Man, now that I made an Update chapter, I actually have to name my chapters instead of being lazy. Drat.
Merry Christmas, everyone, and sorry for the delay. It has been far too long and this chapter is not nearly as long or as good as I would have liked, but it is something. Thank you all for your patience. I had a lot to handle, between school and pursuing a theatre career, but I haven't forgotten you all. With that said, I won't make you read anymore.
Chapter 14: Dead Kings, Live Exalts, Radiant Heroes
"I must be dreaming." Chrom rubbed his eyes, but she was still there, looking around blankly, wondering why a bunch of people were standing around with their mouths open. "No," Robin shakily replied, "We can see her too."
"Mom? Dad? Gramps?" Morgan had a puzzled look on her face. "Who is that? Why does she look so confused? And why are you all staring at her?" She tugged on her grand-father's cape until he snapped out of his trance and answered.
"That's my sister, Emmeryn. She died before you were born in your world and before you came here in ours. Or so we thought, anyway." Strangely, Emmeryn sort of smiled as Chrom spoke.
"Big Sis! How did you get here? Do you remember us?" Emmeryn began to panic and stumble away as Lissa approached her. She turned and ran to a woman in simple robes, who had an apologetic look on her face.
"My apologies, your lordship. This woman has been staying with me for several years. Her mind and memory is fractured, and she appears to not be quite the same person as she once was, though I know nothing of her life before she stumbled across my place."
"This is Emmeryn, my sister and the former Exalt of all Ylisse!" The former figurehead of Ylisstol ran away toward the woman's lodge. Lissa made a motion to head in that direction, but Owain stopped her. Frederick made no movement at all.
"Sir!" Lon'qu ran quickly up to Chrom and quietly stated, "The Raiders are here, just north and over the first hill. We need to move, and quickly." Chrom nodded and spoke aloud, addressing all the Shepherds of Ylisse. "The enemy is over the hill. We need to move to take them down immediately. We will deal with the Emmeryn situation later." Shouting in a rushed manner, the foot and horse-mounted Shepherds prepared in urgency for battle, while the flying Shepherds took to the skies. Only Frederick remained motionless, while Phila, Kellam, and Yen'fay were still at the Shepherds' camp.
"Robin! I can't wield my sword in this stupid dress!" Lucina was right: the wedding dress constricted her movement in a way that kept her from properly using her sword. Luckily, Robin had planned for this and brought an extra lance, bow, and staff for Lucina to use. "Ugh, I guess this should do… can't use Falchion, though."
"Who cares? Your father and Morgan both still have one. You can fight just fine with a lance and a bow… right?"
"Yes, I can fight with a lance! It doesn't change the fact that this dress slows me down!" Lucina did a face-palm and began to make her way towards the rest of the Shepherds. "This is JUST how I wanted to spend my wedding day." Robin was about to follow his wife when he noticed Frederick still motionless, facing in the general direction of the cottage.
"Frederick, we have to go!" The wary knight remained silent as he turned to face Robin and shook his head, slowly, painfully. "Okay, Frederick… join when you can. If I could return to a sort of normal, I'm sure Emmeryn will be able to in time." Frederick did not audibly reply, only nodding, off in a trance of confusion. With a sigh, Robin left Frederick behind and went to join Robin.
"Hello, Robin. Sorry that the end of the wedding got messed up." Chrom wiped the sweat from his forehead as Robin noticed a tired look on his face. The almost five years of war had taken their toll on Chrom.
"Not a problem. I just hope that all of our preparation is enough to earn us many, many years of well-earned peace." Chrom nodded with a slight chuckle as Robin continued, "Zanth's pirates are approaching from the north. Gangrel is in the east group, while the west group will probably be moving towards the village."
"Then why don't we have a small group, mainly on horseback, go east, then have the main group move through the west passage on foot?"
"Read my mind, Chrom, only I intend to send some flyers as well with Lissa and Olivia joining them to bolster numbers. They'll cross over the top of the main hill and outflank the east group. Hell, they could even outflank the west group as well."
"That sounds like a plan, then." As Chrom approved of the plan, Robin selected Lon'qu to lead the group that went east and Sumia to lead the flight group, while Chrom would lead the west group. Lucina and Robin joined Lon'qu's group and began to move towards the west.
