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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2QzX8x3Oig

DAYS after he declared that any longer fighting and the exhaustion would kill him, Samson and his crew are still fighting against Xouide's advance, only pushed a short ways south of the pass. He owes his life and everyone else's to his insistent protection of Hal in particular, and everyone's had some bright idea to keep Xouide from killing them once or another time, but...

As Samson and friends begin to hope desperately for a miracle, two figures appear before them, much to his surprise and delight, though he wonders if this is just a dying delusion.

Elsewhere, the battle to determine the fate of the continent, and possibly the world, has thinned down to the result of a single duel. Rene, pain of her recent wounds only slightly lessened by her single vulnerary, stares Dyrus down as he grips his Hero Axe. To the side of the fight, the only conscious observers, Hautclere and Ludwig, only watch, both unable to fight, respectively due to her severe hand injuries and having had his weapon tossed out a window.

"I... Really don't want to fight you, Rene," Dyrus says, "but... I can't just let you do this!"

"I've come to peace with my ill will towards you, Dyrus," the elder sister says, "but I swore that I would kill anyone who stands in my way this time. If you won't give up and face justice, then I'll need to act as judge and executioner." Notching an arrow, she adds, "though... I owe you the truth, at least, before you die. Laurise... Our sister. I was just as involved in her death as the man who actually killed her."

"Dyrus... don't hold back," the siblings' mother chokes out, ineffectually holding back her tears, "for... For everyone's sake, even Rene's... Especially Rene's..."

"M-mother..."

"I'm ordering you to win this fight, whatever it takes!" The queen of Neir calls out, standing as her currently-useless hands shake in anguish.

>A. Be Dyrus
>B. Be Rene

>>48424163
>B. Be Rene
Hello, Octo.

>>48424273
Howdy!

>>48424163
>A. Be Dyrus

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>48424348
>>48424273
What a thing to be dependent on a metaphorical coin flip.

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>>48424348
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBja-ljWgew

"B-but..." You shake your head. "Are you just telling me to give up my faith in her after this long?!"

"Don't let your resolve falter now," your mother tells you, "this is... This isn't an easy thing for me to order, either! You think I wanted to lose two children in this war?!"

"Ffhn," Rene growls a bit, glaring at your mother as she keeps her distance from you and the bystanders, "you still insist on calling me your daughter? I thought I made it clear in Central exactly how I felt about your hypocritical love!"

"Rene, we both know it doesn't have to be this way!" Hautclere steps forward a bit, only for you to hold your hand back to stop her.

"Don't come any closer, mother," you warn her, "you're an easy target for her right now! Don't get close!"

"He raises a good point..." Rene's eyes dart between you, Ludwig, and your mother, her bow raised, drawn back. "But I'm a good enough shot that there's nowhere in this room you can avoid me. The bow that my father gave me will be your undoing, 'mother!'"

Shit, she's really going to attack her first, isn't she? Unless she's bluffing to get you into an easy position to shoot through...

Gh, you don't have time to think about this! Just react!

>A. Run at her and take a slash! (dice+1d20, >8 hits, >15 hits before she can fire)
>B. Search for your Hand Axe...
>C. Get in your mother's way!
>D. Stay still...
>E. Write-in response

>>48424524
Does Dyrus still have that Royal Axe in addition to whatever a Hero Axe is and the Hammer?

>>48424745
I meant to say Royal Axe. Hero was a typo, my bad.

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>48424524
>A. Run at her and take a slash! (dice+1d20, >8 hits, >15 hits before she can fire)

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>48424524
>A. Run at her and take a slash! (dice+1d20, >8 hits, >15 hits before she can fire)

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>>48424853
You waste no time speeding towards her, clutching your Royal Axe tightly in your hands and rushing Rene before she can take aim at you or your mother.

"You fell for it..." She taunts, taking aim at you point-blank...

Still, you're faster on the draw than her. able to cut her wounded hand once more, your axe going deep as her arrow flies awry and hits a wall, uselessly.

"Y-you..!" Losing grip on her bow, Rene clutches her hand in pain before switching to her new lance, tightening her good hand's fingers around it and trying not to focus on her blood loss. Calming down, she breathes in through her nose. "Ludwig, you... Might want to get out of here. Belinda warned me about how this thing can make you act."

Nodding, the Imperial fourth child runs down the steps of the tower, notably making a point of dragging with him the unconscious Saye and Cicero. Belle and Via are out of luck, though, simply lying there, fully healed and out of commission.

