Fire Emblem Re-Awakening

As Adrianna took in the mixed, varied wild magics from everyone, her spell activated, first sending her deep inside Grima's "self", on a mission lock on to what was causing her this mental pain. "I won't leave until I find you..."

Adrianna would find that Grima's soul was...dark. Black. Foggy. Impossible to see very far into, an inky blackness that permeated throughout.

"Welcome. I am unsure of what you are, but at this point, I do not care."

Grima's voice boomed from all sides as she is greeted by the massive visage of the fell dragon stretching out from the darkness, in all its draconic glory. It dwarfed the witch in size by an incredible margin, even if said image was only a mental projection.

"Come. I will show you the cause of all of this. We have much to discuss, and very little time to do so."

The thundering footsteps of the large beast rumbled throughout the mindspace, as the behemoth turned in the opposite direction, clearly hoping Adrianna would follow.

Adrianna gave Grima a polite and pleasant greeting before promptly following the Fell Dragon. "Please, let us begin our talks."

Adrianna followed as Grima walked further into the darkness, each step leaving a small tremor.

"I doubt you care much about my past, or why I am like this. Regardless, I feel as if I must tell someone of these. I fear my time is short no matter the outcome."

"Robin believes me to be some form of ancient evil, a god, opposing the patron deity of his world, Naga. He is...mistaken."

She could likely hear Grima exhale, perhaps a sigh, but in her current state it was hard to tell.

"I am nothing more than a construct of human design. A tool, to further a madman's insane desires."

The darkness faded, and was replaced with ruined architecture. Ancient, and in disrepair.

"My creator was a man who wished for two things: To raise the dead, and to create a perfect being capable of controlling it all. Why he wanted these things, I do not think I will ever know. The reasoning for this 1000 year madness has long since been forgotten to time. His group that he worked with supplied him with Divine Dragon Blood, and using it, he succeed at both, however, neither were truly what he expected."

"I was...an abomination. But, he cared for me. I was but an infant, but he took care of me as I grew at an incredibly fast rate. Something about my growth terrified him, however. He sought to find a way to control me, and direct my abilities towards those he pleased. It was to no avail."

"Something within my young mind snapped the day that he tried to kill me. He was my father, for all intents and purposes. I killed him in retaliation, almost out of pure reflex. Whatever he had done to create me, instilled me with a need. A desire, to hurt."

Grima looked back at the witch following her, its 6 eyes all focused on her. Emotion was hard to read on a face such as its, but "somber" was a good way to put it.

"Magic is not what is holding me back, magician. Simple instinct, instead. And I do not believe that it can be removed without consequences."

"I see... It's grieving to learn all of this. I had hoped it was via some imprint of magical means, that I can do away without a second thought. I can fix a mind as well, but that actually poses a challenge." She observed the ruins and took in the rubble and age of it all. One-thousand years indeed. "What a ridiculous madness, to think that all of this horror would spawn from one foolish man and his followers. I cannot guarantee that I can help you absolutely, but if nothing else, I can degrade the instinct to hurt and the scars that man left you. However, I can and will rid you of the pain you suffer from it."

"On the contrary, witch, I do not doubt your ability to help. Your presence dwarfs mine in raw power by an incredible margin. However, it isn't quite as simple as that."

Grima stopped mid walk, a pained growl filled the air as she shuddered.

"Trying to move away from this "purpose" has made it take action. It threatens to engulf me, remove my sense of self and only leave what it wants. A mindless monster, that exists only to destroy, and kill, and ruin. For so many years, I believed this purpose of my own choosing, but now my mind is clear."

She looked back at Adrianna again.

"Can you imagine? An unkillable monster ravaging land after land. The humans of Robin's world had to receive help from the gods to have a weapon that could truly deal with me, and Robin himself was only able to "kill" me because of a time paradox. And clearly, neither side was permanent. As long as Robin exists...I would return, again, and again, and again. I can't let that happen. Not now."

Grima faced forward again. The sky around them started to splinter and shatter, removing all trace of the architecture. The ground beneath them seemed to be alive, pulsing slightly. And in front of them was a large, spherical mass, pulsing much more brightly in a sickly red. This tumor could be seen extending itself across the ground, many wires of flesh pulsing the same color, and it was growing ever so slightly as time went on.

"We have arrived. This is a physical representation of my mind. And that...is my purpose."

She went over to the growth and laid down next to it, the fell dragon clearly exhausted by the journey and because of the invader taking it's toll on her mind.

"Notice how it has entwined itself in my mind. How it has a grip on all parts of it. And how it is growing, minute by minute. I believe you are smart enough to understand the implications of such a thing, magician."

