta tried to shrink in the background.
"Wait, Sento; you know Ms. Isuragi?" Marianne asked in genuine surprise as she, Hilda and Balthus returned from evacuating the civilians. "I didn't know the two of you knew each other. "
"Sento…" Misora pleadingly stated. Her feelings never went away from all of those years ago. On the one hand, she wanted to hug Sento. On the other hand, she wanted to slap Sento as hard as she could in the face, considering it had been a full decade having that feeling of hopelessness well out inside her and everyone else in Genasi. But finally seeing another face after thinking she, Kazumi, and the Genasi denizens were the only ones from Earth alive, that feeling? She would be okay with that for now. What she was really surprised about though, was the fact that a Brigidian had her hands on Cross-Z's equipment. "Where's Banjou?"
Considering Sento was still in the shape of shock, mouth agape, with Lysithea futilely attempting to shake him out of it, Petra was left to approach and converse with Misora, while everyone else tried and cleaned up the mess left behind by their little skirmish.
"He is recovering at the Riegan castle, . He saved me." Petra said matter of factly, as Misora started to try and stifle an attempt at a chuckle. "I…I briefly recall he mentioned you. In his dreams. Alongside Sento. I am glad to have met you."
"Of course Banjou would be the one to go ahead and protect others. Injure himself like that." she thought as a small memory relapsed in her head. Of Banjou pushing Evolto into a breach between worlds.
She quickly shook off that and gave a curt smile..
"Well, I'm glad at least he's okay." she told Petra. "And I'm glad that Sento actually found some people to hang out with. Who knows how crazy he can get alone…"
Misora could only shiver at the thought of that. She too did eventually turn to Bernadetta, who looked at her with a genuinely shocked look, before quickly moving her head away. Misora saw something that made her eyes widen for a moment, as one of her hands instinctively touched the golden bangle on her wrist. A silver bangle, almost exactly like her own, settled on Bernadetta's left wrist.
She decided that, given Bernadetta's apprehension, she would worry about the eventual return of a species she thought died with Vernage later. Especially given that the girl looked really damn shy about the bangle itself. Much like Misora was herself.
"Oy! Get the hell back here kid! Your mom's gonna be worried sick about ya!' She could hear the Three Crows yell behind her, as she turned around. A teenage kid, no older than 17 ran towards Misora, sweating himself off. Slightly taller than Misora, his hair was a motley of shades of brown and black, his beige cloth tunic waving in the wind as he ran towards Misora. The two briefly shared a hug as they collided together. After a brief check to see if the young man was alright, they both turned to Sento, who barely had managed to regain his composure at the whole thing. Enough to the point where he could actually speak.
"Wait.W-Who's the kid?" Sento asked, finally getting out of his shock enough to actually say something. The young kid looked frantically between Sento and Misora, slightly nervous. Misora would quickly try and defuse the little confusion, kneeling down next to the kid.
"Don't worry. You can introduce yourself to him. He's that family friend I told you about."
"The one with the protein shakes and ripped pants?" The kid asked, only for Misora to softly chuckle.
"No; this is the smart one. The one with the dome hair and the fetish for shipping random objects with each other." Misora responded curtly, as the kid immediately beamed. While Sento, of course, was offended with the former part of what Misora just said, the next part of what the kid said genuinely was too much for his big brain to handle.
Said kid immediately turned towards Sento, with a big goofy smile on his face and proudly proclaimed, "Hello Uncle Sento; I'm your nephew, Soichi Isuragi-Sawatari!"
Sento's brain exploded internally at the revelation. While on the outside, he stared in a genuinely befuddled look at the revelation, only sputtering out various iterations of 'What?', his inner thoughts couldn't handle the truth.
"I'm an uncle?! Misora has a son?! With…"
The fact that Kazumi somehow was a father was the greatest revelation to poor Sento's brain. Misora, noticing this, started smirking, much to the confusion of everyone else in the area…sans Marianne, who briefly turned to see the commotion with a shaking of the head. She knew what was coming after all.
"He's our adopted son, Sento."
And thus, as Sento immediately collapsed on the ground from shock into the land of unconsciousness, Misora finally launched the final blow. Lysithea and Petra ran to him, looking at the unconscious body of Sento in abject confusion.
"How does he even do that?!"
"Bernadetta does that all the time, from what I hear. It is a lightning thing."
"Don't you mean he ended up in a brief moment of shock from that?!"
As Misora stared towards the group, her lips curled up into a smile.
At the very least, for this moment…there was another light that shined from living. That their sacrifice…was no longer in vain.