"Good... I can use this to the fullest now," Rene says, a reddish aura coming over her for a moment as the lance glows scarily.

With even greater speed and ferocity, she hurries towards you, and the lance cuts through your side as you roll out of the way.

Skidding to a halt and turning to look between the four of you, she closes her eyes and smiles. "I feel... Powerful, right now. I know it's just the lance's ability talking, but it really feels like I'm channeling the hopes, dreams, and future of the Gerxel Empire into my every strike."

Though she maintains a cool demeanor, her eyes dart between you, your mother, Via, Belle... It's very deliberate the way she focuses on you, as though forcing herself to stick to the duel she's gotten herself into before sticking the easier targets.

"I can't hold back any longer, even if I wanted to..." Rene leaps into the air and brings down her lance towards your head.

>A. Dodge!
>B. Try to strike her before she hits you!
>C. Write-in action!
(dice+1d20 for all)

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>48425109
>A. Dodge!

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>48425109
>A. Dodge!

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>48425109
>A. Dodge!

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>>48425201
You dodge quite impressively, even managing to steer clear of her pulling the weapon out of the floor she embedded it in during an attempt to blindside you by striking you with its blunt end.

"I always forget how... Fast you are," Rene says, drawing back her lance to attempt to stab you with it once more. It seems that its effects have made it impossible for her NOT to be attacking while it's active...

Her every blow is amplified in speed and strength, but the precision and subtlety is gone. So long as you're careful and she keeps her focus on you, you should be more than able to wear her out.

"Could you stop making holes in our walls?!" You ask, annoyed, "I know you've got uncontrollable bloodlust, but still!"

"Then stop getting out of the way," Rene responds in that faux-calm she's taken on, taking aim at you once more with an elegant yet horrifying upward swing of her weapon.

You end up stumbling back, backed against the stairs further up the tower. Standing next to your Hand Axe and staring her down as she prepares to rush you, you look over everyone and everything close to you.

>A. Try tossing your hand axe!
>B. Take a swing at her when she draws close!
>C. S-surely you can keep dodging, right? (this WILL be harder than before)
>D. Write-in action
(yet again, roll for all)

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>48425368
>A. Try tossing your hand axe!

>>48425400
Please don't' kill Rene. ;_;
That was fast.

>>48425415
I don't think Octo is the sort to give us something that would be seen as a strongly negative result both in and out of character from a good roll.

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>>48425400
Steeling himself as Rene draws close, Dyrus reaches for the Hand Axe, tossing the weapon at his sister as she draws close.

Just as it's clear that it's going to connect before she can finish her opponent off, the young empress' eyes widen in alarm, and she stops in her tracks.

You are Samson, far from the hustle and bustle of this battle, simply trying your best to survive another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Okk6elECes

"I..." You turn towards the thunder mage who's stuck by your side for the past several days, "I don't see anyone, Hal. A-are they all..."

"Don't... Don't think about that, Sam!" Hal says, "just... Just think about fending these guys off..."

By your sides, a white-haired young woman and her parasol-touting bodyguard, both grabbing onto one of you or Hal before clinging together and warping away from Xouide.

In a building you don't recognize as the former hideout of Conrad and his bandits, just a ways north of your days-long scrap with Xouide, you make out the forms of... well, pretty much everyone in your party besides Eichel, Amanda, and Taniel. You fall forward onto a table, the swordmaster man helping you sit properly in a chair.

"Th-this is... What is..." Incredulously, you take a long. unquestioning gulp of water from a canteen Veiz offers you.

"I told my sister that it would leave an awful taste in my mouth, were Xouide to mow down those who have no stake in this fight," Veiz answers.

In the corner of the room, an ecstatic not to have perished Edwyg and Dinah embrace, the latter showing an unusual amount of joy, tears, even. Adam rubs his sides, giving his former captain a confused look before just lying on the floor on his back, while Sara sits quietly, nursing a wound. Millie and her brother hug happily, perhaps both certain the other had died in that battle, while Adelais can only keep her hand on her sword, highly doubtful of Veiz' goodwill.

>A. You need to keep fighting!
>B. ...
>C. Write-in response

>>48425672
>C. Write-in response
Thank you, but
>A. You need to keep fighting!

>>48425672
>C. Write-in response
>Thank you, but
>A. You need to keep fighting!

>>48425672
>C. "What about the others, Eichel, Amanda, Taniel? I can't just leave them to die."

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>>48425720
>>48425798
"I... I... Thank you, but..." You try to get up out of your seat, but you're so tired you can't get back up. "I need to get back out there! A whole lot more people with no stake in this are gonna die if we can't hold that thing off..!"

