[IS]: Insert song - "Story 5 Meeting (Super Smash Bros)"
[ISE]: Insert song end
"F-Father…?" Morgan continued taking small steps forward in an almost trance-like state. "What are you doing here?"
The sudden appearance of Morgan's apparent father raised numerous questions in the minds of the rest of Class VII. Why did it choose Morgan's father of all people to confront them? How did it even know what Morgan's father looked like?
"Morgan, it's dangerous!" Emma called out.
However, the tactician continued trudging forwards, ignoring her friend's warning. The mysterious hooded figure, which had been unresponsive up to that point, lifted his head slightly when Morgan was just a few paces away. His eyes were still covered by the hood, but the rest of his face was devoid of any expression. It was an eerie feeling, like being alone with one of those fake models used to display clothes at clothing shops.
"REMOVING EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES."
Rean then noticed something in his peripheral vision. The ground beneath them was beginning to darken with ominous looking shadows, originating from where the hooded figure was standing and rapidly expanding like a whirlpool. When some of the shadows made contact with Morgan's feet, they coiled around her legs like snakes.
"Morgan! Get out of there!" Rean shouted.
Despite Rean's warnings, it was already too late. By the time Morgan realized what was going on, she had been enveloped in a dark sphere. The hooded figure stretched out its arm, and the sphere containing their friend shrunk and flew into the figure's hand.
Rean drew his tachi. "Give our friend back!"
Celine let out a loud hiss.
"It's coming!" Emma warned, readying her orbal staff.
The hooded figure slowly began to sink into the ground and out of Class VII's reach, causing the shadows at its feet to encroach further outwards. Once the figure was fully submerged, a large shadowy titan emerged from the pool of darkness. It possessed a vaguely humanoid figure while also having spiked shoulders, clawed hands, and a singular glowing spot on its face for an eye, giving off the image of a knight wearing corrupted armor.
The rest of Class VII drew their weapons. This was it. The culmination of all their expeditions into the old schoolhouse. And now, they had another reason to overcome this foe.
"We'll take on this final trial…and take back our friend with it!" Rean pointed his tachi at the gargantuan foe. "Class VII, let's do this!"
The shadowy titan let out a loud bellow that echoed across the wasteland.
Sunlight. Birds chirping. The scent of grass and trees.
Morgan opened her eyes steadily, groggily raising her head from the ground. "Where…am I?"
As she propped herself up to a seated position, the first thing that Morgan noticed was that her clothes had changed. Instead of a red school blazer and skirt, she was now wearing a simple tunic and baggy pants, the same color and style she wore when she was a child. She was situated on a grassy hill underneath a giant tree, with the immediate vicinity also being filled with similar trees. Off in the distance, Morgan could make out the familiar outline of a large city.
"Ylisstol…" Morgan realized. "Am I…home?"
"Long ago, in a land far, far away, there once was a dragon named Naga…"
Morgan looked up at the sky, surprised by the sudden voice. "Was that…me?"
"She was the mightiest of the dragons, yet she was also wise and benevolent towards humans. She bestowed upon humans the knowledge to found their own civilizations, and they, in turn, worshiped her as their guardian deity."
"This was from when I talked to Rean about my past in Ymir," Morgan realized. "But how…?"
Just then, the sky turned a bright red, and a ghastly roar echoed through the lands. Before her eyes, Morgan witnessed two great dragons, one brimming with warm light, the other basking in the cold darkness of death, meet each other in aerial combat.
"One day, a terrifying monster called the Fell Dragon appeared and threatened the land. In order to save the world from ruination, a great hero made a pact with Naga, and together they put the Fell Dragon into a thousand year slumber. As a side effect of the pact with Naga, the First Exalt received a Brand, which would be later passed down through his descendants, marking them as heirs to the Divine Dragon's power."
The scene before Morgan began to change again as the two dragons lunged at each other for a final climactic clash. The sky returned to a peaceful blue once again, and now Morgan stood in front of a small cottage bordering the forest of west Ylisstol. She instinctively moved closer to the cottage and stroked the wooden front door.
"I was born to that lineage on my mother's side. She and my father met when the Fell Dragon's followers resurrected their master after a thousand years. A long war ensued, and in the end, it was the current Exalt at the time, Chrom, who dealt the finishing blow to the Fell Dragon. My mother had…come from a faraway land with an entourage, but by the war's end, she was the only one remaining. With no other place to turn to, she decided to stay with my father. And from their union came…me."