"We're getting close. Enter beast forms." Panne, Yarne, and the manaketes transformed into their more powerful forms while the others readied their weapons of choice.
"Hold here. We wait for the enemy." Lon'qu held his weapon close as they waited for the enemy to arrive. But as Lucina's mind raced, she sensed something was wrong, which was only confirmed when she heard a horse galloping towards them. "Look out!" She drew her bow and aimed in the direction of the horse.
"Lucina, don't!" Robin knocked the arrow away from her bow as Lucina watched Emmeryn ride by. "But what is Emmeryn doing?! I thought she was back with the woman who lives near here!"
"Well, clearly she changed her mind!" Chrom rode up, panic in his eyes. "She's heading directly towards the enemy! The flanking group is still moving in their direction, but she'll probably only respond to me or Lissa if anybody."
"Well, we should hurry up and move forward!" Robin, Chrom, and the rest of the group advanced forward quickly, Lucina muttering, "I won't lose you this time," under her breath. They moved quickly, following Emmeryn until she stopped, looking directly at a line of pirates.
"S-stop this… all of you…" Emmeryn could barely muster those words before Lon'qu and Panne leapt into the fray, followed by Donnel and Olivia. Soon they were joined by Inigo and Morgan, while Robin followed them. Meanwhile, Lucina and her father tried to talk to Emmeryn.
"It's me, Chrom. Do you remember?" Emmeryn turned to face her brother, shaking. "We're siblings. We grew up together. You, me, and Lissa. You were always the strongest of us. Even more than me." Chrom took a step further, prompting Emmeryn to spur her horse to rear up. "Gods, Sis, I just... I don't know what to do here." Chrom rubbed his head wearily for a moment. "All right, listen. I won't ask you to remember anything. Not even me. Just...stay with us." Emmeryn turned to face her brother as Chrom jumped to knock away a stray arrow headed towards her. "Please. We love you, and we want to keep you safe." For a moment, it seemed like Emmeryn would stay there, protected by Chrom's forces. Then another arrow zipped by, and Emmeryn rode past the skirmish, further towards Zanth's pirates.
"Damn it! We need to move!" Lucina took down an enemy berserker with a throw of her spear before a lightning bolt surged towards her. She recognized a bolt from a Levin sword anywhere, and immediately dodged to the side. "Well, look who it is."
"Well, I'll be damned. If it isn't Chrom and the Shepherds. I had thought I'd never see you ever again." The Mad King staggered towards them, his cape in tatters, covered in grime. A few points from the top of the Plegian crown were visible through his mess of hair.
"Nor did I think I'd see you, Gangrel. It's… interesting to see you like this… alive." This statement induced a chuckle from the Mad King, much more subdued than it was three years before.
"Alive? No, Chrom. This is not living... You killed me once, dear prince. Now I would beg you do so again. My life is over, but my body refuses to accept it." Gangrel shot a lazy blast at Donnel casually, making very little effort to fight. "I see you brought my killer as well. Good to see the old Tinhead fellow again." Gangrel noticed the way that the Shepherds looked at him. "Oh, I know what you're thinking. 'Is this the same Mad King we fought?' Think of it this way: Tear out everything that makes a man, and all you're left with is a husk. No throne. No gold. No men... I scrub chamber pots for brigands. Ah, how the mighty have fallen..."
Even in this moment, Chrom couldn't help but muster a laugh. "Ironic that you, of all people, are finally learning about long falls."
"Heh. Seems I'm not the only one who's changed, dear prince. Days past, you'd have sheathed your blade in my chest by now. Perhaps you're less of your father and more of your sister than I thought..."
"I have no time for vendetta, Gangrel. What little life you still have is wasted here. I can offer you a higher purpose... You could fight for us."
Now the cold Gangrel cackle had returned, cynical as ever. "Oh, and they call ME the Mad King… I'll pass. I'm just not the sort to play at hope and justice. If killing me would please you greatly, I'll not deny your satisfaction." Gangrel readjusted his ratty old cape and readied his Levin Sword. "Come, boy. Do an old king one last favor and end this charade now."
Chrom had reached his wit's end. "Either we end Grima, or Grima ends us. And that includes your Plegian citizens. If you would throw your life away, throw it at Grima! Die with sword in hand, not begging like some craven rat with its foot in a trap! You were a king once. Now suck up your self-pity, and die for your people!"
