Fire Emblem Fates: The Reimagining (Chapter 25: C)

Everyone was shocked when they looked at their dead bodies, but Iago wasn’t going to give them time for grief.  He pointed towards Corrin and Takumi fired another arrow.  She didn’t have enough time to react, and it exploded right beside her, causing her to fly to the edge of the room.  As she started to black out, she heard the voices of the Nohrian royals calling out to her.  The last things she saw were the bodies of King Garon and Queen Mikoto.  She was so tired…  She just wanted to give up…




“Corrin…  Wake up…”

A familiar voice echoed in her head.  She wanted to get up, but she was so tired.  It was as if all her energy had left her.

“Corrin, please.  Get up.”

Slowly, she opened her eyes and was met with a strange sight.  Islands were floating in the sky, some upside down and sideways, and as she sat up, she saw that there was a castle in the distance, slightly obscured by the clouds.  Looking around some more, Corrin saw the man who spoke to her.  It was Sumeragi!  Her real father!

She was speechless.  How was he there?  Didn’t he die when she was a little girl?  He chuckled at her reaction and lifted her up so she was standing.

“It’s good to see you again, Corrin.”

Tears started to roll down her face, but not because she was hurt.  All the pain had left.  These were tears of shame.  She looked down at her feet so she wouldn’t have to see the disappointment she knew would be in his eyes.

“Corrin, look at me.”

She shook her head, but he placed his hand under her chin and lifted it up so she was looking him in the eyes.  He looked as if he was a little worried about her.

“I know things seem bad right now, but you have to go back.  Your family needs you there to fight.”

At the mention of her family, she presumed he meant her birth family, but she was still a bit unsure.

“But I betrayed them!  I don’t deserve to be there anymore.”

She lowered her gaze again, the tears flowing faster.  The guilt was eating away at her so much.  Seeing this, Sumeragi placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“You said it yourself.  You left for answers to the endless questions you had.”

Corrin was surprised that he heard what she said to Ryoma.  Perhaps when people pass on, they have the ability to watch their family and friends from afar.  As she took that in, Sumeragi continued.

“You don’t realize it, but you still have a chance to make this right.  You can stop the warriors from destroying both nations.”

Confusion etched her face when he said that.  Weren’t they only in Hoshido?  Before she could ask, he clarified what he meant.

“They may only be in Hoshido now, but that is to kill the wielder of the Yato.  That blade you carry is the only one that can defeat their master, so they want to destroy it.  If they do that, everyone else, in both Nohr and Hoshido, will be next.”

With that news, Corrin realized just how important the fight was.  Even so, she had to tell him something.  She wasn’t sure if he saw the moments before she came to that place, but she felt she needed to voice it.

“Takumi…  Mikoto…  King Garon…  They’re…”

When she started to trail off, Sumeragi looked over to the side and pointed.

“They’re right there, Corrin.”

She looked where he was pointing and saw her mother and brother standing off to the side watching them.  After she had digested the information that they were with her father now, she felt Sumeragi’s hand on her shoulder again.  Looking up into his eyes, she realized that he wanted her to go to them and talk before she left.  Even so, she was a little apprehensive.  She betrayed them.  What could she say to them?  She didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, as to whether or not she would talk to them, because her father started walking her over to them.  When they were close enough, he gently pushed her forward.  Mikoto and Takumi were looking at Corrin with a bit of worry, but her mouth refused to move.  It was as if it was sealed shut.  No words would describe how she felt.  After a few minutes, she finally found the courage to speak.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t realize my choice would cause all this.”

Without another word, Mikoto approached her, bending down to eye level.  Corrin couldn’t hold her gaze, but like Sumeragi, she lifted Corrin’s chin to look straight at her.

“I’m not mad at you, Corrin.”

She tangled her hand in Corrin’s hair then let it fall back into place.  There was something that needed to be done, but it could wait for a moment as she cherished that moment with her daughter.  Once that was done, she backed up a little and gave her a look as if she was about to tell her something important.

“There is a place you need to go after this.  I can’t tell you much about it, but the gate is the Bottomless Canyon.  Once you’re there, you’ll meet someone who can tell you more then we can.”

Corrin sadly nodded, but then she realized something odd.  She had to ask about the confusing situation going on back in Hoshido.

“But what about Takumi?  How is he hurting people there and standing here at the same time?”

Takumi just stared at her as if the answer was totally obvious.

“The thing back in the waking world isn’t me, Corrin.  That’s just my body.”

Looking at her younger brother, a bit more guilt filled her mind.  He was possessed and never coming back while she was supposed to go back and take him down.

“Takumi… I’m sorry.  If I hadn’t left, you might not have been like this.”

He crossed his arms and looked away in annoyance, scoffing a bit.

“You can beg for forgiveness later when you manage to beat the thing controlling my body.”

Corrin nodded, anxious but ready.  Before she left, Mikoto wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling Takumi in with her.  Sumeragi stepped into it a little as well.  Once that tender moment was up, Corrin backed up and started to walk away, but when she looked to the side, she saw someone who had been watching them for a while.  King Garon looked at her with approving eyes and nodded, so Corrin felt it right to give a little head bow in respect.  After all, despite all that she learned, he still was the one who raised her.

A white light started to surround her and fade the rest of the world into white.  Turning back to her family, she raised her hand in farewell… then she was laying on the ground, back in Castle Shirasagi.  Everyone was still fighting the translucent warriors, but they weren’t faring well against them.  Elise and Sakura were by her, so they were the first to see her wake.  Even with their cries of relief, however, no one else turned around or even noticed that she was alright.  Iago even said something about sending them to meet her in death.

“No.  I won’t let you hurt the ones I care about.”

She rose up, much to the surprise of everyone else, and drew her sword.  Without waiting for them to stop staring at her and shake off the shock, she ran forward and slashed at Iago.  He staggered back a few steps with a new cut on his arm, but readied a spell to launch at her.  She dodged out of the way just as he fired it, but also had to roll under one of Takumi’s arrows.  When she leaped up, Hans grabbed her and tried to hold her down.  In response, she wrestled out of his grip and kicked him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.  Looking over at Iago for a second, she saw Xander and Ryoma attacking him.  She noticed Camilla and Hinoka going for Hans, so Corrin ran up to Takumi, who was still firing at her.  With a swift motion, she swung her sword at him, but he jumped back and fired another arrow.  Narrowly dodging it, she tried to get in close.

“Come on, Takumi.  Help me out a bit.”

As she closed in, she thought she saw a flash of brown in his eyes, but it was hard to tell.  Even so, she leapt up and gave him a cut on his chest.  He kept trying to hit her, but after a while, she realized something odd.  Takumi was showing restraint.  He was still fighting her, but he was fighting himself as well.  He was taking longer to ready arrows and fire them, and it looked like he was deliberately trying to miss her.  Taking the opportunity, Corrin rushed in and quickly stabbed him in the stomach.  Dropping his bow, Takumi fell to the ground and lay there as the commotion around them died down.  In his final moments, he looked up at Corrin, eyes no longer red, and gave a weak smile.

“Thank…”

He couldn’t finish.  He was too injured to even speak much.  Letting out a long breath, he closed his eyes… and never opened them again.

Corrin grabbed his cold hand tightly, bidding him a final, tearful goodbye.  Iago and Hans had been killed while she dealt with Takumi, so the battle was over.  As everyone else digested the scenario, they started to realize the crossroad they were at.  Corrin heard Ryoma and Xander talking about arranging for each country to bury their dead before they ascend to their respective thrones and continue the peace talks, but something else was on her mind.  Even though they wouldn’t like it, there was something that had to be done before she could leave everything behind.