"This place is rather dark. Good thing some of us are able to see past it." Cheetah said.
"Yeah, we're kind of glad it was Cold and Poison Ivy that stayed behind in Firene." Glacius said. "N-not that I'm disregarding anyone else that is able to see in the dark, mind you."
"It's okay, Glacius. We know you didn't mean that in a demeaning way." Valfor said.
"The road's gotten a bit rockier too." David said.
"We're near Brodia. It's all mountains up here." Alfred said.
"Less villages too." Mark observed. "Makes sense, since we're near the border."
"Yeah. The closer you are to the Brodian Border, the colder and quieter it gets. Look. Not a soul in sight." Alfred said.
"What about her?" Papelne asked, pointing to a figure up ahead.
There was someone up ahead of them. It looked to be a young woman wearing a purple singlet tunic that exposed both sides of her waist with similarly colored high-heeled boots. She also had long, voluminous crimson hair with black and white star stickers spread across it.
"Take a little look around… Wait for it…" the girl said to herself.
"It's a girl. Wonder what's she doing out here?" Hope asked.
"Forget that, what's with her hair?" DW typed.
The girl was then heard crying.
"She really needs to work on her acting skills." Simon said.
"Well, this place is pretty dangerous at night, so I think we should get her out of here." David said as he walked to the girl. "Uh, excuse me?"
"Huh?" the girl asked as she turned around, locking her red eyes with the group.
"What's a young lady like you doing here all alone?" Glacius asked.
"Zuh… Zuh…" the girl tried to say.
"What's up, cat got your-?" Ethox asked.
"Zappy! You all came just in time! I'm saved!" the girl said.
"Oh, you needed some help, huh? Well why didn't you just say so!" Ethox said. "What seems to be the trouble?"
"I lost something earlier and there was nobody around to help, so I got real stressed out." the girl said. "Oh, right, I skipped over the niceties. You can call me Yunaka. Hiya papaya!"
The Hidden Mask Yunaka
"Hiya…papaya?" Alear asked.
"Huh! I've never heard that one before." Alfred said.
"What exactly did you lose, Yunaka?" Al asked.
"It's a little round ring. Kind of shiny with a hole in the middle? Oh, and it talks, for some reason." Yunaka said.
"Well. Looks like you stumbled upon an Emblem ring." Connor said.
"But lemme guess what happened next. Just seconds after you got your hands on it, some bandits blindsided you, and stole the thing?" Travis asked.
Yunaka gasped. "Are you psychic? Because that's exactly what happened!" Yunaka said.
"Nah. I know because it's what me and my little girl would do. Or would use to do anyway." Travis said.
"Well, we kind of need that ring, so would it be alright if we helped you get it back?" Glacius asked.
"Sure! I'll even help." Yunaka said.
"Hey, you know I'm not one to turn down a hottie, but will this chick even be any help?" Kazuma whispered.
"Definitely. I can see it in her eyes. She is more capable than she is letting on." Esmeralda whispered back.
Further into the darkness of the night, the group pursued the bandits who robbed Yunaka. She seemed to know the way, leading the group to their location.
"Alright, is this where the ring got snatched, Yunaka?" Hope said.
"Yes. We'll draw too much attention if we all charge in at once. I say we split up." Yunaka said.
"Got it. Cheetah, you, Alear and your group go with Yunaka to the north. The rest of us will go from the south." David said.
Taking David's idea, the group split up across the north and south as Reformed Society accompanied Alear and Yunaka. They soon reached the bandits hideout as they quietly moved in.
"Even though we can see pretty well in the dark, I can't tell which one has the ring. It could be any one of them." Valfor said.
"I can." Yunaka spoke up, surprising everyone with how serious she sounded.
"You can? Which one of these blokes 'as it?" Yangus asked.
"A burly guy with something glinting in his hand." Yunaka said. "That's got to be our missing ring."
"We can't be sure it's an Emblem yet, but we have our robber. Good work, Yunaka. Your perceptive ability is impressive." Kareem said.
"Yeah. I have a killer's eyes." Yunaka replied.
"I'm sorry, wha-?" Jessica asked, making Yunaka realize something and quickly correct herself.
"Killer eyes! I have killer eyes. They are really good at seeing stuff." Yunaka said. "Uh… Promise you don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."
"You're really an assassin, aren't you?" Glacius asked.
"Oh… you knew right from the minute you saw me, I'm guessing, huh?" Yunaka said.
"Well, that and… You weren't exactly good at hiding it." Glacius said.
"You were trying way too hard." Letfor said.
"Okay, you got me. I won't go into too many details now, but, yes, I used to be an Assassin. But I'm trying to push myself away from that life." Yunaka said.
"Don't worry. So are we. We know what you are going through." Esmeralda said.
"But we could use your skills right now to get the ring back. Will you still help us?" Aoesia asked.
"Of course, you weirdos! That's why we're here! That guy I mentioned could have the ring. If one of us can kill him, we should be able to swipe it back." Yunaka said.
"Leave that to me. I'm used to this kind of thing." Cheetah said. She sped up to the thief and locked claws with his axe.
"Aah! W-where did you come from?!" the thief asked in shock.
"A question you will not live long enough to get the answer to." Cheetah answered.
The two then broke away from each other, the bandit taking a desperate swing with his axe, but Cheetah was too quick, and with one swift slash, took him down nice and easy.
"But… my treasure…" the bandit croaked before collapsing on the ground and dropping a slim ring with a golden centerpiece, which Cheetah recovered.
"I have it! Alear, you know what to do." Cheetah said.