"It's a testament to your determination that you haven't died countless times over already," Veiz insists, "so... Don't strain yourself any further!"

"I..." You rest your head against the table, clutching its sides. "Where are Taniel, and..."

"Specific orders not to spare their lives, I don't doubt," Fabrice interrupts, the pretty-boy dark mage having proven that a combination facial stubble, no makeup, and days without sleep do NOT look good on him, "Taniel is a high-profile revolutionary and has been since the rebellion's planning stages."

"It was... Exactly as he says," Alfred answers in lieu of a guilty-looking Veiz, "Rene expressly forbade Taniel and his entourage from being saved as prerequisite for our taking this detour."

"But I... We can't just leave them to die after all this, after we're pulled to safety!" You demand, "Veiz, please..."

Veiz looks contemplative for several moments, before groaning, shaking her head, "nnrh... I'm sorry, Samson, I can't betray Rene's trust again."

>A. "Remember why you did to start!"
>B. Just make frustrated, anguished, exhausted noises
>C. "Veiz, you're better than this"
>D. Why did she rejoin her?!
>E. ...
>F. Write-in response

>>48425889
>B. Just make frustrated, anguished, exhausted noises

>>48425889
>D. Why did she rejoin her?!

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>>48425908
>>48425979
"Mmmnngh..!" Tired beyond measure, you can only make awful sounds of annoyance as you realize Veiz is going to be completely obstinate about this. "Why did you rejoin her?"

"I... Seeing how she took the news, I realized just how vile a mistake I had made turning against my sister, having zero faith in her ability to create the Gerxel Empire she envisions. I want to help her create it anew, not undermine the society that brought us together." Veiz quickly changes the subject. "We've... Left a week's worth of supplies so you might all recuperate here," Veiz exposits, "I must really be off, but... Take care of yourselves, sincerely."

Veiz and Alfred vanish, leaving the lot of you to just...

Well, the first thing you all do is drag yourselves to semi-comfortable sleeping conditions, several hours of your lives going by in uncomfortable slumber.

It's hardly a full night's sleep, however, as absurdly early in the morning, the sound of a horse riding up awakens your already on-edge self.

Tiredly, you slog out the door, recognizing your father, and behind him Taniel and Amanda.

"Told you that was no farewell, son," Lazare says.

"Dad?!" You ask, incredulously, "wh-when did... Don't tell me you ran through Xouide's path to..."

"I wish I were that brave," Lazare says, "but no, bold Eichel and his mare carried them to me. Then he departed further north, after pointing us towards this fortress."

"See?! I toldja that asshole would bail right after the fighting ended, stop us from askin' any questions!" Edwyg proclaims loudly, having woken up moments after you did. "Textbook. Fuckin' textbook!"

>A. Ask about Xouide's current position
>B. Just invite the trio in to rest with your lot
>C. We need to chase Xouide down!
>D. Write-in response
>E. ...

>>48426110
>A. Ask about Xouide's current position

>>48426110
>A. Ask about Xouide's current position

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>>48426143
"I... Where's Xouide?" Samson asks.

"It moved South by the time we met up with your father," Taniel answers, "when you all left and Veiz didn't come back for us, Eichel figured that we REALLY couldn't hold it off any longer, period."

"So... We failed?" You ask.

"Hardly," Lazare explains, "by now, the battle has surely ended in the capital... If Hautclere and her son have won, defeated Rene, then by now they are surely in pursuit of Xouide. The damage that it could have dealt has been lessened significantly by your time spent fighting it."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wTIrwav0Ek

You are Rene, on the tail end of being fought. Everything went dark after Dyrus struck you with his axe, and you're not terribly certain you'll like to know why.

"Gerxel Empress, huh?" A familiar voice asks. "You really went outta your way to one-up your big bro, huh?"

"I..." You turn and face the voice's owner in alarm. "August?! Then... Then am I..?"

"No... You are at a crossroads between life and death," Hera's voice rings out, her stepping before you as well, "if you have enough will to shrug this off... Well, if anyone could do it, it's probably you."

"Would that really be wise?" Omar asks, appearing next, "I mean... Your Excellency, I support you in death as much as in life, but. At this point, you would be prolonging death and dismay for your ideals. What would you do, if you were to survive this?"

"...he's a smart kid," August says, "maybe you should let yourself rest, sister."

