After our preparations were complete, we made our way to the Plegian outpost on the Deathwatch Isle of Doom. At least I was able to convince Drohn that we should bring soldiers and weapons, just in case.
<SR> Greetings, Prince Drohn, and welcome back to Plegia.
<Drohn> Shining Raikou! You're, uh, still alive, and serving the new king, I presume?
<SR> Yes, I am the right hand woman of Plegia's new ruler, the good King WPM.
<Drohn> I've heard he's a worshiper of Grima.
<SR> Yes, he is Grimleal. We are both believers, along with most of the Plegian population. Our faith helped lead us through the aftermath of the war and the death of our beloved Heavenly Spoon. And here he comes now.
<WPM> A pleasure to finally meet you, my prince. I am WPM, regnant King of Plegia.
<Drohn> The honour is mine, I'm sure... but... you look familiar, are you sure we haven't met?
<WPM> Not to my knowledge.
<Athena> *whisper* Drohn. DROHN! We know this guy. He's the sorcerer from the assassination attempt on Vesperia. He was in my dream!
<Drohn> *whisper* But we killed him, didn't we?
<Athena> *whisper* It looks too much like him to be anyone else. I don't know what's going on here, but we need to be careful.
<WPM> Um, are you guys done whispering at each other now?
<Athena> Sorry King WPM, we didn't mean to offend.
<WPM> You must be Athena, Ylisse's master tactician.
<Athena> I'm surprised you've heard of me.
<WPM> You're rather famous, actually, after you managed to win the war.
<Athena> Oh, uh, cool.
<SR> Anyway, we wanted to let you know that we are willing to offer you a thousand ships towards your cause, and we'll happily pay for the whole thing, though we're afraid we can't offer you any soldiers. We're still rebuilding from the war, after all.
<Drohn> You're giving us your entire navy and willing to pay for the whole thing? Wow.
<WPM> Well, we're in danger here too, after all. I hope this will be enough to satisfy you.
<Drohn> More than enough, and more than we expected. Thank you for your generosity.
<WPM> Hopefully this will help to ease any remaining tensions between our nations... but before you go, there's someone I would like you to meet. She's the Hierophant, the religious leader of the Grimleal in Plegia.
<Hierophant> ...
<Athena> It's a pleasure to meet you.
<Hierophant> ...The heart still sleeps, but the blood flows through it. And the blood is strong...
<Athena> .... I'm sorry, but what?
<Hierophant> *flips hood down*
<Everyone> ... !!!
<Drohn> What the shi....
<Athena> She looks just like me... o_o;
<Hierophant> My name is Athena. Isn't that your name, too? WHAT A COINCIDENCE.
<WPM> How weird. What are the odds. Well, I'm afraid we need to go. See you later, Prince Drohn.
<Drohn> Wait, what? You're just going to introduce this and leave before you explain it?
<SR> I'm sorry, my lord, but you can't expect everyone to explain plot twists to you. You're going to have to figure this one out on your own. Ta-ta!
We had had a long day of traveling and the sun was already setting, so we decided to make camp and stay overnight instead of sailing back to Ferox in the dark. However, I had a hard time sleeping after the earlier revelations. Who was this priestess that shared my face? How did that sorcerer survive the battle, and why was I dreaming of him earlier, and why is he now the King of Plegia? The whole thing was so creepy and weird that I just tossed and turned, and I ended up leaving the tent so I wouldn't wake up Drohn and took a walk outside.
<???> Hey, Athena, you here?
<Athena> Who is that? Wait, no, it's not a person... this voice is in my head! And now I'm talking to myself. Oh hear, this can't be good for my mental health.
<???> Athena, shut up and listen to me.
<Athena> Oh, jeez, that really hurts. Stop shouting in my head! This is giving me a migraine.
<WPM> Oh, for Grima's sake, I'll just appear corporeally, is this better?
<Athena> WPM?
<WPM> Why do you close your heart to him, Athena?
<Athena> Dude, were you really talking inside my head? What the hell are you doing in there?
<WPM> Is that anyway to talk to.... YOUR FATHER?!
<Athena> ... :O!
<WPM> Search your feelings; you know it to be true. You are of my flesh, but of sacred blood. You are to serve a glorious purpose! Search deep in your heart. You already know it is your destiny...
<Athena> Uh...
<WPM> Stop consorting with those stupid Naga worshippers and join your daddy like a good daughter. Grima loves you, you know. JOIN YOUR STRENGTH TO THE FELL DRAGON.
<Athena> You know, I think I'd really rather not be involved in any of the creepy Grima worship, thank you very much.
<Drohn> Hey, Athena, what's going on? I heard your screaming.
<WPM> Pah, stupid meddling fool. *poof*
<Athena> Well, what the crap was that about.
<Drohn> What happened?
<Athena> WPM spoke to me in my head, and then he appeared here. He said he was my dad, and that I should join him and Grima, and then he disappeared.
<Drohn> Wait, is he really your dad?
<Athena> How am I supposed to know? Amnesia, remember?
<Drohn> Oh, yeah, right. Wait, if he's your dad, then that Hierophant chick, is she like your twin sister or something?
<Athena> Dude, amnesia, I just told you.