"Right. Bring it here." Alear said.
Cheetah did so, placing the ring in the Divine Dragon's hands.
"Thanks, Cheetah. Heal us, Emblem of Dawn!" Alear called.
(Cue: Trial of Dawn (Heal Us)- Fire Emblem Engage)
In a flash of orange light, descending down from the sky was a long silver haired young woman dressed in a red tunic with a long blue scarf along with arm length fingerless gloves with white cuffs near the shoulders, black pants and leather boots as appearing in her left hand was a yellow tome.
(song cut)
"I am Emblem Micaiah. I sense the future shifting… Now victory lies ahead." Micaiah said.
"Yunaka. I trust that you can handle this ring with care?" Nesma asked..
"Sure, I can do that." Yunaka replied, taking the ring and slipping it onto her finger.
Cheetah reached into her comm. "Alright, Ishihara. We got the ring. No trouble here."
"Excellent. Meet us at the end of the path. The big boss is definitely there." David said from his comm.
"Oh, one other thing, make sure to light those torches along the way to help with your sight." Zi-O advised. "So what ring did you guys get?"
"The Ring of the Dawn Maiden. Micaiah is her name." Cheetah said.
"Neat. Her ability can light up dark areas, and she's good with light magic. Whoever is using her, make use of her abilities well." Zi-O said.
"Wait, the one who has her is…" Esmeralda said as they looked to Yunaka.
"Zappy! I'll be sure to make the room nice and bright!" Yunaka said.
"Alright. We'll be counting on you, Yunaka." Valfor said.
"Looks like you're all set. Have fun!" Zi-O said before ending the call.
"All right. Emblem Engage!" Yunaka said as she engaged with Micaiah as she lit up the room as they continued forward while beating down the thieves in their way.
"Hey, what the heck is…" the bandit leader said as Glacius and Esmeralda got in close before cutting him down with their claws.
"We may not know these people, but we still know how to sort the best from the grime." Glacius said.
"Whoa…" Yunaka said.
"You think this is…justice, huh? Haha…hah…" the bandit leader breathed one last time.
"...It kinda feels like it, yeah."
"Well, that takes care of the bandits." Ethox said. "Can't believe they managed to get into the shrine."
"Yeah, this world's gotta get better security." DJ remarked.
"Uh…yeah, about that…" Yunaka spoke up nervously. "I…have a confession to make. I didn't find the ring. I stole it."
"...Eh?" Ethox tilted his head.
"May I ask, why?" Keqing asked.
"I was strapped for money, and when I saw the shrine, I figured it might have valuables. I went inside, heard Micaiah's voice, and pow, there's the ring staring right at me. I was just looking to make a quick bundle of dough! I'm sorry." Yunaka said.
"I get it. Can't start a new life without having the money to back it up." Connor said. "Once you had Micaiah in your hands, you could've easily given us the slip with your skills. But, you didn't."
"Yeah, you're right about that. Once I heard her voice, I just got this feeling I couldn't shake. I felt like… like I had to get her to the Divine Dragon." Yunaka said.
"Well, you came clean, but this isn't gonna go without some form of punishment." Hope said. "But don't worry. We're not taking you in. In fact, your punishment… is to join our ranks and fight alongside us."
"Say what now?" Yunaka asked.
"We're on a journey to collect the Emblem Rings and defeat Sombron. And you did us a big favor by bringing Micaiah to us." Hope said.
"So…Hiya Papaya, Yunaka." Alear said.
"Hiya papaya back atcha, Divine One!" Yunaka said.
"With that all settled, it's onward to Brodia. We shouldnt have any problems when we cross over, right?" Hope asked.
"Yes. Mother sent a letter to the Brodian king when we left the castle. He should be expecting us." Alfred said.
"Hmm? Isn't that…?" Roy asked as Veyle was spotted up ahead.
"Ah, Veyle-chan!" Hibiki called out as she approached her.
"What are you doing here in this place?" Kiana asked. "Looking for something?"
"Well, looking for someone, really." Veyle said. "A person I must talk to again, no matter what. My sibling."
"A lost sibling, huh?" Lumine mused. "Does that person have the same hair color as you?"
"I don't even know what face to look for. We've been apart since I was very young. But they did give me something long ago, this." Veyle said as she pulled out a small red gemstone with a symbol inside it.
"Is that a Dragonstone?" Giovanna asked.
"It's my good-luck charm. I know that as long as I have this, we'll be reunited someday." Veyle said.
"We're all sure you will. But look at your leg, you're hurt pretty bad." Medina said. "Here, let me treat it."
"This kind of thing happens all the time." Veyle said.
"But that's no excuse to carry on without treating yourself." Medina said, treating and dressing the wound. "There. That should help."
"Thank you. You're all quite kind to help a complete stranger like me." Veyle said.
"When someone's in trouble, you help them." Aether replied. "Just like how you helped Alear back in Firene."
"That makes us friends, as far as I'm concerned. And friends help each other." Alear said.
"Friends…" Veyle said.
"Something wrong?" Gemini asked.
"No, no. I'm just so happy to have someone I can call friends. It's like a dream. I can't recall the last time I was treated with such kindness." Veyle said.
"What do you mean?" Miriam asked.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go." Veyle said.
"Alright, but don't hesitate to call for our help if you need it." Houki replied.
"I will, and thank you for the bandage. Hope to see you all again." Veyle said before she soon ran off.
Cure Starlight watched Veyle leave with a worried look. "(Veyle… just wait for us to save you when that time comes, okay?)"