Crossover Chronicles (6) - (Locked; see final post for details)

Lucas took a closer look at the dark, vine-like shapes climbing up to tooth. Something about the sight of this was giving him vague chills, but he pushed the feeling aside when he heard Cookie speak. Having just joined the group, however, he wasn't sure what they had been told earlier about the tooth, so he just hung back and listened for now.

"Uhhh..." Pit paused, thinking back to earlier. "... Oh! Oh yeah..." Instantly, he grew a bit wary again. "Guess we should just... get this over with, huh? See what's going on in there?" he questioned, his eyes slowly drifting towards the hole...

"I'd say so... Let's see what we're dealing with here." Seeing as some of the others seemed nervous, Robin decided that he would be the one to look into the hole. With great caution, and holding his tome at the ready, he approached the hole, leaning in to take a look...

He ended up making direct eye contact with a bizarre, stretchy, slimy red creature of some sort. Initially resting inside the tooth in a puddle-like shape, it immediately stretched up into a taller shape when it spotted Robin. It stared directly back at him with its googly eyes for an uncomfortable but fleeting moment. Then, it emitted a loud, squeaky cry, sounding like a speaking voice that had been greatly sped up. Finally, it rushed out of the hole--still making the bizarre noise--and slithered into the bushes at a speed that seemed impossible given its lack of legs and slime-like form, quivering and wobbling the whole way.

"AGH!" Robin jumped back and watched with wide eyes as the creature made its frantic getaway. He instinctively moved between it and whoever else was nearby in a defensive fashion.

Marie gasped and reflexively turned into a squid out of shock upon seeing it.

"GUHHWAHH?!" Cookie reacted with a noise that was some mix of surprised, startled, and amazed, all at once. Her eyes were practically popping right out of her head.

"W-what is that?" Celica gasped as the creature emerged from the tooth. Alm unsheathed Falchion, ready to attack the creature. "Stand back, Celica, I don't want you to get hurt. We don't know what this thing can do yet," he said as he shielded Celica. Celica nodded, standing behind Alm. Just in case, she readied her spells. She had her attack spells as well as her healing spells to use, should the creature harm anyone.

"WHOA!" Pit shouted, taking a few stumbling steps backwards. He could've sworn the strange little creature looked familiar to him, but he was just too surprised to think of why.

Lucas yelped at the startling and bizarre sight, bracing himself to put up a psychic shield in case the creature suddenly turned and attacked them.

Lucina, too, let out a small shout of surprise, with a hint of disgust mixed in; she couldn't shake the thought that this creature vaguely resembled some sort of big, slimy bug. "Euughh...!!" Reflexively, she unsheathed her own Falchion, keeping it at the ready much like Alm.

When the teal-haired woman standing just a few steps behind the group saw the creature, her already-large eyes flew wide open. "Wha-...?!" she gasped under her breath, taken somewhat off-guard.

... Wait.

Cookie, who was standing a little further away from the tooth than some of the others, suddenly heard a faint, unfamiliar voice behind her. Hearing this, she turned around and spotted someone she'd never seen before, causing her, too, to gasp in surprise.

As he stood guard, Robin's ear couldn't help catching the name of one of those who had helped the group during the gargoyle fight earlier. Due to the urgent circumstances during and after that battle, they never did get a chance to learn the names of the two who came to their aid. Celica...? The name that he heard just now surprised him a little, as he found it familiar. Not from personal experience, but from the history books. For just a moment, he allowed himself to glance back at the duo. It was at this moment that he got a clear look at the sword in the other individual's hand. Huh? That sword... It was very different-looking from the Falchion he was familiar with--especially in the latter's current form. However, it closely matched descriptions of its identically-named 'sibling', which played a very important part in the history of Ylisse's western neighbor Valm--known back then as Valentia. If he's wielding that blade, then--...

Before Robin could get any further in his thoughts, something else caught his eye that startled him. Behind them stood a wide-eyed, teal-haired stranger, who he assumed to have been watching the group. Of course, he was put even more on edge by this. Exactly how long had she been standing there?

"U-uhh... Hey there!" Cookie greeted the stranger awkwardly, managing a friendly little wave.

After she had returned to her humanoid form, Marie's head whirled around to face the stranger. Uhh... Creepy much?? she thought to herself, backing away from her slowly with an uncomfortable expression.

The woman, already beginning to calm down, watched as the people ahead started to notice her. They had varying reactions, she noted, but they all seemed at least a little unsettled. They were no doubt already on-edge due to just witnessing such a strange creature, she figured, so the timing of her sudden and completely silent appearance was likely not so good...