"And abandon all that she has strived for at this vital moment?" The stern, commanding voice of Waldrick breaks through. "Your sister, nay, the entire Empire, is awaiting your victory, my daughter. Slay the rebel leaders at long last!"

"Waldrick, sir, with all due respect, this has been tearing her and Veiz apart," Hera notes, "let her rest."

Omar speaks, "Rene. If you do not let yourself rest here... What will you do?"

>A. Rest
>B. [Write-in what you need to live on for]

>>48426385
>B. Live for your family that was given to you because the Empire
If the Empire ends, will your family end as well?

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>>48426432
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuK1WOgHSto

"I... I was given a family by the Empire," you say, looking to the father who raised you, to the brother figure you were forced to fight, to the Hera you forgave for finishing him off. "I was given life by a prince of the Empire, trained personally by an Emperor!"

"If you have a chance to keep fighting for it," Waldrick says, "then I don't wish for you and Veiz to rejoin me until you've become older than I ever was."

"Veiz is... Veiz is still expecting me to be alive on my return," you say, "I can't... Not after she declined a place in that future to support me!"

"Veiz is... A stronger person than she seems," Omar says, "having endured all of this... And she will still have the rest of your companions to look back upon."

"I can't exactly leave them either!" You shout back to them, "or... Or anyone else depending on me!"

"Ah, but... Think about what you're doing now," August says, "it's... Not an easy thing, setting off from nothing but your strength and a few friends to take over the world. I only took a small chunk of it, but maintaining it was one of the hardest things I'd ever done."

"I... I know how much of a responsibility is on my shoulders now," you tell him, "I'm not an innocent child."

"Ah, but... You say you're protecting your friends, family, their futures as an Empress?" August asks, "but... in the process, aren't you forsaking your family on the same coin? Hautclere, Dyrus, the friends and allies they've come to know and love as well? Didn't you say you would mow them all down?" Floating in front of you, looking you deeply in the eye, he says in a serious tone, "I won't try to stop you, if you wish to come back from the brink of death, but... Are you prepared to live with the consequences of fighting for your life, of how many more lives will be lost because you've sent an unstoppable monster to conquer and slaughter?"

>A. Maybe you shouldn't
>B. You're prepared
>C. Write-in response

>>48426708
>C.I don't' want this to end with the blood of my birth family on my hands but...I can't allow the family that raised down either!
What a beautiful song.

>>48426807
*me

>>48426807
Yeah, I've figured that the lyrics fit Rene's character arc for... Awhile, now.

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>>48426807
"I..." Your spirit briefly falters, "I don't want the blood of my birth family on my hands, but... But I can't let the family that raised me down either! I'll live and fight for as long as I have to!"

Your eyes shoot open in reality as you reach this revelation.

A soft weeping is audible above you, an understated yet anguished cry of vulnerability.

You hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and can make out the form of Hautclere holding you.

You don't move a muscle, don't make a sound. The... staff of Katri is gone, and the axe-wound in your upper chest is quite deep, but your good hand's now-bloody fingers are still quite firmly wrapped around the Berserk Lance.

She... Hasn't even noticed that you're not dead, cradling your body.

Via and Belle are gone, as is Dyrus, so you figure that he was sent with the staff to deal with Xouide...

Then you don't have any time to lose! Veiz has to be done rescuing that man Samson by now, and where is everyone else?

More people are coming up the stairs...

You need to act quick, whatever you do.

>A. Finish Hautclere. She won't even notice until it's too late
>B. Say something (specify)
>C. Just break away

>>48426936
>C. Just break away

>>48426936
>C. Just break away

>>48426936
>C. Just break away

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>>48427075
Rene breaks out of her embrace without much trouble, standing over her and staring her down down.

"Y-you're alive..!" In alarm, Hautclere falls back. "Rene... Please, put down the lance. I can't bear to lose you again... N-not after seeing it before my eyes."

"Threatening me even now..." She holds up her lance against her neck, staring her down, "my friends. Where are they?"

"They..." She shakes her head. "I haven't seen them. Not since Ludwig ran downstairs..."

"...you're lucky, mother," Rene says, "to have lived this long... Now, out of respect for you, I'm giving you ten seconds to retrieve your weapon and fight me properly with it. I don't like striking people down at their most helpless, no matter how much I despise you."

"Rene..." Hautclere nods, halfheartedly reaching for an Iron Axe, "you're... Never going to stop. I... I'm going to hate myself for this, but I'll do what I have to."

