It didn't take long for the group, after a good night's rest, to leave the Somniel and arrive in Firene, Kingdom of Abundance. Alfred was their guide as they arrived in the flower-filled land.
"Here we are-the Kingdom of Firene." Alfred introduced.
"This place is beautiful, Alfred. Everywhere you look, there are flowers." Perfuma said.
"Isn't it? And no sign of the corrupted, so that's good." Alfred said.
"Don't count your petals before you pluck 'em." Hitomi said.
"In any case, that was quite a trip, coming all the way from Lythos. Hope you guys aren't worn out." Alfred said.
"We're used to long journeys everywhere, you'd be surprised." Hope said.
"Hey Alfred, since we're here journeying across the four regions, could you maybe tell us a little about your Kingdom?" Glimmer asked.
"Happy to! Let's see…Firene is one of the four nations of Elyos, in the southwest. It's ruled by my mother, Queen Ève. We're known as a…land of plenty. Our people value peace above all else. We haven't seen war for centuries." Alfred said. "And we currently hold the Ring of the Caring Princess."
"Caring Princess…" Hope said. "Sounds a lot like Celica." he chuckled.
"In any case, if you've been able to hold peace for centuries, your family lineage must be proud and noble." Sakura said.
"Kind of you to say. Peace doesn't always come easy. Mother had to hammer out a nonaggression pact with our neighbors. The pact says there won't be war with Firene, Solm, and Brodia." Alfred explained. "Solm is an open-minded country. They've always had good relations with Firene. But an alliance with Brodia took some doing. Their king is an ambitious man. He's always launching attacks on Elusia to expand his own territory."
"Probably the main reason they weren't even part of the conversation." Captain Cold said. "Like, what the heck was that king expecting?"
"Well….that, and the fact that they're so far away in the first place." Alfred said. "And as you know, some Elusians worship the Fell Dragon. But people can believe what they believe."
"And it's only a matter of time until that peace is shattered, unfortunately." Keqing stated.
"Until I met you all and Marth, I thought the Emblems were legends. I can't wait to tell my sister they exist! She'll really be knocked for a loop." Alfred said.
"A sister you say?" Ash C asked.
"Yeah-the princess of Firene, Cèline. She's at the castle with Mother right now." Alfred said.
"It'll be great to meet your sister. She must be as kind as you and your mother." Hope said.
"Yeah, I'm sure you'll all get along with her great." Alfred said as they continued on until they reached a local town. "Here's Florra Mill Town. The castle's close now. We'll just cut through here, and…" he started before stopping. "Something's off."
"I've got a bad feeling…" Ragna said as they headed into town to see an Army of Corrupted laying siege.
"The Corrupted." Alear said.
"Well, so much for peace and quiet." Chris sighed.
"I can't stand to see them overrunning this peaceful town. I have to drive them away. Will you all help me?" Alfred asked.
"Of course, Alfred." Noel said.
"Over there!" 9S said, spotting three people being cornered by the corrupted. They were further away, and two of them were guarding an important figure.
"Danger looms from every side. I fear we will never make it to my brother." said A platinum blonde haired girl adorned with a flower topped crown, butterfly pins in her hair and wearing a regal white and yellow dress with green ribbons and black and white linings on the top of her dress.
"Princess Céline, I beg you to make your retreat, we'll handle this." a black-haired man with narrow eyes suited up in a full set of armor said.
"More of the fiends might be on the way. Hurry!" A young woman with aqua green hair dressed in regal style armor riding a pegasus added.
"Louis! Chloè! You can't possibly expect me to-!" Céline tried to say.
"It is our sworn duty to protect the princess. We will hold the line for you as long as we must!" the man known as Louis declared.
"You have to leave. If you should fall here, who warns Prince Alfred of the invasion to come?" the Pegasus Rider known as Chloè asked.
"I concede the point. But I'll return for you both. Please hold out until then!" Céline said before running off.
"Apologies, Chloè. It pains me greatly to separate you from Princess Céline, for even a relatively brief amount of time." Louis regretted.
"Might I say, I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get to see you run off with Her Highness yourself." Chloè replied. "A knight should never leave his princess's side."
"The sooner we win, the sooner that will come to pass. What say you, Chloè? Shall we?" Louis suggested.
"Yes! Let's!" Chloe affirmed in determination.
It wasn't long before Céline found herself uniting with the group.
"Alfred!" Céline said.
"Céline? What are you doing here? I thought you were with Mother." Alfred said.
"I was, but… Alfred, the Elusian army is marching on the castle." Céline said.
"What? Why?" Alfred asked.
"Probably so they can steal the Ring of the Caring Princess." Hope said.
"Well…they won't." Céline said as she showed it. "Mother gave it to me before Louis, Chloè and I fled the castle to warn you. We were on our way to Florra Port when we were ambushed. They stayed behind so that I might have a chance to escape. Please, we must hurry back to them!"
"We'll do just that. But first, let's get a little extra help." Ethox said.
"Princess Céline, if you wouldn't mind, may I see the ring for a moment?" Alear piped in.