The sound of a baby's cry permeated through the door. Although Morgan could not see it, she knew that the baby's voice belonged to her. She put her hand on the door handle and swung it open. There they were: a man with white hair and a long hooded coat with his arm around a woman with blue hair cradling a baby swaddled in white cloth.
Morgan fought back the urge to cry. It was her parents. They were so close to her, she could almost touch them. She reached out her arms with the intent of embracing them, but right before she could make contact, she ran right past them, tripped, and fell to the floor. It was all an illusion.
"So what happened after your mother…you know…"
"I don't know. After my mother's accident, my father tried researching a way to try and wake her up, and we spent less time together as a result. Eventually, he was called to investigate some ruins that were uncovered in the desert, and I was left in the care of some family friends.
From that point, I started to branch out into other things besides tactics. My memories come to a stop after that, only to pick up sometime later…"
The scenery around Morgan began to change again, this time at a more rapid pace. She felt nostalgic upon seeing herself and Father playing chess atop the hill by their house, but also pained when she saw her Father rebuking her after Mother's incident. She smiled when she saw her sword lessons with Uncle Chrom and her dance lessons with Inigo and his family. She saw the moment she promised Severa and Cynthia that they would all be pegasus knights together, and felt all the tension when only one of them was able to pass the exams. All of these, Morgan realized, were the dreams she had experienced over the past year.
Eventually, the world finally settled on a single set piece, and Morgan instinctively knew that this was her final memory. The sky was dark and ominous, almost as if the shadows had somehow swallowed the stars. She was high up on a castle tower, and standing in front of her was the hooded figure wearing her father's cloak.
"It is not too late to turn back," a voice that was not quite male, not quite female echoed in her head. "Return to a life of blissful, sinful ignorance. Take one step forward, and you welcome a road filled with anguish and heartbreak."
"I suppose that would be the easy way out," Morgan admitted. "But even still, I have to know. Even now, I wonder what he might have seen on his journey that caused him to change. Why is a portion of my memories still missing even after reliving through them all? I want answers, and in order to seek out the truth, there's one last hurdle I have to overcome."
Morgan took a step forward, and upon nearing closer to her father's figure, a sinister looking aura began to emanate from him. He lifted his arms to his hood and unveiled his full face. Her father's white hair and fair complexion were just as she remembered, but upon seeing his red eyes, Morgan knew that this entity was not her father. The only way for her to truly start moving forward was to confront the figure that had plagued her for so long. The root of her fear.
Red eyes. White hair. A malignant aura.
Morgan fought the urge to turn tail and run back the way she came. However, even as her arms and legs trembled at the sight of the entity appearing in her father's image, she forced herself to look head on. After all, the space she was in appeared to be one crafted from her own memories manifested as nightmares. It would only make sense, therefore, that she would have to confront IT sooner or later.
"My father… He's really gone, isn't he?" she muttered. "In the end, even the greatest tactician and grandmaster of Ylisse had a foe he couldn't overcome."
The figure before her did not respond. Whether IT was unable to or IT simply elected not to, Morgan did not know.
"But you know what? I think I'll be alright from here on out. I may not know everything about my past yet, but I've found something to live for in the present. I have people here who have accepted me for who I am, and with them by my side, I'm sure I'll be able to take on whatever comes with my head held high. That's why…"
Morgan closed her eyes. The images of her classmates, her friends, appeared in her head. Through the invisible ties she forged with them, she could faintly feel their presence next to her own, even if they were spaces apart. They were currently locked in combat and giving their all. Not just for her sake, but for the entire academy. She instinctively stretched out her hand, and before she knew it, her hand wrapped itself around the familiar grip of her axe and ARCUS.
"I've decided that I'm going to go back to them now, and I won't let this nightmare haunt me anymore. It's time to finish the fight that Father started back then."
Morgan's ARCUS began to glow with a brilliant blue light, confirming the strong link she had with her classmates. She then activated Ignis, and the violet-colored flames caused the plain garments she was wearing to burn away, revealing the proud red uniform of Thors Military Academy underneath. "Show yourself, Grima."