You're Dyrus, having flown South as rapidly as possible on your wyvern in the pursuit of Xouide, alongside Marduk, Winona, Nia, and their flying squadrons. As far as you know, both of your sisters are dead, the elder by your own hand. Via, riding behind you, offers comfort and compassionate silence.

Still, though, you can't shake this horrible, unbearable fact out of your mind. You know now it was a delusion to ever think you could have turned her life around, but... You need to fight with all you have. Your mother entrusted the Staff of Katri to you so you might weaken Xouide, so you might kill the immortal beast.

Via, quietly, says, "it... had to be done, Dyrus. She was... As long as she was alive, she was a danger to herself and to the continent." She sounds like she's close to tears herself, empathizing with you. "I... I wished for her to feel welcome as well, for your sake, but... You've done her a kindness."

>A. You know
>B. It doesn't feel like it
>C. ...
>D. Write-in response

>>48427300
>B. It doesn't feel like it
Kinda didn't want to actually pick a fight there.

>>48427300
>B. It doesn't feel like it

>>48427339
Sorry about that. It's a bit hard to write, yeah, but it would just feel immensely out of character for Rene to not be willing to keep fighting after the whole "pretty much coming back from the dead so she can keep fighting" thing.

>>48427436
I was expecting more of a flight response due to her severe injuries and the potential rebel reinforcements.

>>48427476
[x]Veiz arrives moments after the fight begins, but before that as far as she knows she has nowhere TO go. Downstairs is just more rebel, but in the moment the POV left her she's a cornered fox.[/x]

>>48427515
Whoops, meant to spoiler tag that. Dunno why I used Xs instead of the actual spoiler stuff.

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>>48427353
"It... Doesn't feel like it," you admit to her, "I feel sick..."

"We all do," Via agrees, "this has been an easy fight on no one... You moreso than anyone in this army, I imagine. But this pain will numb once Xouide is vanquished, and peacetime allows for mourning, for closure..." The maid-fighter clings a little tighter to you, bringing to mind the confession she's yet to get a chance to spring on you. Still, though, she respects your discomfort with moving on quite yet, not actually mentioning it once.

Riding towards the valley to the South, you and your flying forces manage to catch up to Xouide within a few hours' dedicated flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO4qH9DTdp0

"Hey!" You call out to it, raising the Staff of Katri and trying to sound menacing, perhaps intimidate the ageless beast, "your master is dead! You have no reason to do anything but stay in the ground now!"

Well, that certainly catches its attention, Xouide flying forward to slash at you and Via's ride.

Its scales, however, become a paler, sicklier color, the vague form beneath shrinking just slightly, a few of the scales on its gauntlet immediately falling off and becoming Mogall.

Your intuition tells you that the Staff of Katri worked!

>A. Everyone rush it now!
>B. Just see what it does...
>C. Write-in orders

>>48427638
>A. Everyone rush it now!

>>48427638
>A. Everyone rush it now!

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>>48427722
"As one!" You declare, pointing the staff forward, "we're going to finish off the ultimate symbol of the Empire!"

It's almost... Anticlimactic, in a ways, that you bear witness to such an ancient, powerful creature for measly minutes before its demise.

In this drastically weakened state, Xouide's scales regrow far slower, and the monsters that it summons are weakened significantly, easy to pick off.

A... Difficult to describe cry of bestial agony leaves the creature's gullet as its semisolid form is exposed to your weapons, seeming to... Collapse, solidify into an eight-foot, spread-out, unholy corpse. Even the remaining monsters borne of its scales... Vanish.

"Is it... Dead?" Winona asks, "here I thought it'd be more difficult than that."

"Legendary weapon like that Staff of Katri, what can ya say," Marduk remarks, "they're pretty damned insane."

Feeling the brittle body in your hand as you get close to it, you feel a chill down your spine. This monster's corpse...

Someone with sufficient necromantic powers could reanimate it, in its current form.

Without a second thought, you hack Xouide's remains to pieces with your axe, broken up into various body parts. No matter what you attempt, though, you can only manage to break it apart so much, not grind it up or destroy it outright.

"We need to... Scatter the body's remains, as far apart from one another as they can be," you say, "and I don't want any one person knowing where they all are. Even myself."

"But... Who'd you trust with distributing the parts, then?" Nahuel, nearby, asks, "I mean, it's a big big big responsibility, if I get what you're getting at."

>A. [Name someone]
>B. You don't want to know that, either

>>48427881
>A. Via
Seems to be the most trustworthy.

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>>48428065
"Via... Could you see to it?" You ask. "Don't take care of all of them, of course, but have someone else take some too, and..."