Gangrel groaned loudly. "Gods, anything to make you stop talking! Every word and every action of yours makes me want to paint the walls with my lunch!" Gangrel sighed and lowered his guard. "Look, I've never sworn an oath in my life, much less thought to keep one... But what little life I have remaining is yours. Dragons, gods... throw me at what you will."
"Weeeeeeell, that's all well and good…" Morgan interjected, "But Emmeryn is getting close to the next wave of invaders!" Robin nodded and called out, "Come on, everyone! We need to protect Emmeryn!"
"Emmeryn's HERE?!" Gangrel shook his head. "Today's just a strange, strange day… first I attack THIS place, then YOU'RE here, then a person who I killed years ago is here… I thought I already lost my mind."
"You lost your mind BEFORE we fought, Gangrel. Now come on!" Chrom ran in the direction of Emmeryn as the New Shepherds of Ylisse followed him with Gangrel in tow. While the enemy was almost upon Emmeryn, so were the Pegasus knights of Chrom's army. Lissa led the Pegasus knights into the fray, pushing back Zanth's pirates, and as they battled, Lissa confronted her sister.
"Emmeryn! Come with me! We have to go now!" The former exalt backed away, nervous and stammering. "Do you really not recognize me? Or Chrom?" Lissa reached out her hand, but that only made Emmeryn more nervous. "Please, Emmeryn! It's been super hard not having you around. But I've tried to be strong, like you. And if I've done this well without you, think how well I'd do WITH you! So, c'mon, Sis. You gotta stay with us! Even if you don't remember anything!" A fireball flew towards Emmeryn, which Robin blew away with Rexcalibur, but it still panicked Emmeryn into running towards the enemy.
"Hold on!" Panne jumped forward to take an arrow for the Exalt, which she shrugged off in beast form and decapitated the sniper with her teeth. Lon'qu jumped onto Panne's back and jumped past the enemy line. From there he drew a killing edge and started to counterattack the pirates. As he cut down an enemy swordmaster he saw Emmeryn charge past him. He turned to stop Emmeryn when a tomahawk gashed his side. He was about to shrug it off when the butt of an axe struck his knee, and then his face. As he fell to the ground, Lon'qu was pinned to the ground by Zanth's foot.
"Bow low, scum! You're in the presence of the Southron Sea King!" Zanth cackled and stomped directly on Lon'qu's open wound, causing him to groan in agony. Yarne and Panne immediately rushed towards Zanth. "Ah, ah, ah, I wuddn't do that if I was you. Not unless-" he lowered the head of his axe to Lon'qu's neck, "You'd like this fool to be put down."
"Father! Emmeryn is getting too close to the ship! They probably have more men on there! They'll kill her!" Chrom responded to Lucina's shout by turning to approach Emmeryn, only to get knocked out of the way by a passing horse. Much to his surprise, however, the person surging past him atop a horse was Frederick the Wary.
"Your Grace! Lady Emmeryn, please wait." The broken exalt stopped upon hearing his voice, slowly turning to face the seasoned knight. "We heard rumors. People said your body was never found, but... We had to flee, Your Grace. Gangrel would have killed us all."
Emmeryn seemed to have a hard time grappling with Frederick's presence. "You… I can't… I don't… they'll see us…"
"Sometimes I'd allow myself a kind of fool's hope that you survived. Maybe you were taken in by some kind Plegian, or found by a traveling merchant... But mostly I feared that if you'd lived, you'd fallen to an even harsher fate. I never forgot about you. Even after all this time, I've been...hoping." He nudged his horse slowly forward, causing Emmeryn to gasp in panic and lean away.
"Please, Lady Emmeryn, listen to me! Your brother and sister have become great people, and protect me more than vice versa these days. But they still need you. So please," Frederick reached out his hand towards Emmeryn, "Come back to us. I beg it of you. I promise I will not fail you again."
As this happened, Zanth continued to dig his feet into Lon'qu's wound. "Yarr, n' now we wait for my other forces to return an' back me up!"
"Haha, yeah, they ain't coming back, bitch." Sully rode up, the horsemen behind her, pretty much all soaked in blood. "You're a captain with no crew now, bucko. So get your boot off of the swordsman before Noire and Lucina turn you into a pincushion."