The entity that looked like her father stoically raised its hand at Morgan, poised to cast dark magic. Instead of running away to safety, Morgan stood her ground.
[IS] On the outside, the rest of Class VII continued their battle against the towering knight of shadow. At the start of the fight, it summoned a collection of shadow familiars, which forced the students to divide their attention between dealing with the incoming mobs and looking out for attacks from the main boss.
"Just goes to show how integral Morgan was to our lineup," Elliot said. "How does she do it?"
"Each of us has our strengths and weaknesses," Rean answered. "Even still, we've fought together for so long, I know we can make something happen if we all put our heads together!"
"Rean's right!" Alisa agreed. "We're Class VII! This isn't the first time we've faced down something like this! I know that you all…WE'RE all not going to give up so easily when so many others are counting on us!"
Alisa raised her ARCUS high above her head, and in a manner that almost felt like the heavens themselves were answering her call, a bright light shone from above to bask the party with its rays.
"I feel…invigorated!" Machias noted.
"And not just that…" Jusis tilted his head, anticipating an enemy attack from Machias's left, and thrust his rapier into the shadow minion before it could even lift its appendages to strike. He then sidestepped another attack from a separate minion, but before he could retaliate, Machias blew it to bits with his shotgun.
"That makes us even."
"I don't recall asking you to count favors, Regnitz."
"I don't believe I asked you for your opinion. This is the best way we usually work together, anyways."
Jusis scoffed. "So be it. As long as you don't lose sight of our larger goal. There's one on your ten o'clock."
Without even looking to check, Machias pointed his shotgun in that direction and pulled the trigger, killing another shadow minion. The two of them continued their back and forth, cutting down and blasting away any minions that dared to cross their path, leaving the others to wonder if they were coordinating their attacks or just competing to see who could kill the most enemies.
"Such vitriolic back and forth, yet their coordination remains flawless…" Nodding with approval, Laura turned to her own partner and said, "We can't stand idly by and let them one up us, can we?"
Fie smirked and replied with, "Ja."
With their ARCUS link shining brightly, the swordswoman and former jaeger made quick work of the surrounding enemies.
"The monster is about to summon more of its familiars!" Emma shouted. "Alisa! Aim for the leg to stop it!"
"Alright! Seeing as we're together, want to do the usual?"
With a nod of confirmation from Emma, Alisa shot an arrow high up into the air. Emma raised her staff to cast an incantation, and the arrow transformed into a storm of flaming blades that rained down on the shadow titan's leg.
"Elliot! Gaius! Let's take the other one!" Rean called out.
"This group takes me back to the first day of school," Gaius recounted.
"Hard to believe we started the year by killing flying kittens…" Elliot remarked. "Okay! Now or never!"
Elliot changed his orbal staff to its violin form and began to play a riveting tune. Feeling rejuvenated from hearing Elliot's music, Rean and Gaius thrust forward with their respective weapons, cutting through the titan's leg like twin gales.
"Rean, look out!" Gaius called out.
Rean held up his tachi to block a hand strike from the monster, only to realize too late that it was making an open palm instead of a fist. In one quick swoop, Rean became trapped in its clutches.
"Rean!" his classmates shouted.
"Hey, Crow!" Millium said. "Operation Air Strike?"
Crow smirked. "Oh, hell yeah!"
Summoning Airgetlam to her side, Millium picked up Crow and took to the skies. "Heads up, Rean!"
Millium ordered Airgetlam to fire a laser beam. At the same time, Crow configured his pistols to fire a freezing bullet. The two attacks connected with the monster's wrist, which caused it to let go of Rean.
"Thanks, you two!" Rean called out.
"Hey! Look!" Alisa pointed to the chest of the monster. "Isn't that…?"
Rean looked up to find a blue glow coming from within the titan. A small light illuminating from within the darkness.
"It's Morgan!" Rean realized. "She's fighting from the inside, I'm sure of it!"
"Then it's time we focused on the big guy!" Crow said.
The students doubled down on their efforts to defeat the shadow knight. It picked up one of the swords that was stuck into the battlefield and attacked the class with sweeping motions. However, with every member of Class VII that was knocked back, another few would take their place to continue where they left off. As Class VII continued fighting together as one unit, each of their ARCUS units began to glow with that same brilliant blue light. Through their ARCUS links, their thoughts were connected, and it was as if they were all breathing in unison.