"Of course," your loyal maid responds, gathering them up in a bag, "I've... Already someone else in mind to take on some of the duty."

"Alright, thanks. Er... don't tell me who it is, though. Like I said, the less people collectively know about the parts' locations..."

"I know, I know..."

That's the last you hear of the parts for awhile, and you fly back to Neir soon after, trying your hardest to put on a strong face for mother.

"Sh-she's alive?!" You exclaim, shocked and more relieved than you honestly ought to be."

"Y-yes..." Your mother, bedridden from the wounds her brief fight with Rene left her, says, "she... Suddenly rose in my hands, challenged me to a fight again... I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for her wounds opening up before she could finish me off. Veiz showed up on a dracozombie to pull her out of there, and that's..."

"Rest, your majesty," your grandfather tells your mother, "you can... You SHOULD rest now. We've reclaimed the castle, and most of Rene's able supporters were killed or captured in the battle."

"Damned... Kristina slipped away through her monster swarm," Marduk says, "and I figure everyone that went with her up to the tower is fine too..."

"So she just slips away one more time," a VERY bitter, outright angry Felix bursts out, "is that how this war ends? With her and her friends escaping justice?" Then, the shaking and the waterworks, his bold facade cracking quickly. "She doesn't deserve another chance!"

"The Empire won't recover from the losses this battle has forced it to endure," Darren tells him, "and... By the way Hautclere describes it, Rene won't be able to fight properly again for a long time. We have all the time in the world to look forward, rebuild, while she licks her wounds in delusion."

>A. Yeah... The future
>B. No, we need to seek her out!
>C. ...
>D. Write-in response

>>48428248
>A. Yeah... The future

>>48428248
>A. Yeah... The future

>>48428353
"Y-yeah..." You offer Felix a sympathetic look. "We need to be thinking about the future."

"Easy for you to..." Felix catches his tongue. "No, it's... Not easy for you to say. You're just... You've always been more optimistic than me, Dyrus, but you've been affected by all of this too..."

"I'm... Sorry about your aunt, really," you say, "she was a steadfast ally."

Sara, nearby, offers her own sympathetic shoulder-pats to her younger brother. "I will... Be around, if you continue to need a friend, brother."

In time, your mother made a full recovery from her wounds, and Samson and his friends stayed in Neir a little while to celebrate, as you invited them to before Rene broke loose.

While the world obviously required not insignificant amounts of rebuilding and restructuring, you made yourselves take time to celebrate the peace as well.

You allowed your mind to go to ease again, wondering to yourself if Laurise would've chastised you for not having done so sooner. Still, though, the worry of Rene resurfacing always eats at you.

Felix and the Lords of Chance stayed on with Neir for awhile longer, until you could build up a more proper armed force, though Doran departed from the group and returned to his hometown in grief.

Given that you're set to inherit the Kingdom of Neir someday, it wasn't terribly long before you finally allowed yourself to open your mind to romantic thoughts once again.

Your stance on where your heart was clear as day, when you really thought it over. The person you swore your heart alone to...

>A. [insert name here]
>B. Maiden ending!

>>48428499
>A. US!
Just kidding
>B. Maiden ending!
It's bittersweet since this could be parallel to Rene's ending with Cicero.

>>48428499
>A. Winona

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>>48428528
Er, since you may have mixed it up with "maid." Maiden is pic related. Reference to how if Chrom didn't marry any actual characters in Awakening, he could end up with a nameless waifu with no portrait.

>>48428557
Not "no portrait," what the fuck, me.

No relevance beyond being his daughter's mother if no one else is, is what I meant.

>>48428557
Then Winona.

>>48428557
I feel like I'm being confusing in general here. Not saying meido ending is prohibited, just that maiden ending is a different thing entirely.

Guh, all this explaining is making me sound biased against childhood friendmance.

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>>48428538
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNW-ChB3sZg
"Winona, I... Said I would get back to you on how I felt when I was ready, remember?" Dyrus asks her one evening. "About... Yeah."

"Uh... Uh huh?" Winona nods, looking over the starry sky above, "what about it?"

"I've... Finally taken time to think about how I feel, and. Well, it's the same way."

"Dyrus... Y-you mean..?" The prince's childhood friend's cheeks burn bright as he takes her hand, nodding. "I... I don't know what to say..."

"Then let me! I've... Always thought of you as my best friend, honestly, and it's... You... Isn't it ideal to be in love with your closest friend?"

Winona giggles a bit, awkwardly, "I mean... Yeah, if you really feel the same way... Nngh, sorry, I was never expecting to hear you say you felt like this, and..."