The woman's gaze locked specifically onto Cookie when she was met with an awkward greeting, pausing as she thought of the best way to proceed from here. She didn't wish to make this group any more uncomfortable than they already were--for one thing, if they turned out to be hostile (though from her observations so far, she really wasn't getting such an impression from them), she would be greatly outnumbered in the event that they suddenly launched an attack.

In her moment of thoughtfulness, all the woman did externally was continue to stare at Cookie with her piercing blue gaze. Finally, though, she broke the silence with just a single, composed: "Hello."

As the woman stared silently at her, Cookie felt a little nervous. She couldn't tell at all what was going through the stranger's head--for all she knew, she could be evaluating her. This nervousness was somewhat eased, however, when the woman finally said 'hello'. Maybe she was just shy? Unfortunately, Cookie wasn't entirely sure what to say next, so an awkward silence soon followed. "So... Uh..."

Robin moved to Cookie's side protectively. The stranger sounded very calm, but her face was near-impossible to read, so Robin had a hard time judging her true intentions. This unnerved him greatly. The piercing quality of her gaze certainly wasn't helping, either. "Who are you?" he asked the newcomer calmly, but warily; "How long have you been standing there?"

The woman unfortunately didn't know what else to say at this moment either, so all she could do was stare back at Cookie for a longer and longer time.

Thankfully, her attention was turned elsewhere when Robin spoke up. Turning her head, she gave him a similarly observant look. "... My name is Byleth," she answered his question. "I've been here for several minutes," she continued in response with the same calmness as before, her gaze momentarily drifting back to the giant tooth, then back to Robin. "I saw what happened with that... tooth. It was very strange."

Marie watched from a reasonable distance as Byleth spoke with the others. What is she, some kinda robot...?

"I know, right?! That thing was so weird!" Cookie chimed in with trademark enthusiasm at Byleth's comment. Somehow, she was starting to feel a little more comfortable around this newcomer, despite how difficult she was to read. Instead of instantly assuming the worst as many people would, Cookie just guessed that Byleth was extremely shy to the point of awkwardness. Even more reason to just act naturally--making a big deal out of her awkwardness might make her self-conscious.

Robin subtly gestured with his hand, as if cautioning Cookie not to let her guard down and get too close to Byleth just yet. He was still having a hard time discerning her intentions through her ice-cold exterior. "Why didn't you make your presence known to us?" he continued to calmly question her. "Surely you can't blame us for being a little wary now, considering..."

Mandy stayed a fair distance away from Byleth as well, carefully watching the conversation unfold. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions about the enigmatic newcomer, but she couldn't help feeling anxious and decided to play it safe for now.

Byleth's eyes flittered briefly to Cookie. The young girl's voice was notably less tense now, and had instead gained a warmer, more welcoming tone that in turn even made Byleth feel a little less uncomfortable. Her focus then quickly returned to Robin, who--unlike Cookie--maintained the same wary behavior as before. "I simply came to see what was going on, so I didn't think it was necessary," she calmly explained in response to his initial question. In hindsight, though, those words might not do much to reassure anyone... "I understand," she added after Robin's second comment, once again sounding completely level. This was far from the first time she had caught someone off-guard with her stealthy approach, after all, so it didn't come as much of a surprise to her.

Suddenly--as Robin feared might happen--Cookie stepped forward to Byleth's side, and turned to face Robin. "Wait... What if she's just really shy?" she pointed out. "If that's it, we're probably making her feel really uncomfortable with all these questions."

With the intention of examining Byleth's expression for discomfort, Cookie looked back at her for a moment... briefly forgetting that she was proving impossible to read thus far. Unfortunately, this time was no different. "... Uhhh..." Sheepishly, Cookie returned her attention to Robin. "Well... Maybe she's really good at hiding it," she remarked more softly, awkwardly glancing at the ground for a moment, then gazing up at Robin again. "I don't THINK she seems dangerous... Can't we just give her a chance?" she requested with a vaguely pleading look. In truth, she felt kind of sorry for the newcomer; she would feel bad making her feel unwelcome if she didn't actually mean any harm.

Robin was left feeling kind of conflicted by what Cookie was saying, and unsure of how to respond aside from a thoughtful "Hm..."

Alm looked behind him and saw the newcomer. Everyone else was questioning her, wondering what her intentions were and if she could be trusted. Listening in to the conversation between the newcomer, who calls herself "Byleth," and Robin and Cookie, he himself grew a bit suspicious of her. But Cookie also made a good point. Byleth should be given a chance, and she also does not seem dangerous in the slightest. He spoke up, "I think I would trust her. She seems like she could be a valuable ally. I can tell that she must be very skilled in the sword. I mean, I feel like I could totally learn from her, and that says something. I've been trained in the sword my whole life by my Grandfather, Mycen, but I know Byleth has even more experience than I do just by looking at her. I think we should trust her and let her stick around with us. She's definitely a valuable ally." From his experience, Alm knew who to trust and who not to trust. This newcomer looked like someone he could trust. He'd totally let her join the Deliverance back in his world.