"Dammit! You haven't bested me, maggots! I still have the men on my ship, and I can force the prisoner to fight! Besides, me messmates have shurely captured yer exalt by now!"
"No, they didn't." Zanth turned his head to see a Great Knight and a Sage riding towards the Shepherds on horseback. "And that's thanks to your 'prisoner.'" Frederick rode aside to reveal a swordsman in tattered, grimy clothes and dark blue hair. He clutched a distinct blade that radiated an aura of greatness- Ragnell. "I'm not sure how you managed to capture Priam, a highly capable fighter, but he saved us at the cost of your entire crew."
"AAAGH!" Zanth roared in fury. "If I can't 'ave this land, you can't 'ave this rat!" In the time that it took the sea captain to raise his axe and start to slam it down, Lon'qu drew Tyrfing from its scabbard and skewered Zanth in the stomach. Emmeryn screamed in panic as Zanth's axe fell to the ground, then he fell with it.
"Father!" Yarne switched to his humanoid form and went to Lon'qu, propping his head up and administering an elixir. "Don't you go breaking your promise now!"
"He doesn't intend to, son. Zanth just caught him off guard- something I had thought impossible." Panne propped up Lon'qu against a rock while Brady went to heal him, at least in part, from his serious wound. While Chrom, Lissa, Cynthia, Owain, and Lucina reunited with Emmeryn, Robin talked to Priam.
"I must say, I expected to find you in the Garden of Giants, not as the freed prisoner of the Southron pirates! How did they manage to catch you?" Priam stuck his sword, Ragnell, into the ground and leaned on it.
"They attacked at night, without honor. They captured many of the men who trained with me there, and demanded that I surrender to them or they'd kill the men. I surrendered. They were killed anyway. I had overheard that they would attack here, so while their force was diminished, I broke out. And killed all of the pirates on the ship."
"Well then." Chrom walked over to them, wiping off Falchion, making sure it shone all the way through. "In case you weren't aware, Grima has been awakened and is currently dwelling over the Origin Peak. As such, we could really use your help."
Priam stood up straight and pulled Ragnell from the ground. "Duel me, and I will join you, for I have no interest in serving a ruler who can't fight for himself."
Chrom laughed. "Oh, that's fine by me. I think I'll rather enjoy having a worthy opponent." He drew Falchion while Priam drew Ragnell. They circled each other, twirling their blades as Emmeryn's attention started to be drawn to them.
Priam struck first, slashing diagonally from left to right, an attack that Chrom parried with ease. The hero-descendant then quickly lifted the blade to block a horizontal slash from the Shepherds' leader. Ragnell sliced through the air as Priam slashed upward, the King/Exalt sidestepping and counterattacking with Falchion. Chrom slashed downward, clashing blades once more with the Radiant Hero-descendant. Chrom swung his right leg around and caught Priam on his left knee, forcing him down onto his other knee. Then he spun around with a slash, locking blades yet again with Priam. Suddenly a surge of wind knocked them off their feet. They looked up to see Emmeryn start to collapse.
"Did she just cast a wind spell without a tome?" Chrom jumped up to see Frederick quickly help Emmeryn. "I knew she was a capable sage but I didn't think she could cast spells in this state."
"Well, I've seen enough." Priam walked to Chrom's side and stuck his sword into the ground. "Until Grima is defeated, I will help you. Once he falls, I will return to the Garden of Giants."
"Very good. We should head back to camp as soon as possible so that Robin can start planning for our final approach." Chrom called all the Shepherds over, Pegasi swooping over to join them. Then they were teleported back to the camp.
"Sorry for bothering you, but why are you just standing there?"
"What? You see me? Wow, I thought no-one could."
"What do you mean? Do people just not bother to look?"
"Basically. I'm quiet usually. You're the first person to notice me in the last two days, and that person was a shopkeeper that I was buying from."
"Doesn't that bother you? I'm always striving to be seen to move up the ranks. Being a Pegasus knight in the castle is terrible, and if I ever want to achieve my dream of being captain, I have to be noticed."
"I do whatever my Exalt and my superiors ask of me. As long I'm doing the right thing, I'm fine with not being noticed."