<Drohn> Right, sorry.
<TT> Hey, you guys, you done with the little chat? Our camp is under attack by a bunch of risen!
<Drohn> Ohshi- how did they get in?
<TT> I dunno, they must have snuck up or something. They're getting smarter.
<Athena> Alright, I think I'll be good enough to fight. Let's go kick some ass.
I rushed back to the camp with Drohn and TT and managed to regroup with the others before we were completely surrounded by the zombie things. We were just getting in position to fight when a storm of crows appeared and flew around, cawing at everyone and basically being a bunch of jerks. When they disappeared, a a young man was left in his place, one I recognized. It was Keeper of Night, dressed in the robes of a Dark Mage.
<Keeper of Night> Hey guys, 'sup?
<Drohn> *spits out a feather* Are those damned birds gone?
<Keeper> What's wrong? CAW-strophobic? Nya ha ha! Oh, I slay me!
<Drohn> We don't have time for your dumb jokes, we're about to be attacked by a bunch of Risen!
<Keeper> I'd wish you good luck killing them, buuuuuut... They're ALREADY DEAD!
<Drohn> Yeah, we already know that.
<Keeper> Anyway.... The ravens wanted me to give you a message. "Caaw... C-caw-caw." Roughly translated, it means... Hmm, now what was the human word for that again? ...Traipse? ...Tripe? Oh, TRAPPED! Right! ...They say you're trapped.
<Drohn> Yes, we know! *facepalm* What I'd like to know is where they all came from.
<Keeper> Well, see, when a mommy zombie and a daddy zombie love each other very much... Nya ha ha!
<Drohn> Look, are you here to help us or just hinder us with your poor jokes?
<Keeper> Oh, I can fight. I actually really love killing! I'm good at magic.
<Drohn> Good. Then maybe we'll get lucky and they'll manage to kill you before the end of the battle and save us all the misery of having to put up with those puns.
And so Keeper joined our little army. I sent Celever to keep him company and help protect him, since I figured she'd be the one in the army most likely to appreciate his jokes instead of killing him on the spot like Drohn obviously wanted to do. The two of them took the right flank with TT and Palutena as back up, while Chrom and I headed left, Cinesra and Light took the center, and PMJ and Drac kept watch over the camp in case of reinforcements. We slowly worked our way around towards the boss, and Keeper proved his worth by taking down a good number of the enemy units, and even taking the final hit on their leader. They were all dead and we we just starting to clean up and recuperate from the battle, when a lone assassin in hiding suddenly jumps out and goes after Drohn.
<Seliph> Father, nooooooo! *jumps in front of the blade and blocks it*
<Assassin> *poof*
<Drohn> Seliph? What the hell are you doing here? Have you been following us? And why did you call me father?
<Seliph> Well, uh, about that... can we go talk in private for a bit?
<Drohn> Uh, okay, sure.
<Seliph> Drohn... look into my eyes and you'll see the truth.
<Drohn> I'm flattered that you're interesting in me, and you're not a bad looking woman yourself, but I have a wife, and I'm not really...
<Seliph> You dolt, I'm not hitting on you. Seriously, look at my left eye.
<Drohn> That's.... the brand of the Exalt! The same as the magical tattoo I was born with! Everyone in our bloodline has one somewhere on their body. And yours is in your eye just like the baby Athena and I left back in Ylisse... It can't be... Ice Espeon?
<Ice Espeon> Yes, I am your daughter, Ice Espeon.
<Drohn> You deserved better from me than one sword and a world of troubles. I'm sorry.
<IE> Oh, father.... *sob* *hug*
<Athena> Is, uh, is there something going on I should know about? You two are out here alone, and Seliph is...crying.
<Drohn> *end hug* Oh, no, it's not what it looks like. It's just, uh, you see, Seliph is actually our daughter, Ice Espeon.
<Athena> You're kidding. o_o;
<IE> Nope, I have the brand in my eye and everything, and the Falchion too.
<Athena> So, uh, how does this work again? And no more hints; I've had enough hinted at plot twists for one chapter.
<IE> I came here from the future. That's how I knew stuff that was going to happen. In my future, the fell dragon Grima is resurrected. His roar is a death knell for man, a scream that silences all hope... Death everywhere... it's basically the end of the world.
<Athena> You mean we're all dead?
<IE> Yup.
<Drohn> Damn, that's harsh.
<IE> Anyway, Naga knew that Grima would probably come back some day, so she made a ritual so that people could go back in time.
<Athena> So, uh, who are what is Naga again? That's the second time I've heard that name today.
<Drohn> Oh, Naga's the good dragon, Grima's counterpart.
<Athena> Fair.
<IE> Anyway, I'm not the only kid born of, uh, fertile unions in your army. I had some companions as well and we all came back in time together, though we got separated coming through the time portal. I don't know where they are. In between trying to alter history, I've been trying to find them, too. Maybe you'll help me?
<Drohn> Sure, I'm always happy to take on a sidequest or two.
<Athena> Well, uh, good job, uh... daughter. Very proud of you.
<IE> Do you mind if I call you mom?
<Athena> Sure, go right ahead *hugs*
<Drohn> D'awwwww