Celica also turned to look at the newcomer. She listened to Alm's speech about trusting her, and she couldn't agree more. She certainly did not look dangerous to her. "We should trust her," she said, agreeing with Alm. "She doesn't seem to have any ill intent towards us. If she were like one of those witches back in my homeland, then I wouldn't trust her. And she may be quiet towards us because she doesn't know us very well, perhaps." Her silence did unsettle Celica a bit at first, but she felt that Alm and Cookie were right.

Lucas glanced between Cookie, Alm, Celica, and finally, Byleth. The teal-haired woman's first impression had made him a bit unsure as well, but that's all they had to go by right now: a first impression. He nodded his head, agreeing with the former three's suggestions. "I-I'd like to give her a chance, too," he chimed in. He'd feel guilty not even making an effort to try and understand her.

Byleth listened as the group discussed whether or not they should trust her; it seemed that the majority--out of the ones who had spoken up, at least--were indeed in favor of giving her a chance. Her attention locked onto Alm specifically for a moment, a faint, impressed glimmer appearing in her eyes; from a glance, he had been able to pick up on her nature as an experienced swordsman. The possibility that she had more experience than him, however, was not something she was going to assume; he appeared similar in age to her, after all, and both had apparently been training since they were young. If it were true, though, perhaps she would indeed be able to teach him something new...

Byleth began to drift deeper into her thoughts when such a possibility entered her mind, wondering how her own students were faring right now. If they had noticed her absence yet, how were they handling the situation? She tried to reassure herself that she would find a way back as she returned her attention to the group standing before her. When Celica mentioned her 'homeland', she began to wonder just how many of these individuals were as far from their homes as she was. "... Where are you headed?" she asked the group in its entirety, the first words she had actually spoken in several moments. "If you need some assistance, perhaps I can help."

With so many of the others insisting and agreeing that they should let Byleth into the group, the choice seemed quite clear. In truth, Robin also thought deep down that she deserved the benefit of the doubt. It would be unfair to judge her for being quiet and unemotional if that turned out to simply be her nature. "Actually, we have yet to decide on our next destination. Wherever that may be, however... alright." Wearing a warm smile in an attempt to make Byleth feel more welcome and at ease, Robin offered her a handshake. "Welcome aboard, Byleth!"

Byleth briefly glanced down at Robin's hand with a particularly blank look, seemingly not realizing what he was doing at first. Thankfully, though, she caught on a moment later and returned the handshake in a slightly abrupt, unintentionally awkward fashion. "Thank you," she spoke, her voice still steadily composed, but also with an air of gratitude.

Cookie was unable to suppress a small burst of excitement when Robin and Byleth shook hands. With a small squeal, she hopped a single hop for joy. "Yes! Ahhh, you seem so cool!" she beamed to Byleth. "I really hope I get a chance to talk to you sometime. I bet you've got stories."

Cookie's continuous, welcoming enthusiasm radiated so much that it brought a serene smile to the corners of Byleth's mouth. "I'm sure that we'll find a chance to talk," she responded. "I doubt I would have much in the way of stories to tell, but..."

Cookie noticed that she actually managed to make Byleth smile a little, reacting in turn with a much less-subtle grin. She felt somewhat accomplished. "That's OK too! I'm just hyped about getting to know you better," she remarked cheerfully. "Oh, I'm Cookie, by the way," she introduced herself; "And this is..."

Cookie proceeded to introduce Byleth to each and every one of the others... until she found herself unable to recall the names of the young man and woman who had just joined them earlier, during the gargoyle battle. "... Uh... Sorry, I'm... kinda not remembering your names," she admitted embarrassedly.

Having just heard one of the duo's names--and having a wild guess of the other--Robin decided to help out. "Well, she's Celica," he continued on where Cookie left off, gesturing to each of the two as he mentioned them, "and he's..."

He trailed off for a moment. Did he really want to try guessing the other individual's name? If his hunch ended up being wrong, he would probably look rather foolish. Ultimately, he decided against it, to avoid making a complete fool of himself right away.

"Er, my apologies... What is your name?" he asked the young green-haired man.

Byleth listened intently as Cookie began introducing everyone, her eyes observantly shifting to each person as they were being referred to. However, it seemed not even Cookie knew the names of two of them, leading Robin to step in and introduce... one of them, at least. Curiously but patiently, Byleth stared ahead at the green-haired young man, awaiting the revelation of his name. They must have arrived recently as well... she noted silently.