" Yes, but why would you…Goodness gracious! The Divine Dragon Alear?! You're here, you're…back!" Céline said in shock and awe.
"Yes. I know. Long story. Now…" Alear said, taking the ring. "Care for us, Emblem of Echoes!" she called out as a familiar face appeared before the group.
"She is back." Hope smiled.
"Nice to meet you. I am Emblem Celica." she said. "I detest violence…but I will always fight to defend the innocent."
"Thank you for answering my call." Alear said.
"So…this is the Emblem that was in Firene's ring." Alfred said.
"Emblem Celica. How marvelous. Divine One, with your blessing- and hers, of course- I would like to fight by Celica's side. I must protect the people of this village and ensure Louis and Chloe's safety." Céline said.
"I entrust this ring to you, Céline." Alear said as she gave the ring back to the princess of Firene and slipped it on.
"Mermista, you think you can swim ahead using the rivers and back Céline's retainers up?" Hope said.
"Yeah, I got it." Mermista said.
"Mona, warp to the princess' retainers and give them a hand. Amber, Noelle, go with her." Cure Starlight instructed.
"Right!" The three in question nodded.
"I'll come with you. But I'm not sure I'll be able to reach them in time…" Céline said.
"That won't be an issue. If you Engage with Celica, you'll be able to use her ability to warp around the area and hit any enemy you want with a blast of powerful magic." Ristarte said.
"Wait, how do you know that?" DJ asked.
"Maybe because I used my Analysis skill on Celica's ring?" Rista sarcastically suggested.
"...Oh yeah. Forgot you can use that skill too." the former assassin remembered.
"Try it out, Céline, you'll love it, trust me." Hope said.
"Alright, here I go." Céline replied. "Please lend me your strength. Engage!" she said as she Engaged with Celica, her hair had turned pink as she wore a version of Celica's outfit. "So this is the Emblem's power…. I'll use it to protect this village, Louis and Chloè as well!"
With that, Céline, along with Mona, Amber, and Noelle, warped out of sight, Mermista diving into the nearby river to follow them. At Louis and Chloè's position, they were fighting off the enemies attacking them and were about to be overwhelmed when the teleporters came out of nowhere.
"Knights of Favonius to the rescue!" Amber said with her Favonius Warbow armed, firing a Pyro arrow storm from the sky and rained down upon the Corrupted.
"Forgive me, but you shall not harm them!" Maid Knight Noelle said, turning her Whiteblind claymore into a blade of light using her Geo Vision and slashing them to dust.
Mona also supported by trapping a group of Corrupted into a Hydro sphere. "Princess Céline, now!"
Céline soon warped into view and gathered magic in both hands. "Warp Ragnarok!" she called out as she landed a blow that wiped out several enemy soldiers.
The sole corrupted remaining tried to notch an arrow and snipe down Chloè, but Mermista jumped out of the water to interrupt.
"Sorry to spoil your big moment!" Mermista said as she kicked the corrupted in the face, following up by snatching it up with manipulation of water and dragging it into the river to drown.
"My goodness! That was amazing!" Chloè marveled.
"Of course it was." Mermista smiled. "We're with the Hero Alliance by the way. We're helping your princess and Prince Alfred out."
"Thank you for coming to our aid. But if I can ask, was your lower body that of a fish before?" Chloè asked.
"Uh… yeah, I'm Princess Mermista. I'm half mermaid, it's kinda my thing…" Mermista said.
"A Mermaid Princess coming to my rescue…that sounds just like a fairy tale!" Chloè said.
"Uh, you can't marry her, she's taken. I think." Alkal said, the rest of the group having caught up. "Louis and Chloè, right?"
"That's correct, and you are?" Louis asked.
"Louis, thank goodness!" Cèline said.
"Princess Cèline! Did you meet these people while you were fleeing?" Louis asked.
"Yes, they have arrived with my brother and his retainers to aid us." Celine said.
"I see, I am relieved to see you unharmed…" Louis said before noticing Celine's Engaged state. "Hm? You seem…different."
"The Divine Dragon brought Emblem Celica forth from my ring. I am imbued with her strength." Cèline said.
"Pardon? The Divine Dragon is here?" Louis asked.
"Indeed. I will explain everything later. For now, let us restore order here. I promise I will never leave you behind again. Come- let us fight together." Celine said.
"As you wish. Princess Cèline and Emblem Celica… What a pair." Louis mused.
"Well, she's strong now, but Engaging with an Emblem only last 15 minutes. We'd better make sure to back her up once she disengages with Celica." Mermista said.
"Understood. As Chloè and I are her majesty's retainers, allow us to help in any way that we can." Louis said.
"You're an Armored and Chloè's a Flier, right? I think we can work with that." Mermista said.
"9S here, the enemy leader's been spotted in the northeast part of town." 9S contacted through the comm channel.
"He's in the far back, just behind all those Corrupted."
"It's gonna take awhile to get to him, and Cèline will need some time to recharge before she let's rip another Warp Ragnarok." Hope said.
"That's where I come in. Jessica, you know what to do." Sigurd said.