"Now I feel bad. I'm not serving the kingdom well this way. And I was so set on my dream of becoming captain of the Pegasus knights…"
"I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I'd rather be anything other than a line-file soldier. I hope to be a General one day. But I have a duty to Ylisse, and that comes first."
"You know, you seem like a good guy. What's your name?"
"Kellam."
"That's a nice name. My name is Phila. I get the feeling this won't be the last time we see each other."
"In my world, at least, that's how they came to meet. Or that's what they told me, anyway." Kenshin stood atop his Kinshi, talking to the humanoid embodiment of Grima atop the Fell Dragon's back.
"So… you are from a different world, and so is that Ylissean whore's daughter. In this world, I sure am a fool, aren't I? He does not love who he is meant to, and he did not lose that loved one. His story is incomplete." Grima turned his human form to face Kenshin head-on, red eyes staring into red eyes.
"Validar tried to make sure our worlds were the same, but he did not do a very good job in serving me before I introduced myself. I needed him to kill Sol-Zin's younger brother, but the person he sent killed Sol-Zin instead of his brother. But no matter. She guards the mountain for us now, and she will be killed by the Shepherds."
"So Aversa is the woman Lon'qu knows as Ducera? And you believe the Grimleal on the mountain will fail?" Grima's humanoid form laughed, echoing through the air. "What concern is that to you? You have your kinshi. And you serve me, anyhow. They will come here, and they will fail. I have seen it. Everything will be mine. My world. My army.
"My Say'ri."
"Gods, I cannot seem to get a moment of quiet these days."
"Well, I don't talk much, so…"
"That's why I'm here."
"Naturally."
"Is it true that Chrom has taken a liking to you, Kellam?"
"I suppose he has called me to his presence multiple times, much to the chagrin of his advisors."
"What horrible crime did you commit to make the council hate you?"
"I'm from a family of peasants. I have next to no social standing whatsoever and Chrom wants me to join the Shepherds of Ylisse."
"The Shepherds? You mean that elite fighting force he's trying to create? What an honor?"
"I mean, not as good as being second in command to Captain Reina, but it's decent. And I'd be a knight. I'd have the armor and everything. Maybe then people would notice me."
"I doubt it. The reason people don't notice you now is because you're quiet. Even with armor, you'd still barely be noticeable."
"To be honest, I have nothing wrong with that."
"Well, I have to brief the Pegasus knights. My unit is good, but they lack experience and teamwork. Cordelia and Sumia don't really work together very well. I hope the council accepts you."
"So do I."
"It seems your training with Cordelia and Sumia paid off, didn't it? They're incredibly close friends now, and they have won countless battles for Ylisse." Kellam stirred the coals as Phila sat across from him. "I suppose you were Captain, like you said you'd be. And General in Chon'sin for a time, too."
"And yet, while you ascended as far as Great Knight, you are not a general." Kellam nodded, still almost motionless, prodding the fire with his lance. "Is the Council involved in your lack of progress?"
"Yes. Despite Chrom's help, they will not promote someone as low as me. Sure, there may be other poor shepherds, but Donnel has no ambitions of being a general. I suppose it doesn't help that they weren't even aware of my presence for half of the meetings I went to with Chrom and them."
"No, it probably didn't, Kellam." Phila tossed the bones from the chicken she was eating aside. "Still though, Kenshin thought you were a general when he first came here, so maybe that changes." Suddenly, Phila came to realization. "I know how it changed." Kellam gave her a puzzled look. "You have to marry me."
"Marry you?" Kellam gave Phila a strange look. "Oh, I see. Then I'd have the same social status as you. I'd be able to be a general. But no, Phila. As much as I'd like to, it would be selfish to accept. We have tempted fate too much already, and to challenge one's fate is to beg for chaos."
"To challenge one's fate is to be free, Kellam. Please. If not for yourself, for the sake of your son." A sad look covered Kellam's face. "We will get him back, and he will be happier if we are there for him together. So what do you say, Kellam?"
"I accept, Phila." The Pegasus knight nodded contently.
Now that it's the holiday season, I can bust these out much faster, so stay tuned. I'll try to have another up before the 7th of January. Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed. Leave a review if you have any comments, suggestion, or criticism. Especially the criticism. I do this to learn from my mistakes.