Alm and Celica continued listening to Robin, Cookie, and Byleth's conversation. Robin and Cookie also tried to introduce the two of them, but they seemed to struggle with Alm's name. "Oh, my name's Alm. I'm from Ram Village in Zofia on the continent of Valentia. But before coming here, I had pretty recently found out that I'm actually Rigelian royalty..."  Celica also decided to properly introduce herself. "I'm Celica, the Princess of Zofia on the continent of Zofia. My real name is Anthiese, but only my brother really calls me that." 

Robin looked quite impressed. Astonished, even. "So it IS you," he remarked in a quiet tone, almost as if speaking to himself. "This is probably going to sound hard to believe," he told Alm and Celica, "but I come from the same world as you... thousands of years in the future." He briefly glanced over at Lucina--"Lucina does as well, technically speaking,"--then back at the duo--"though there are some very... important details to her story." Not wanting to overwhelm the two with too many wild stories at once, he chose to avoid explaining Lucina's time-travel journey. Besides, she would probably rather tell the tale herself, considering that only she knew what exactly it was all like. "Anyway, we hail from the continent of Ylisse... which you would know as Archanea in your time, I believe."

"Whoa," Alm gasped as soon as Robin explained. "That's so interesting. I never thought that Archanea would change its name at some point in the future..." He decided to ask Robin, "Sooo, what's the future like? Is Valentia still around? Has it changed in any way?" Celica wasn't entirely sure if Alm should be asking these things, but she was also rather curious. She warned Alm, "Maybe it's not the best idea to ask these things, Alm. What if they tell us something we'd rather not hear? I'm rather curious myself, however. I hope Valentia never witnessed more wars and bloodshed after our time..."

Robin's heart sank a little. He knew that there were indeed more conflicts that had happened since Alm and Celica's time--most notably the first war against Grima, which caused much chaos and destruction worldwide. And then there were the events surrounding the present day--conflicts that Robin had first-hand experience with. On the topic of Valm, Walhart's brutal conquest instantly came to mind.

"Well... Sadly, it would seem that conflict is inevitable," Robin solemnly told Celica, gently implying that there had been more wars after her and Alm's time. "There's always going to be misguided people, and people with selfish desires... Thankfully, there's also always going to be plenty of people who are willing to stand up for all that's good in the world. I think we all just need to do what we can for what's right."

After delivering his brief speech of reassurance to Celica, Robin turned to Alm. "Anyway, to answer your question, the continent of Valentia has had its fair share of change since your time, with nations rising and falling," he began to explain. "Additionally, it's known as 'Valm' in our time. From what I've heard, the name is derived from... er, well... yours, presumably." Suddenly, Robin looked slightly awkward, maybe even nervous. "I would tell you the whole story, but... if you happen to still be at war, I wouldn't want to give you a big head. It could lead to you making some fatally reckless mistake..." He just hoped that he hadn't already given Alm a big head by telling him about the name 'Valm' in the first place.

Celica listened to Robin explain what had occurred after her time. She did know that war and fighting would always be inevitable, but she was also glad that there were still people who had good in their hearts and would fight for what is right. "You're right," she said, "I suppose there will always be conflict after winning peace. It's a shame, but I guess I can't always expect conflicts to always be resolved peacefully and without war." She and Alm continued listening to Robin to hear his answers to Alm's questions. Upon listening to what Robin said, Alm replied, "Valentia becomes Valm? I guess the 'V' is also put in there to reference Valentia... But I honestly don't get why someone would name the place after me. I mean, I've been a nobody my whole life. I've been just a farm boy for seventeen years and I haven't known I was Emperor Rudolf's son until very recently. Literally none of the nobles could really accept me. When my cousin Berkut even heard I was Rudolf's son and the true heir to the Rigelian throne, he couldn't deal with it and... he died... I guess in the future I've done many good things to earn such an honour, but still, I really can't see why anyone would rename Valentia after me." He wasn't sure of what else to say.

Alm's reaction to the revelation caught Robin off-guard. This was basically the exact opposite of what he was expecting might happen. Now he felt the need to help Alm feel a little more confident. "It sounds like you've been through some... difficult times," he commented with a bit of a solemn expression; "But you really should think at least a little more highly of yourself. While being overconfident can easily be counterproductive, so can being underconfident. Sometimes, a lack of confidence can actually lead one to make mistakes," he pointed out supportively. "Now, I don't know exactly what you have or haven't already accomplished at this point in your life. However, please trust me when I say that you are entirely deserving of such an honor. Future generations all across the continent have much to thank you for."