"Well, I'm saying it now, and I'll say it as much as you want!"

Dyrus proceeds to spend the next several minutes telling his future queen he loves her, repeatedly.

You are now Samson, you and Millicent packing your things to return to Holmstead. You've had a long, pleasant-overall stay in Neir's capital, but you need to be getting back home, now that Veiz can't just warp you all there.

Via, ever the helpful housekeeper, is able to help after her final music lesson from you. She's been... quiet lately, focused on her duties, mostly (honestly, you know exactly why, but it's not really your place to work it out), but does make a point of speaking to you and your fiancee. "You've been a fantastic instructor, Samson. I do doubt this castle will be the same without this constant touch of Holmstead's culture your party has been."

>A. They'll make do
>B. You really can't stay
>C. ...
>D. Write-in response

>>48428768
>A. They'll make do

>>48428768
>A. They'll make do
>D. "I'm certain I'll be visiting again soon enough, anyway."

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>>48428840
"I think you'll make do," you answer, "you've really got a gift for music, Via. Maybe... I'unno, channel that into something? I'd like to hear it whenever I make time to revisit you all!"

"I'll... See what I can do," Via answers, before turning and giving Millicent a polite bow, "and I wish we could have spoken more. Perhaps if I had known more about dance..."

"It's, uh..." Millie says, in a sympathetic tone, "don't be hung up on this forever, alright? There's plenty of people out there!"

Adelais Dory insists that you be boated Southwest, instead of dealing with, and quote, "that FUCKING desert," again, and who are you and your company to decline a sail down memory lane.

"Alfred, ya romantic bastard... Where're ya now?" Adam asks the ocean, Ada coming up behind him.

"I... really can't answer that myself, but you seem about as fond of dry land as me," Adelais says, "why don't you join up with my crew? I'll need reliable folks like you if I wanna get the family business back up and running!"

"Y'know what..?" He turns to face Fabrice, nearby, "it's been fun, my friend, but I can't deny my love f'r the sea any longer."

Fabrice sighs, filing his nails, "I figured this day would come, darling... Keep your new captain on the straight and narrow, though, won't you?"

"Ya got a vacancy for a dumbass with an axe in Noba's ranks?" Edwyg asks, holding her weapon up, "'cuz I know one who can't stand to part with a babe in armor."

"...I wonder if we'll be able to be stationed in Alder together," Dinah says, "I think I'm ready to face them again..."

"You're all still coming to our wedding, right?" Millie asks, holding your hand and looking accusative towards the entire gang, "we've been through too much for you to just bail on that!"

>A. Laugh a bit
>B. She's right! None of them are missing it!
>C. Write-in response
>D. ...

>>48428928
>B. She's right! None of them are missing it!
>A. Laugh a bit

>>48428928
>B. She's right! None of them are missing it!
>A. Laugh a bit
Since it's ship time (in both a literal and figurative sense): Norman x Via, Lazare x Hauteclere, Nia x Sara.

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>>48429022
"Yeah, none of you'd better miss this!"

You all laugh, yes, but to their credit, none of them actually miss the wedding.

Millicent's parents are there too, entirely happy to give their blessing to the union, and more importantly, your cat is present! You arranged for Tiltyu to have prime viewing space for the event, in fact.

"...I'm happy for you both," Norman plainly offers, "anytime you want meat, I can find it, have it killed up and served for you."

"That's sweet, Norman..!" Your wife (gods you feel good saying that) tells her brother (your brother-in-law, you suppose).

"Feels good to be back in Holmstead to stay," Hal says, "it feels... fresh, different here, but not a bad different. Honestly, seein' you get married all up and like that makes me thinking about getting out there myself."

Your father brings a rather unexpected plus-one to the festivities, all things considered. It's... Ludwig's mother, you think? Anais, yeah, that was her name.

"She's been worried sick about her son," Lazare explains, "and I thought I might put our magical minds together to figure out where he might be..."

"Ludwig..." Amanda, having just sort of tagged along for the ride for some reason, points out the obvious once more. "Yeah, he's still gone."

"...Amanda, correct?" Anais asks, offering her a hand. "My... sincerest apologies, on behalf of all of what was once Central Gerxel. I think, while I'm looking for my son, I'll... Consider this new world, through the lens Lazare here has given me."

"...should we be spoiling the day with talk about that group?" Norman asks, "this is a happy day, not a bittersweet one."