"We stand before a great darkness, but remember! Darkness can't exist where light is." Rean raised his tachi and cried out in an invigorating shout, "Let's be that light!"
"Right!"
With the collective shout of his classmates filling him with confidence, Rean concentrated all of his power onto his blade. He was no longer fighting to move past his mistakes; he was fighting to move forward with his friends. When he breathed out, the orange flames that usually coated his tachi instead became an azure blue.
"Azure flames, gather on my blade!"
The shadow monster thrust its blade where Rean was standing. The swordsman jumped at the last moment, and upon landing on the shadow blade, he used the Gale technique to dart forward, traveling up the shadow blade and onto the monster's arm. It tried to shake him off by summoning more minions, but Rean cut down every foe that got in his way. Finally, the monster raised its sword up, causing Rean to go into free fall, but he did not falter one bit. He continued whipping his blade around himself to dispel the encroaching shadows, narrowly avoided one last attempt by the monster to catch him, and raised his weapon above his head when he was close to the center of its torso.
"HAAAAA…!"
…
Grima's avatar was relentless in its retaliation. Not only was it capable of casting magic instantaneously, it also appeared to possess shades of her father's tactical side, as it continuously fired spells at just the right trajectory to keep Morgan from advancing forward. Occasionally, Morgan would find a gap in between spells and strike back, but Grima's avatar simply swatted her away with hands cloaked in dark energy to repeat the cycle.
"Unfortunately for you, I've learned a couple new tricks since I came to Erebonia!" Morgan darted forward, and as she had anticipated, Grima's avatar raised its hand once she entered its effective range. Instead of attacking, Morgan lengthened her axe to its polearm form, stuck it in the ground, and used the upwards momentum to leap high into the air.
"I'm right here!" Twirling her weapon while spinning midair, Morgan descended upon her enemy with the craft taught to her by Aurier Vander and scored a direct hit.
"Have another!" Morgan charged forward and dealt a flurry of stabs followed by a single horizontal slice.
"And finally…submit!" She pointed her weapon at the avatar and used Ragna Bind, releasing a stream of magical energy that constricted it in place.
However, that victory was short-lived, as Grima's avatar summoned a wellspring of power and wrested itself free from Morgan's binds. Then, looking more annoyed than usual, it opened its palm and pointed it at Morgan.
"Shoot!" Morgan only had a few seconds to bring her weapon up to defend herself before being blown back towards the edge of the arena. As she struggled to get back on her feet, she looked down to see that her hands were burned, and both the body and head of her weapon showed signs of erosion.
"That doesn't look good…" Morgan muttered. "But even still! I'm not giving up! Not when the finish line is in sight!"
Gripping her axe once more, Morgan readied her battle stance one last time. At that moment, her ARCUS began to emit a brilliant blue light.
"Everyone…" The thoughts and feelings of her comrades giving her strength, Morgan steeled herself once again. She had a feeling that this next exchange between herself and Grima would be the last, and if she wanted even a slim chance at victory, she would have to tap into abilities that carried their own risks. It was a big gamble, but if she couldn't make it out with this, then she really would be out of ideas.
"Sorry, Instructor Sara, but I gotta do this!" First, Morgan activated Ignis. Then, she crouched low to the ground. "Just like Rean…Galeforce!"
With the speed of a hurricane, Morgan closed the gap between herself and Grima and pushed her orbment straight into its chest. She then gave the order to fire, causing a twister to envelop both of them and lift them into the air.
"You shall fall…by my hand!"
Still rising through the air, Morgan used her damaged weapon to attack. First, a diagonal cut aiming upwards. Second, another diagonal cut going in the opposite direction. Finally, a horizontal slice to form the shape of a triangle.
"Aaaaand…!"
…
"STRIIIKE!"
With a loud cry that almost sounded like two voices shouting in unison, Rean scored a direct hit on the monster's torso. At the same time, a figure launched up and out of the monster like a bird taking flight.
"Morgan!"
"She's back!"
Morgan stayed suspended in the air for a few seconds, just enough time for her to get the lay of the land, before the effects of gravity kicked in and caused her to start plummeting towards the ground.
"Lammy, full speed ahead!"
Millium ordered Airgetlam to fly forward and position itself right below Morgan. Crow, who was still holding on to one of the puppet's appendages for support, leaned outward with his arms outstretched.