"I do... unfortunately," she said with a sorrowful sigh. She looked upon this disgusting image and approached it, holding a hand up and contemplating what could do away with this. Desperately thinking of something, eventually coming upon one such answer that might have an effect.....with some risk.

"Indeed. It has rooted itself into my very being. Simply removing it on its own...is no longer possible."

Her 6 eyes looked at the mass. The source of her discomfort and pain.

"This accursed thing has made itself a part of me. And it has no intention of letting go. I think we both know the only way it shall be removed."

"You must tear it out, by the root. And take all of my memories with it, likely never to return on their own."

Grima turned back to Adrianna, tears coming out of all 6 of her eyes.

"I...I wanted that second chance. Truly, I did. I was...so happy by the idea, that I wouldn't need to be this monster anymore. T-That people were...willing to accept someone like me. I'd finally known what happiness was. But now, the thought that I could potentially become far worse than ever before...that terrifies me. Clearly, it was never truly possible, for one such as I. A-And now, here you stand, before my object of torment, with the means to end it all."

Even if she knew there was no other way for this to end, the thought of ceasing to exist as she was now truly scared her to her core. She knew that doing nothing would lead to disaster, and some part of her was resigned to this fate. In the end, it was only fitting that someone like her, who had the blood of billions on her hands, ends this way. Not with a great battle, or with some grand encounter with a hero, but with a whimper as she fades away. It's what she deserves, and no excuses can can change that.

...so why couldn't she stop crying? Stop shaking? Stop thinking about all of the things that she could have done?

"I reject that conclusion!" A massive, dense aura permeated the air as the witch pressed her hands against the tumor, her fingers, sharpened to toothy claws, sinking deep into the disgusting mass.
Her appearance had undergone a drastic change. Her hair had gone from dark shades to a candied emerald and her clothes bore a more practical form while retaining her witch aesthetic, skintight and dotted with stars. It wasn't long before her appearance shifted again as, an impossibly wide grin spreading across her face and her eyes whiting out. "Cheshire's Reality!"

Her body began to bear cat-like features as the environment around them shifted away into a storybook-esque appeal. They sat upon a cloud, upside-down, a great island of dancing animals circling a fire and chanting to themselves. "What a strange situation you are in, sickly one, to be clinging to a mind entirely different to the one you are meant to!" she whispered, as if to the tumor. "Isn't it a strange thing that you'd be so attached to that of a child rather than the shameless calamity of worlds? Why don't I bring you back home, to the mind you're meant for?" She gave a tug on the tumor, hoping the strange effect of this maddening spell would at least make it cling less to Grima's mind. Even if she'd suffer the loss of some memories, it'd certainly be better than losing her self.

There was absolutely no solid guarantee that this would even work, as this was meant to effect the minds of the sentient, but the things this mass was doing to Grima gave her some hope that perhaps it might work. With a mighty heave, she gave it all or nothing and pulled the tumor away from Grima's mind. "If this doesn't work, please know that this witch is proud of your resolve, Grima! I won't ever forget you, even if you forget yourself!!"

Grima let out a roar as Adrianna grasped the mound and pulled as hard as she could. The feeling was more painful than anything she had felt before, but she knew this had to end, one way or another.

"NO MATTER WHAT YOU HEAR, DO NOT STOP! I BEG OF YOU!"

Through it all, she brought herself around to her position, and brought her massive jaw around it, pulling in unison with the witch in any way she could to help. Her human screams of agony could be felt throughout the mindscape, but she kept pulling, knowing that the alternative would be far worse.

She could feel the tumor tugging on the rest of her mind as they pulled, the tendrils connecting it to her not being broken, but instead standing strong. They were pulling. Taking chunks with it. And Grima accepted this.

With one massive heave, the duo pulled the tumor out of it's spot, it dragging massive parts of the floor underneath with it. Whatever her spell was meant to do, clearly it wasn't having the effect she had hoped. But it didn't bother Grima. Nothing bothered her, not even the horrendous pain that came from the act. Nothing but her new purpose. One that she chose herself. One that she was going to see through to the end.

At last, the chord came free with a sickening pop, and Grima held the growth in her mouth above her, the massive chord of her memories dangling next to it. Finally, she knew peace. The pulsing stopped. The agony ended. Everything finally stopped. With a crunch, she broke the tumor from the rest of her memories, all of them now falling to the floor with a thud.

Adrianna would see that Grima was slowly fading away into dust, starting from the lower back end and slowly making its way up.