>A. No, let them talk
>B. Not to mention YOUR day
>C. You wanna know yourself...
>D. Write-in response
>E. ...

>>48429036
Those are certainly some unique ideas, though I honestly can't see them myself. Nia's a bit young for Sara, but I feel like I can at least see where you're coming from for the other two's appeal.

>>48429173
>C. You wanna know yourself...

>>48429173
>C. You wanna know yourself...

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>>48429249
"Honestly," Samson says, "I wanna know that myself... At least, I'm worried sick about the people following Rene into oblivion."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbzCochNBx8

"Please, don't move, Rene!" Veiz demands of you, "it's a miracle that you're even alive with wounds like this..."

"I... I couldn't leave our work unfinished..." You choke out, clinging to your sister, "I... I couldn't..."

"The... Prince Dyrus has defeated Xouide," Veiz informs you, sad in tone, as she shows you towards your childhood home. It's not MUCH of a hideout, but it's a start for the seven of you. and it feels good to be lying in your own bed.

"I don't smell anyone coming for awhile," Saye says, popping in through the window, "I think it's safe for us to rest here awhile."

"Yeah, but what the fuck're we gonna do in the meantime, huh?!" Kristina exclaims from out in the hall, "we're shit outta luck with Xouide DEAD! Not just sealed away, fucking. DEAD."

"Is our goal truly this hopeless?" Ludwig asks, frowning and scratching his chin, "not that I'm not already in too deep to even consider quitting on you all at this point, but how fucked are we?"

>A. Not at all
>B. Somewhat
>C. It's not too late for him to bail
>D. ...
>E. Write-in response

>>48429388
>B. Somewhat
>E. We'll pull through. We have too.

>>48429388
>B. Somewhat
>E. We'll pull through. We have to.

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>>48429505
"...somewhat," you admit to your followers, "but... It's not as though we can't pull through. We have to... Necromancy. Veiz, do you think it could be used on Xouide?"

"I... Perhaps..." She says, thinking aloud, "I mean... with sufficient power, and a proper Gerxel heiress... Though we would still need to gather up Xouide's remains, since it would appear it's been broken into pieces."

"If your own magical knowhow isn't enough," Ludwig offers, "I could make myself useful. I owe you one for finding my Verrine, after all..."

"...I'll do as Veiz does," Alfred says, "so... So long as she has faith in you, Rene, I will do the same."

"I've... Done things that'll stop my people from welcoming me back," Saye says, "if I want to show them a world where our names aren't mud, I don't have any choice but you, Empress." She grins toothily. "Not that we're not friends! I love you guys, really!"

"And I will be at your beck and call so long as we both live... My beloved," Cicero says, taking your hand.

"I'll... try to recover quickly, then," you reassure everyone, "for all of you..."
>Silver Scales of the Past: complete
Well, that was a quest. Typing out epilogue stuff right now, but I should be able to keep talking in-thread while I do that.

Overall, definitely my favorite of the three I've run in the setting, though the ending was far less... conclusive than I was anticipating.

Thanks for playing, as always. twitter and ask.fm are qmgrandflocto, and I'll be around in-thread to chat.

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>>48429621
Thank you very much for running, Octo. It was a fun ride.

>>48429621
Thanks for running.

>the ending was far less... conclusive than I was anticipating.
Think of it as room for another gen2 sequel.

I'm curious what Rene and Cicero's kid would be like.

>>48429700
Always a pleasure.

>>48429728
It would feel bad completely closing Teege's saga on such bitter notes as Rene still a danger to the world, but I'm honestly a bit tapped for plot ideas for the setting. Not completely denying the possibility of more works in the verse, but it'd be a little while while I worked out more. Not as close together as Generically 1 and 2 were.

ask.fm is always open if you have questions about the setting in any of its time periods that don't get hit in this post-thread/the epilogues I'm typing out.

Still working on the epilogues.

>>48430145
Can't wait.

http://pastebin.com/4d3uywUP
Here they are. If I missed any details/said anything confusing, take it up on my ask.fm like any other quest-related questions. It's 3:30 AM and I can always expand on these details later if I have to.

>>48430225
Goodnight.

>>48430225
Night Octo.

>>48430225
>That Veiz part
Truly a good sister to the end.

>>48430225
It is a bit late, but thanks for running this quest. Do you have any plans for other quests after this?
Also, kind of surprised that Noba didn't try to put Samson up as a leader after he led the resistance in that region.

>>48432162
I have some half-cooked ideas for other quests, but nothing solid yet.
>>48430280
Yeah, Veiz ends up lasting really long.