"I…got you!" Crow successfully caught the falling tactician, holding her in a bridal carry position.
"Nice catch, Crow!" Millium said.
Morgan giggled. "Teehee! My heroes. Did you miss me?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," Crow answered honestly. His expression turned into one of worry, however, when he looked at what Morgan was holding. "Damn, Morgs! What the hell happened to your weapon?"
Morgan lifted her hand. Her axe was in an even worse state than it was before, with the body nearly split in two and the head almost entirely corroded away. "Uh oh. Otto's gonna kill me for this."
"THAT'S what you're worried about?"
Crow, Millium, and Morgan drifted to the floor, where Morgan was given some much needed treatment from Elliot and Emma. Meanwhile, the shadow knight recovered from Rean's earlier attack and let out a loud shriek.
"It's still not down?!" Machias complained.
"This has gone from a trial to a nuisance," Jusis remarked.
Rean looked at Morgan and asked, "Morgan, how much juice do you have left in the tank?"
"I'd say enough for one last push," she answered. "Let's put this nightmare to rest."
"That's what I like to hear." Rean raised his tachi and shouted, "We're all here now, so come on, Class VII! Time for the victory lap!"
The students dispersed into separate groups to avoid a sword strike from their titanic foe. One by one, each of them performed their strongest techniques.
"Lord Albireon!" "Judgment Arrow!" "Ultimate Shot!" "Seventh Rhapsody!"
From atop the image of a great tower, a barrage of magic, arrows, bullets, and music notes assailed the titan from afar.
"Crystal Saber!" "Sylphid Dance!" "Gigant Breaker!" "Calamity Hawk!"
An assault of swift saber and gunsword strikes followed by two heavy blows from a hammer and cross spear brought the monster to its knees.
"May I have this dance, Lady Arseid?"
"Only if you follow my lead, Crow Armbrust."
Smirking, Crow charged his pistols with orbal energy. "Cross Raven!"
Laura imbued her greatsword with holy light. "Radiant Blade Waltz!"
Laura attacked first, dazzling the battlefield with large, sweeping swings that incapacitated the monster's arms. Then, Crow followed by firing six supercharged bullets at its head, leaving it in a stunned state.
"On my mark!"
"I'm with you!"
Their ARCUS link shining more brightly than ever before, Rean and Morgan dashed forward. The former brandished his tachi while the latter only had her ARCUS, but things wouldn't stay that way for very long.
"Swift as the wind!" Rean ran up the monster's arm while slashing furiously. "Morgan! To you!"
He threw his sword in the opposite direction as Morgan started her own ascent up the monster's body. "Got it!" Catching the tachi perfectly, she activated Ignis and drove it into the monster's chest. "And as strong as thunder!"
The blow caused a torrent of dark shadows to begin spewing out of the monster like blood pouring out of an open wound. She then immediately dislodged Rean's tachi, threw it high up into the air and leapt off to where she spied Millium ready to catch her with Airgetlam. Once she was safely on the puppet's appendages, Morgan turned around midair to see the fruits of their teamwork. "And that's…"
Rean caught his sword, wreathed it in azure flames, and prepared for the finishing move. "...Checkmate!" [ISE]
The swordsman descended upon the monster with a powerful, fiery stab, causing it to let out a loud bellow. Slowly, it began to dissolve into wisps of smoke.
"Rean!" Morgan called out.
Nodding to his partner, Rean sheathed his tachi and jumped off the shadow knight before its head completely dissolved, landing safely on Airgetlam's head beside Millium.
"TERMINATING THE FINAL TRIAL. TAKE HEED, AWAKENER. HERE EXISTS A FRAGMENT OF THE GREAT POWER. THE FLAME AND THE JAWS THAT DEVOUR THE WORLD."
Rean gasped as a series of glowing letters appeared before him.
VALIMAR
"...Five minutes past midnight," Principal Vandyck read from his pocket watch. "Unfortunately, this is the limit of my grace period. I must prepare the announcement for the rest of our staff."
"No…!" Towa could only look on helplessly as the principal turned his back on the old schoolhouse. "There has to be SOMETHING else we can do!"