Adrianna picked up the cord and looked upon her memories with a melancholic gaze before holding as much of the dragon as she could in a hug. "I didn't know you for long, Grima, but I will always remember the resolve you had. The determination to better yourself and become more than what others expect. May this "self" find rest and no regrets...I'm sorry I couldn't do better for you..." As she faded back into her normal look, Adrianna felt tears roll down her cheeks.

The fear Grima had when this started hadn't stopped. She was...dying. She knew it was inevitable, but the unknown terrified her. But, for the first time in possibly her entire life, she had made a decision of her own volition. She had obtained peace.

"I...was overjoyed when...everyone gave me that chance. That people could look at me and not see some kind of monster, but a person, who wanted something new. That was... the greatest feeling I'd ever felt."

Slowly, she collapsed, her body still disintegrating in the mindspace. Her sense of self was dying with it. Soon, "Grima" would cease to exist. Tears continued to flow down her face, although it was impossible to tell if they were of joy or fear. Perhaps a little of both.

"Thank you. So much. I feel blessed to have met all of you. More than I have ever deserved. I will likely never recover these memories, but that's alright. You did everything you...could..."

Slowly, the effect reached up to her neck, now only leaving her head. The feeling of numbness was overwhelming.

"Tell...Robin...I am...at...pe...ace..."

Finally overtaking her head, all that was left became dust, blowing away in the mind. Adrianna would find herself forcefully expelled from Grima's mind, currently in the process of rebooting itself with what was left.

Her eyes were flooding with tears at the dragon's heartwrenching goodbye, and at how this witch, with all her knowledge, skill, and power, had failed to stop her from needing to say that good bye.

Robin watched. The silence maddening, as Adrianna weaved her magic. When she returned, tears in her eyes, Robin walked over, hand on her shoulder.

"Is...Is she?"

"She's alive, but there was nothing I could that wouldn't result in her either going mad and rampaging or losing all her memories. Grima as you know her... she's dead. But she wanted me to tell you while she was fading away that she found peace."

"What will happen now to her?" Xana asked as she tried her best to stand up.

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"She'll live, but she won't remember anything at all," Adri stated.

"So in the end, she faded away..." Chloe seemed to be in a sour mood now as she considered that. If only she could've had an alternative. But now all they can do is welcome the new Grima when she wakes up."

"So she lost her memories..." Xana said with a sorrowful tone "And a part of her died with them..."

".....No."

It was sad. They had made progress, only for it to be torn away from them, along with her memories. He took a step towards the body.

"She's not gone. For good or ill, I will always remember her. In that way, Grima will live on. And besides...You did everything in your power. Now we must make some new memories with her."

In an attempt to lighten the mood, he turned to everyone, giving a small smile. "So....Anyone want to take me up on that offer from earlier?"

"I think that's your cue, chocogirl." Xana teased before losing strength on her legs but was quick to react and use her lance as support "I think I may have gone a but too far with the energy sharing, you wouldn't have a mana stone, don't you Adri?" She said in a cheerful tone.

"I do," Adri noted, pulling one out of her pocket and handing it to Xana.

At the behest of Xana, Chloe walked over to Robin and pulled him to her level. Which wasn't much, she was like a few inches below her. "You, me, anywhere!!" Her voice was trembling a bit, still upset over Grima's loss.

"...." Well, despite the fact that his face was red, Robin at least understood what was going on. She apparently needed some kind of companionship. Being alone in this depressing time would be ill-advised.

"Very well. Let's go find somewhere, alright? I'm here for you, miss." He would not take advantage of a woman in this situation. He would comfort her. If things escalated willingly, then so be it.

As they were ready to leave, Adri reminded Chloe that while the old Grima is gone, she'll still live on in their memory. A big motivational speech that was so moving and touching it that it was too good for these tainted digital texts.

Chloe looked up at Robin and pulled him close. "I'm gonna CALADBOLG III you so hard!"

He did not know what she meant by that. But he did say he was going to kiss someone when Grima was saved. And she was...in a sense.

So, steeling his nerves, the tactician placed his hands on Chloe's shoulders, and moved in, placing his lips against hers. He didn't know what she could do...but he'd try *something* to cheer her up.

The IDOL members looking from the side feels a bit mixed feeling (except SARENA). On one side, Grima has suffered an identity death, the person that was her is no more and the one that rest now is a blank slate. On the other hand, she has been free of her obligation of a being of destruction and has been given a new chance at life. Luna in particular felt a bit bad that it was something she may have been able to do individually. Both Luna and Abigail looks surprised at Robin's sudden of Chloe.