"You want me to Engage with you?" Jessica asked.
"I know this is sudden, but it is what Queen Lumera would have wished in this battle." Sigurd said.
"Okay then Sigurd, let's go!" Jessica said, slipping the ring of the Holy Knight on. "Emblem, Engage!" she called as her hair turned a lavender purple and she now wore a female version of Sigurd's outfit.
"Now for my Engage ability. If you see a group of enemies lined up in a row, you'll be able to strike and take out all of them at once." Sigurd's voice said. "Try using it on the swarm of enemies in front of you."
"Understood. Here I come!" Jessica said as she mounted Sigurd's horse with lance in hand and charged forward. "How's this?" she asked as a beam of lightning fired from it as she pierced straight through the enemies to the other side.
"Cor Blimey!" Yangus said in surprise to the effects.
"That's cleared the way to the enemy commander! All forces, advance on the target!" Tanya said.
"Soon I'll be a legend… The man who captured the princess of Firene!" the enemy leader, Rodine declared.
"You'll be out cold in a second." Balthus said.
"Quite right. Watch this." Jessica said as she got her magic ready. "Frizz!" she said as she launched a fireball at Rodine.
Rodine was sent flying back with a groan as he landed on the ground. "I would have won, you know…if they'd given me real soldiers…" he groaned before falling unconscious.
"Sure you would've." Yuri said.
"All hostiles have been eliminated." 042 said.
"Now with that out of the way…" Zi-O said as they put away their weapons. "You and your retainers feeling okay, Princess Celine?"
"Yes, thank you." Cèline said.
"Well, Celica's out of Elusia's grip, for now at least. But, I'm more worried about another situation." Hope said. "Cèline, didn't you say that your mother told you to take the ring and go get help?"
"Yes, why?" Celine asked.
"Well, with the ring not in Queen Evè's hands, and Elusia invading Firene, I'd say the castle's pretty vulnerable to attack right now." Hope said.
"Oh no, you're right!" Alfred said.
"Then we need to go to Firene Castle. NOW." Geiz stated.
"Gaius is right, there's not a moment to lose." Alear said. "We have to-!"
The Divine Dragon was interrupted by a glancing blow from an axe, courtesy of a Corrupted, which set her sprawling to the ground.
"Oh crud, we missed one!" Mermista said. "Alear, hang on! We'll-!"
The heroes didn't get the chance, however, for as the Corrupted hoisted its axe to cleave Alear's head in two, it was hit by a fireball, killing it instantly.
The group looked to the source of the fireball, which was a tree. From behind it, was a young girl with black and white streaked hair that went down to her ankles as she was barefoot and wore a feather wing designed circlet with hints of blue on it a dress of the same design that also had hints of blue and red on it, white dress gloves that went up to her elbows, and around her ankles were a set of leather belts and gold chains wrapped around them.
"There's no need to be afraid. It's gone." the girl said.
"(Veyle…)" Cure Starlight stared at the girl with concern. "(...No, now's not the time to tell her about it.)"
"Phew, thanks for the help, kid." ZS said. "We were almost short one Divine Dragon there."
"It was nothing, really! I only did what anyone else would do." the girl said.
"Even so, we owe you one." Mark said. "You have a name we can use?"
"Um… Yes. I am Veyle. It's nice to meet you all." the girl introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you too, Veyle-chan!" Hibiki smiled and shook the girl's hand.
"I appreciate the close save, but what are you doing here?" Kiana asked.
"I saw the fighting and thought I could help." Veyle answered.
"Are you traveling alone or you're with a group?" Houki asked.
"I'm alone." Veyle answered.
"Oh." Lumine noted. "Well, if there's no place for you to go, would you like to come with us? We could use more help for our team."
"Mhm! The more the merrier!" Paimon nodded.
"Yeah, we could always use some extra help. Plus you seem like a really nice…" Ty said before noticing that Veyle had vanished the second they took their eyes off her. "Girl? Okay, that's weird…"
"Guess she has something else to do instead." Gunvolt said before shrugging. "Oh well, I'm sure we'll see her again. But we've got more important things to do ourselves."
"Yes, Queen Eve is in danger. We must hurry to the palace." Qadira said.
"Of course." they said as they continued on towards the palace.
In another multiverse…
"I still can't believe this happened." Flux said. "Stuck in an unfamiliar multiverse in an unfamiliar world."
"Yeah…and looking at these readings from the worlds beyond, there's hardly not as many living things beyond this world too." Photon said.
"Guess in this reality, something must have gone down. Something really bad." Ian said.
"An entire multiverse almost devoid of life? That would be something apocalyptic." Flux said.
"Hmm…there's still those six signatures we detected…" Techno mused. "I suggest we attempt to locate them. Then we may get some answers and, with luck, a way to return to the Elyos of our multiverse."
"Maybe so." Flux said. "Looks like two of them are in the central country. Lythos, I believe it's called."
"Then that's where we'll start." Techno nodded. "Arsen, DaDan, set a course."
"Already on it." DaDan said, he and Arsen turning the ship and accelerating towards the central country.