Instructor Sara silently grit her teeth. She never stopped believing in her class, but perhaps this was proof that everything had their limits. If she had been able to go with them…
"Oh, I wouldn't leave just yet, Principal Vandyck."
The principal raised his eyebrows. "What makes you say that, Instructor Lysander?"
The history instructor adjusted his glasses. "Call it my historian's intuition, but I have a feeling things will work out in our favor. Three, two, one…"
Then, almost as if it was planned all along, the bell of the old schoolhouse stopped ringing, and the barrier surrounding it dissipated.
"The barrier!" Towa gasped with delight. "It's gone!"
"And the bell stopped ringing, too," George noted. "They really did it!"
Instructor Thomas smiled. "Well, Principal? The night is still young, and I'd say this still halfway qualifies as a job well done."
"Hmm…" Vandyck stroked his gray beard. The eyes of Towa, George, and Sara all turned to him for his final verdict. "Instructor Lysander." He brought out his pocket watch and offered it to the history instructor. "This watch is an antique, and my vision isn't quite what it used to be. You're our resident expert on historical relics, so I must ask you to verify: is the time past midnight?"
Nodding in understandment, Thomas thoroughly examined the pocket watch and proclaimed, "Well, what do you know! The time says 11:59!"
"Then I suppose that is that. As my associate has confirmed, Class VII successfully completed their expedition with a minute to spare." Principal Vandyck retrieved his pocket watch and nodded to the other three individuals. "Instructor Sara. Towa Herschel. George Nome. Can I trust the three of you to go down into the schoolhouse and retrieve our weary students? Class VII will need their strength for today's festivities."
The two students and instructor all gave their thanks to Thomas and Vandyck before making their way into the old schoolhouse.
"Tell me, Thomas…" Vandyck said once Towa, George, and Sara were out of sight. "Is that intuition of yours telling you that the worst has passed? Or is there more yet to come?"
Thomas chuckled softly. "Well, you know what they say: history has a knack for repeating itself."
He gazed up at the moon, taking note of the bright blue bird that was carrying a small-sized book in its talons.
…
The bright blue bird eventually came to a stop near the outskirts of Heimdallr, where a glasses-wearing woman was waiting at the top of a hill.
"Welcome back, Grianos," Vita said, smiling at her familiar. "How did things go? Did they pass the trial?"
Grianos chirped and dropped the book it was carrying into Vita's hands.
"So this is what she was trying to hide…" the incognito opera singer mused. "An artifact from the Beyond… To think that it could have influenced the trial itself…" Vita then turned her attention to the small book Grianos had given to her and opened it to the first page.
Property of Robin, Grandmaster of Ylisse
"I'm surprised I can read this," Vita remarked to herself. "I thought I'd have to translate everything by myself."
The surprises didn't stop there. As she continued skimming through the book, Vita found herself becoming more and more intrigued by just its contents. On a surface level inspection, the book was a compilation of the military strategies and personal musings of this Robin of Ylisse, which normally wasn't something Vita considered up her alley. However, it was the little details that caught her attention. Mentions of cities whose names did not appear to fit on any map of Zemuria she had seen. References to attributes like Strength, Magic, Skill, Speed, and, for some reason, Luck.
However, for all the information that this book contained, there was one thing Vita was surprised that it lacked.
"Grianos, you mentioned before that this book reacted to Morgan when her curse activated, correct?"
Grianos nodded its head in affirmation.
"Then it seems I need to rethink my approach. As it stands, I can't detect any overt traces of mana on it. Perhaps we would need to be in the same vicinity as her for it to unleash its fullest potential?"
Grianos perched itself on Vita's shoulder before chirping a few more times.
"You're right. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself." Vita closed the book tight. "Well, if anything, it made for an interesting read. Emma's probably all tuckered out after today, but Celine will likely remain on high alert for the remainder of the festival. We'll have to find some other way to find some alone time with her while also returning this book; the last thing I want is for our friendship to be jeopardized over something like this."
Vita stopped, taking a moment to process the words she had just said, before laughing to herself. Why was she thinking about friendship at a time like this? After all, once the next stage of the Phantasmal Blaze commenced, they probably wouldn't be able to stay friends for very long.
"Alright, here's what we'll do. Grianos, could you help deliver one last message to Radio Trista for me?"
Author's note: Not my best work, I'll admit, but this was the most I could cobble together given my limited time. Let's finish this.